Video Pitfalls in Presentations
I attended a Web 2.o Conference here in New York sponsored by iBreakfast today. Lots of good speakers, but one big problem: video in presentations. The conference was on advertising and monetizing web content, so it made a lot of sense for marketers and advertisers speaking to show video in their presentation. But speaker after speaker got up, tried to play their video, and then apologized for it not working. The system wasn’t set up properly and there was no audio feed. By my rough estimate, half of the speakers used video and all of them had the same problem.
When you think about it, this really is silly. No one did any of the following:
1. Showed up early to do a rehearsal to see if things worked properly.
2. Tested during a break between speakers to see if their system worked.
3. Paid attention to the fact that the speaker who spoke 2 minutes before they did couldn’t make the system work, so chances are they would be able to either.
Speakers must realize that if you are going to use video in a presentation, you can’t just waltz up to the platform with your flash drive and plug in 2 minutes before speech time. You need to prepare, and rehearse on the actual equipment you will be using; otherwise, don’t bother using video.
Tags: video in powerpoint
January 31st, 2008 at 7:20 pm
….and never, never say sorry
February 2nd, 2008 at 9:07 am
Hi T.J.
Interesting post. It’s actually quite surprising that this has happened to a lot of speakers, especially at a Web 2.0 conference. You’re absolutely right about the rehearsal, but still a lot of speakers (and comedians) don’t go over what they’re going to do. It was ingrained in me from my years as a professional actor, so I’m really grateful for that. As a result i carried it over into when I did stand-up and now that I’m a speaker.
A lot of presenters are using video in their presentations these days because of the overuse of PowerPoint and I’ve also noticed in the public speaking blogosphere that there’s a been a lot of Power Point bashing going on. But I wonder if a possible solution might be to have a PowerPoint version as a back-up? Although, that may be a lot of extra work. Hmmm…
What seems to happen though is that a lot of presenters don’t seem to know the story or their presentation. Many just read off their presentation from their OHP or PowerPoint slides. That’s not presenting or speaking. That’s sight-reading. I think a lot of people could benefit from structuring the presentation in a different way that doesn’t rely on the use of technology but is simply enhanced by it. So if they experience a technology breakdown, they can simply close their laptop and carry on.
I’m sure you’ll probably agree with me on this point.
Cheers,
Jason
February 7th, 2008 at 4:07 am
My old boss always instilled in me - First “rehearse, rehearse, rehearse”. And second “know your equipment”. It works
for me, I have never had a problem, and I have won prizes for my presentations! Regards Terry