You arrive for your presentation, flash drive in hand, confident that you are going to be pithy, witty and brilliant. You survey the room, check the equipment and conclude that everything is in order. Your audience arrives and you confidently launch into your presentation, comfortable with your message and your ability to deliver it. And then Murphy shows up.
Murphy's Law is the oft-quoted adage that says, If anything can go wrong, it will. No matter how carefully you have prepared, no matter how well you know your subject, no matter how much research you've done on your audience, there are still things that can and do go wrong in a presentation.
Here are a few common pitfalls and what to do about them:
INTERRUPTIONS ~ Audience members frequently interrupt a presenter with questions, particularly when the speaker has sparked interest or controversy. This can throw a presenter off track, causing him to lose his train of thought and blank on the answer being requested.
A change of mindset is the best way to handle this type of unplanned interruption. Be humbled that your words have generated enough interest in a listener that she is compelled to ask for more of your wisdom. Treat a question as the ultimate compliment.
During your before-the-presentation preparation, anticipating what questions your audience may have will make you more comfortable dealing with these interruptions and easier for you to get back on track.
SHORTENED TIME ~ You have been given an hour for your presentation. You arrive in the Boardroom to find that previous presenters have run over time and you are now asked to cut your presentation to 30 minutes. A sure-fire cause for panic!
Deal with this possibility by modularizing your presentation. When you are initially designing it, create distinct sections that are joined by transition statements. Then if you need to condense your remarks, you can fairly easily skip some of the sections. [Additional hint: if you are using PowerPoint, be sure to mark in your notes which slides go with which sections so you can quickly forward to the right slide.]
EQUIPMENT SNAFUS ~ This might be the most ubiquitous of unpredictables. Best advice: Don't rely on the equipment to work. If it does work, treat it as a pleasant surprise. Now I admit that's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but my point is... If you would be unable to give your presentation if the PowerPoint or the projector failed, shame on you. Your audience didn't come to read slides, they came to hear you. Practice, practice practice your presentation so that you could deliver it, even if the lights went out.
Here is some more great advice for when Murphy shows up.
What are some of your best [worst??] visits from Murphy?
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