Hi All,

A sort of newbie question. How do you prepare for the unpredictable in your speech / presentation? By unpredictable I mean laptop battery dying, or projector failing or millions of other things that might happen. How do you prepare to react professionally to that?

Thanks

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Public Speaking Handbook

The best way to prepare for the unexpected is to not think about what could go wrong - this will only make you anxious! However, when things do go wrong, categorise the possibilities you can think of (such as things that will completely stop your presentation, such as your battery dying) and then come up with a solution. For example, you shouldn't be relying on your laptop or any form of technology too much anyway, so have hand-outs printed off before hand so you can work off paper if visuals are needed.

Try to practice out of the box situations. Practice being put on the spot and how to answer awkward questions - these are your best forms of defence. Often knowing as much as possible about your subject (the subject of your presentation or your known area of expertise) will get you out of lots of sticky situations.

Don't think too hard about the unpredictable though - some things you just can't prepare for!

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James
Motivational and Business Speakers

· Distractions – They will happen so plan for most likely ones.
· Gear failure – It will happen. Plan ahead so the show goes on.
· Hecklers – Probably won’t happen. Be nice.
· No key – Unlikely. Remember the Blitz!
· Sabotage – Let everyone know. Keep rolling.
· ANY DISASTER – Remember The Audience!

How to prepare for the unpredictable?

Equipment failure - check all your equipment before hand to be sure it is working properly. If you are arriving in the morning to an unfamiliar place and relying on their equipement, make sure you have a contact name and phone number so you can reach someone who can fix the equiment. But, ultimately, as stated here earlier, make sure that you can still deliver the presentation even if the equipment fails (e.g. have handouts)
Bring any supplies you might need with you (e.g. scissors, tape, handouts, markers, etc.
But, the best thing you can bring along is a smile and a sense of humor. Most gliches can be fixed quickly and the audience will remember your composure best of all. The show must go on!

Ellen

Hi Theresa,

If we answer your question directly, than I think that we may miss the real question that underlies it; that is, "how do I handle myself when I lose my power of control?"

This is actually the question, or the lack of an answer for it, that stops many people from becoming speakers in the first place. What we do when things go wrong is tap into our creative resources that allowed us to be on stage in the first place. If you know your subject really well, and you know what you want your audience to hear as opposed to what you want to say, then you just get on with getting that message out to them in whatever way you can.

People get stuck when things go wrong because they invest so much in what they are going to say, that they forget what the audience needs to hear. (and there are always many ways to do that).

Having spare batteries, laptops and other paraphernalia can demonstrate that you are prepared, but when all else fails, being able to look at your audience and calmly say, "Alright, let's do it another way", demonstrates that you have mastered your intent.

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The Journey to the Self begins "Through the Door!"