Here are the top nine rules to use if your goal is to avoid technology problems in the first place:

1. Don’t use video in your presentation unless it is absolutely necessary.
2. Multimedia means multi-headaches, so don’t use unless you are willing to rehearse numerous times in the final circumstances of your presentation.
3. Rehearse on the actual pieces of technology you will be using; that is, don’t practice on your laptop in a hotel room and then give the presentation at a hotel conference room the next day using someone else’s laptop and remote clicker. Practice on the actual tech stuff you’re going to use.
4. Laptops freeze, so prepare for it. Get ready to restart in the middle of a presentation.
5. Bring a backup of any technology you use. That means an extra projector, bulbs, laptop, video cameras, and so on. You can’t have too much redundancy.
6. Bring extra batteries for everything.
7. Never use a timed PowerPoint presentation unless it is meant to be used independently from your speaking.
8. Unless you are presenting in your own office, make sure you have resolved the whole Mac vs. PC thing in advance. Otherwise, you may not be able to do anything you planned.
9. Keep one very important point in mind: what looks and sounds great on your little laptop may look and sound horrible in a big conference hall. There’s different lighting, potentially inferior sound, and different settings on the built-in computer. You must rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse in the final setting if you want to avoid tech problems.

Remember, you aren’t giving a PowerPoint speech or a technology speech. You are giving a presentation about ideas; the technology is there simply to enhance your ideas, not the other way around. You are never prepared to give a pretty good presentation unless you can give the presentation without the use of any technology at all.

This article was taken from my new book “How to Give a Pretty Good Presentation” You can order a copy from Amazon.com or from your local bookstore.