******************************************************************* Dave Paradi's PowerPoint Tip Issue #120 October 17, 2006 Published & Copyright by Dave Paradi of ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com Circulation 8,338 *******************************************************************
Please forward this newsletter to anyone you know who needs to improve their PowerPoint presentations to sell more, make a bigger impact with their boss or teach others. If this newsletter has been sent to you by a friend, sign up to get your own copy at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/newsletter.htm .
******************************************************************* In this issue: Latest posts to the PowerPoint Ideas blog Future PowerPoint Resources Survey Review of Guide to PowerPoint ABC Conference Next Week PowerPoint Tip: Equipment Failure Dave's Travel Schedule *******************************************************************
Latest posts to my blog at: http://pptideas.blogspot.com : Review of the Floyd Landis PowerPoint presentation To shadow or not to shadow ------------------------------------------------------------------- Future PowerPoint Resources Survey
In my ongoing efforts to create valuable resources for those who want to present using PowerPoint, I am always looking for ideas on what you need help on. Please help me by filling out this 3 question survey that will assist me in developing the resources you need to be a more successful presenter. Use this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=790692709371 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Review of Guide to PowerPoint
Wendy Russell, the About.com presentations expert reviewed my book "Guide to PowerPoint" and gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars. She said, "It is jam-packed with all sorts of "Now why didn't I think of that?" tips and more importantly, many more "I never would have thought of that" tips, on how to make a winning presentation." See the entire review at: http://snipurl.com/aboutcomreview and get your own copy at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/guidetoppt.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------- Association for Business Communication Conference Oct 26-28
If you are coming to the Association for Business Communication conference next week in San Antonio, please drop by the Prentice Hall booth where I will be answering questions on how to use my book "Guide to PowerPoint" to teach proper PowerPoint usage. ------------------------------------------------------------------- PowerPoint Tip - Equipment Failure
If you are going to use PowerPoint to present, at some point in time you will have to deal with the equipment failing. You may not have had this happen to you yet, but you will. Even though the equipment is far more reliable than it was when I started presenting with computers and projectors over 10 years ago, it is not perfect. And I like to say that it is not a matter of "if" you will experience equipment failure, it is only a matter of "when".
That's why I am doing a webinar this Thursday on handling problems during your presentation. The most important thing to keep in mind is that no matter what happens, you need to keep going. The audience is there to hear your message and they expect you to deliver it no matter how many equipment problems occur. This means that you should be mentally and physically prepared to deal with various types of failures, from projectors to computers to sound systems and every other component you use.
I have had my equipment fail a number of times, two I'd like to share today. The first time was when my laptop died on the first slide of a two day workshop. And it wasn't coming back alive any time soon (the cooling fan failed and it fried the motherboard). I was able to continue until a colleague delivered another laptop at lunch because I had a handout that I used to continue teaching. I always use a handout and I'll explain on the webinar how to create one that can serve not only as a valuable reference for your audience, but also save your bacon when equipment fails.
The second failure was when my system started acting strangely during a conference presentation. I followed the steps to see if I could get it back again and fortunately it did come back after step 4, the last step before you abandon the technology all together. In both cases, not a single evaluation from the participants even mentioned the equipment problems. They won't remember the problems if you deal with them well and deliver what you promised.
It is like I heard an airline pilot say before the safety announcement that many of us have heard way too many times before. He asked everyone to pay attention, even if they had heard it many times before because "It is better to know it and not need it than need it and not know it." I feel the same about being prepared for equipment failure. If you want to be on the webinar or be the first to get the recording, sign up at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/webtutorials.htm .
------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave's Travel Schedule
You can save money by booking me to speak to your organization or conference when I am close to your area for other clients. Here's where I will be in the next few months:
October 24-28 San Antonio, TX November 3 London, ON November 20-22 St. John's, NF December 6-10 Vancouver, BC January 29-30, 2007 Cincinnati, OH February 19-23 St. John's, NF May 25-26, 2007 London, ON E-mail me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com to discuss your upcoming event.
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