But what if your computer fails or breaks?

Most presenters also carry a USB flash drive (also called pen drives or USB sticks) with a backup copy of the presentation. An excellent idea. This of course assumes there will be another pc available (with the same operating system as yours)  that can be connected to the projection system.

Should you feel safe with a backup copy of your slides on a USB stick?

I have found that this is not always sufficient.

Carrying your PowerPoint presentation on a memory stick may not be enough to recreate the presentation “system” that you have on your laptop.  Your laptop is configured to correctly show videos of different types (Windows Media, Quicktime, …) , play DVDs, and has a copy of your presentation software that is aligned with your presentation.  Someone else’s pc may not be configured to play the QuickTime videos you want to show, or the DVDs, or may not have PowerPoint installed. Classrooms frequently have old notebook pc’s  connected to the projection system, with older operating systems that may not have the features you have on your pc.

Luckily some programs can be quickly installed.

This is the case with the Apple QuickTime Player and the Microsoft PowerPoint viewer.

But… have you ever considered that the pc you might be using for the emergency may not have administrative rights, and therefore it will not allow software installation? What happens then?  Will you find a technical support person in time to change access rights to the pc and allow you to do this?  Probably not, if it’s an emergency situation. I have seen this happen, so you need to be prepared.

I have recently coached a customer who needed to prepare PowerPoint presentations and who also wished to travel only with a USB flash drive, but be ready for all kinds of emergencies. The solution I developed for him consisted in customizing his USB drive with portable programs. Here are two useful programs that run from your flash drive:

1. VLCPortable

VLC is a well-known media player that comes in a portable version.It supports various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, WMV, mp3, ogg, …) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.

2. PowerPoint Viewer

Microsoft offers free PowerPoint viewers for versions 2003, 2007 and 2010. The 2010 Microsft PowerPoint Viewer can also view presentations created with previous versions.  Unfortunately though the viewer cannot be installed to a portable drive. It must be installed to a target pc and requires around 270MB of hard disk space.  There is a work-around for this, if you have a version of PowerPoint on your pc (which you should, if it’s your presentation software): use the “Package to CD” command.  The resulting installation also has the advantage of taking much, much less space (approximately 6 MB).

There are many other programs that can be run from flash drives.  PortableApps.com is an open and free platform with many programs designed to be installed on USB memory sticks or other portable memory devices.  It even has a menu system to make them easily accessible. It’s worth taking a look!  A program to unzip files, an antivirus program and a personalized browser could also come in handy.

To avoid other types of technical problems when presenting, take a look at my free checklist: “Eight Secrets for Impeccable Presentations.” No registration is required.

If you have other tips or know of alternative portable software that can be used to survive presentation emergencies, for both Mac or Windows platforms, add a comment below.

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photo credit: amonja

A few things to note:

• You must have a Windows Live SkyDrive account (free) in order to participate (Sky Drive is a Microsoft site for storing documents and files on-line, offering 25GB of free storage)
• You must upload at least one Office document to the public folder
• You must switch the language to English

The rest seems pretty automatic.

I followed the procedure, but was not very lucky as I started to build my first presentation.  I got source code appearing on the slides, just by entering  some simple text!

This is the result (click on the screenshot to enlarge):

Hopefully the problems will be fixed and I will be able to do further testing.

I am a very satisfied user of a wireless remote made by Kensington. It has a USB dongle that you connect to a USB port on the pc you need to control. The dongle fits inside the remote when not in use. This presentation remote is compatible with Windows computers and Macs.

The model number is 33062, not on sale any longer, but there is a similar one which is model S600 Wireless Presenter, or the Kensington 33374 Wireless Presenter with Laser Pointer. You can see it in the Kensington web site, along with other types of presentation remotes. You can also buy it through Amazon (affiliate link).

When start to notice that the remote control is not advancing the slides in a smooth way, it means the battery is running out of juice and it’s time to change it. This is an easy operation, you just need a tiny philips screwdriver to open the battery compartment. What is not easy is figuring out what battery type to buy, as there are many small circular batteries on the market. Last year I called the Kensington technical support number to ask what battery to buy, but the technician was unable to help me. During the call, as I waited, I was searching for the answer on the internet, and I found the answer before they did! The correct battery is a lithium battery type 2032, available at supermarkets everywhere.

The remote control also has a laser pointer. (the top button). The other buttons are to go forward one slide or back one slide, and the one on below is used to show a white slide, the equivalent of pressing the “W” key in PowerPoint (the letter used is language-dependent).

I recommend the use of a remote control to everyone who makes frequent presentations. It allows the speaker to move around in the room and not have to remain very near the computer or podium.

Have you downloaded “Eight Secrets for Impeccable Presentations” ?  This is a free pdf checklist available for your download from this site. You will learn what to check and test before you go on stage for your next presentation.  Request your free copy now by clicking on the report title.

I have collaborated to make the Italian version of his Chart Chooser tool, usuful to select the best type of graphic representation for data. Often people choose a pie, bar or line chart for no particular reason, and the resulting slide is not effective at communicating the desired message.

Here are the links where you can find all language versions of the Chart Chooser: Chart Chooser diagram (many languages) and the English version downloadable pdf.

Some people might think that podcasting is the domain of high-tech firms. I think that podcasting can be used by any company or professional to promote any type of product or service on the Internet.

Making a video podcast is similar to making an effective presentation with PowerPoint. The software tool used can in fact be the same, but further software is needed in the production phase to add audio and make the final video.

Recently I have worked on a couple of video podcasts, both in Italian and English, to promote new varieties of flowering plants. A nice change from the networking world! I have loaded these podcasts on popular Web 2.0 sites like Slideshare , YouTube, and Screencast. I find YouTube to have very good video resolution, while GoogleVideo, for example, reduces resolution and does not show to our satisfaction, so we decided not to use it. Screencast also has good resolution, but it needs a display area of 640×480 to show off its capabilities. My blog has a smaller central column, so the embedded screencast suffers a bit. If you view it in Screencast, it is much better.

Here are some embedding examples, you can decide which displays better. First is Screencast, then YouTube, then Slideshare.