Part of preparing to give a sharp, professional presentation is attending to the details. Certainly on your checklist should be how you set up your projector and whether or not you make sure your slides fit on the screen appropriately. It may be a small thing but making sure your images are the right size, squared up and in focus is a subtle message to your audience that you are the real deal.
This almost blank slide can help you set that up. It is simply a first slide that has a full frame black rectangle with a white border and some text. Project this slide when you are setting everything up. Do you see all the white frame edges? Is it rectangular or do you need to adjust the distortion up and down or left and right (keystone effect)? Do you have optimum zoom and focus? If this slide projects well then you know all your slides will be sharp and fit on the screen without being distorted or cut off.
You can then advance to your real first slide and be ready to stand and deliver.
