We speakers can be a crazy bunch! We prepare like there's no tomorrow, write and re-write presentations, then rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse some more. To the audiences who sing our praises the work we do on stage seems effortless. It is far from it but there is a possibility which can chill the blood of even the stoutest of pro presenters...total failure.
Not us, of course! We know better than that - shoot we're built to stand up to the greatest of stresses. No, no, no, I'm talking about the total failure of the technology on which we depend - that's the chiller, and why? Because in many circumstances there is no way to prepare for it, no way to avoid it, no way to remedy it. When it happens, stick a fork in it...it's done! And you, my friend may be, too.
Case in point. February 9, 2013, Shine Conference 2013 in Tampa, Florida. I was hired to deliver a breakout session on Fearless Living. In preparation for the opportunity I created an 80 slide presentation on my trusty laptop. Ahead of me was one hour and fifteen minutes of uninterrupted time with one of my heart's desires - an audience of my very own.
The ballroom was beautifully equipped with a top of the line LCD projector and a screen right out of my dreams - 20 feet wide and 20 feet tall. The Electrical Engineer had prepped the mic at the podium and had a separate wireless at my request because of how I like to interact with my audiences.
My audience was comfortably seated at their tables. Behind the podium, the presentation was queued, mics were live, and I was being introduced. The moment for which I had been preparing was upon me, and the anticipation of the audience was about to be satisfied. As I stepped to the podium for my opening remarks I gestured to the screen and saw 400 square feet of ... blank. (for those of you keeping score at home, a blank screen in the first minute of a 75-minute presentation is not an anticipated outcome)
What happened? For the first time ever, as far as our hosts with the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa knew, the LCD projector's overheat sensor had shut off the machine; the machine housed in a metal frame 30 feet above the lecture hall floor!
What happened in minutes two to five in my presentation? I briefed the audience on what we would discuss and began distributing the handouts. Beginning in minute six? The show must go on, and it did. I did my entire presentation - without slides - and kept the audience. How?
As Speakers we never know when the Unthinkable is going to happen. All we can do is be prepared. The Five P's should always be close by - Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. Remember my blog on The Performance Method? I conceive all of my presentations and speaking events in my mind then mentally visualize them happening. Before committing anything to paper, rehearsals are typically underway for at least a week.
80 Slides, not memorized, but known. 75 minutes presented after the Unthinkable happened. But something else happened as well. Success...for my audience because I was prepared. Audiences are the reason we do what we do, and no measure of preparation can be said to be too much when the Outcome defeats the unthinkable.
Fearlessly,
JD
