As seen in the Oakmont News beginning March, 2022

You need to know what you need to know.

The next step is asking the questions you need to ask and obtaining information you need to be aware of; that are key to a successful event.

• Name, cell phone and email address of every person who will do one or both of the following:
  • Speak / Demonstrate
  • Offering an electronically based presentation
• If there is only a speaker who is talking / performing to the assembled (no remote / Zoom attendees) all s/he needs is a microphone. Ask: Does s/he prefer a
  • wearable / wireless mic
  • handheld wireless
  • wired mic.
• If an electronically based presentation is involved find out:
  • Has this person(s) made this presentation, or one like it, previously?
    • you need to know how familiar the presenter is, if at all – the less familiar the more preparation you will need to make.
  • On what system was the presentation s/he designed for this event,
    • Mac (iOS)
    • PC (Windows)
      • does someone in your group possess a similar device – you will need to test on a similar device
  • Which program was used to create it?
    • Keynote (Mac developed)
      • Mouse Pointers need to be set to “always visible” in Keynote otherwise, you’ll be playing cat and mouse with the tool bars and commands.
    • PowerPoint Presentation) (Windows based – it can be developed on a MAC however, it is not recommended for it will not display clearly when projected)
    • Does it have Audio or Video clips and, if so
      • Are they embedded in the program?
        • these will need to be tested – they don’t always work come the day of the event.
      • Or, are they accessed via the web?
        • to share them to the venue and on Zoom, you will need to access and open them prior to sharing
      • You will also need to check the “Optimize Audio” and “Optimize Video” options across the bottom of the share window.
    • Does the presenter need to view his/her “Presenter Notes” while sharing the presentation?
      • You will need to switch to Advance Share in order to select what portion of the slide is to be shown to the audience.
  • How old/new is the device on which the presentation was developed? One presenter had such an ancient MacBook it wouldn’t connect to the WiFi. We had to download the presentation to a flash drive to access the presentation from a newer MacBook. Even then, the flash drive could not be ejected for the presentation would not remain on the laptop!
    • Keep in mind, your “presenter”:
      • should use the device on which the presentation was developed
        • One of my presenters developed her presentation on her Apple desktop and transferred it via flash drive to a PC laptop yet couldn’t understand why it wouldn’t play the embedded clips as it supposedly had at home.
      • must update:
        • the operating system of his/her device on the day of presentation
        • the software in which the presentation was developed (PPP or Keynote)
        • Zoom client to most recent version
      • Run the presentation prior to the event
      • Download the presentation to a flash drive and bring it to the event
      • Send the presentation to you a minimum of 3 days prior to the event so that you can Run it on your device (if your group has a device with the same Operating System (iOS or Windows)
      • Must meet you at the venue a minimum of one hour prior to the start of the event to complete the set up and execute a test of the presentation.

Lastly, the more ‘complex’ the presentation and/or the less fluent your presenter is with computers, the presentation program and/or Zoom, the more important a dress rehearsal a week or so prior to the event will be, for the both of you!

Remember, you will need time to start and connect to the OVA systems, test the microphones, set the camera presets, launch the Practice Session prior to the arrival of your presenter.

If it sounds and looks like an awful lot, it is. There are a lot of moving parts yet, once you know what you need to know, you can take it one step at a time and dazzle yourself with your ability to do it all.