You lose your place Keep in mind that everyone in the room has lost track of an idea at least once. People want you to succeed and are sympathetic. So, smile and admit you have lost the place and ask for a moment to remind yourself. No one will object. You can also ask the audience “now, where on earth was I?”. This kind of moment can even make you appear more human during a formal presentation. You can also make use of “help devices” to help you keep track - or find your place. Examples of these include: frames of OHPs, key notes on foot of flip charts, keeping a copy of the handout ready to refer to if necessary, or a series of Post-it notes of key points. The cue cards etc. you are using can also be colour-coded e.g. key words and phrases marked by the use of highlighter pens People read the handout; and don’t listen to you The easiest way to deal with this is to tell people at the start if you are issuing a handout - but don’t provide it until the end.
However, there may be occasions where you plan to work through a handout page by page; people are moving ahead at their own pace. People are more likely to stay with you if you occasionally say, "And you can see on page xx that..." Then, pause for a moment as if allowing people to turn to it - they usually will!
Your audience starts speaking during your presentation Depending on the level of the audience, one tactic can simply be to stop talking. Silence draws the speakers back to you after a few seconds. You can also find a way of asking for questions at that moment; or whether any key points need clarification. If they continue to talk, move nearer to them. Then, lower your voice or pause. Eventually, they will get the message. If they don’t, and it happens during a presentation to a company, ask if something major has occurred and whether they’d like your presentation rescheduled You drop your overheads or cue cards Apologise light-heartedly, pick them up and take a few moments to put them in order. Always number the top left corner of each page or card - then the recovery process takes no more than a few seconds. An avoidance technique - hole-punch the top left corner of each card or note and then use a key ring to bind them together. You just turn pages over as you go!
Equipment or props don’t work Have an option thought out in your mind for when this situation happens. For a prop, have a “through-away line” ready e.g. “I’m sorry, all inanimate objects have a personal vendetta against me. Ah well, it was meant to show that...” and then explain.
If your equipment e.g. OHP etc. doesn’t work, try and have a fall-back option. For example, if you are making a computer-based presentation have the key points on fall-back acetates and have an OHP in the room. Or, if the OHP doesn’t work, you can print your key points quickly on to a flip chart or white board. Finally, just carry on without them, adjusting your presentation as necessary.
The same process can be followed when “promised” equipment simply doesn’t materialise (Please take time to look at part three for more tips)
Business Presentation Problems - What To Do If - Part Two - To learn more about this author, visit Gordon Veniard's Website.
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