Presenting multimedia at a conference

I have just returned from delivering a multimedia PowerPoint presentation at a conference. Despite one slight glitch, it counted as a success. The presentation displayed with acceptable colors on the overhead projector. The animation worked. The video was visible. That slight hitch was that the audience could not hear the introductory music that I had carefully authored using ACID.

Those of us who have had experience going to a strange place, even a new classroom, and having a presentation fail to work, understand what a triumph the above was and why I am so willing to overlook the lack of audio in the large lecture room. We have all had experiences of colors looking truly atrocious on overhead displays, even though they look wonderful on our own laptop and desk top computers or even on our local campus projectors. We have had the experience of connecting our laptops to overhead projectors and finding out that video files that show on our laptop show on the overhead projectors as just solid-black windows.

Well, what do you do, as a presenter? First, if at all possible, try out the projection equipment, either with the locally attached computer or your own laptop, far enough ahead of time to ensure that you can make it work to your satisfaction. This is easier said than done. As the day's first presenter at my conference, I had no time to work with support staff who did not arrive much before my presentation. Going the day before would have been inconvenient and indeed costly, so that was not an option. The best I could do was to be panting at the door of the presentation room and be suitably assertive to make sure that I at least got to try out the basic presentation before the support people got their satisfaction of tweaking every other thing there. I really made sure I got priority here and hope I was not too obnoxious in doing so.

Second, bring backups. I was hoping to be able to use the PC installed in the room, as it could be more reliable and would be faster than my slow, bogged down laptop. To do this, I need some way to carry my presentation. I used two ways, a thumb drive that attaches via a USB port and a CD-R that I wrote. The thumb drive is surprisingly convenient because it is very small and fits nicely in my pocketbook. However, because the area around the computer was so dark that I could not see the USB port well enough to plug in the thumb drive, I used the CD-R. Next time, wearing an extra pair of suspenders, I would bring a small flashlight.

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