Two must have items for a polished professional presentation are a remote control or “clicker” and a monitor of some kind.
A clicker gives you control of your presentation without having to interrupt your delivery to walk over to your laptop and manually advance each slide. Or worse yet having to ask someone to babysit your laptop and advance the slides when you request them. Both of these scenarios cause you as the presenter to step out of your role as the speaker and deal with the technology — even if only for a second. Both disrupt the flow of your delivery and are distracting to the audience — making you look not in control and unprofessional.
I would suggest purchasing your own remote even if the venue for your presentation has one. They are for the most part universally cross-compatible and not too expensive. Bring extra batteries.
The monitor, unless it is your laptop, is not something you are expected to provide — but it is none the less critical to the success of your performance. Having a monitor in front of you, in your line of sight, allows you to see the slide that the audience is seeing without having to turn your head and look at the screen.
Always check out your speaking area in advance and, if possible, do a run through with the actual equipment you will use for the presentation. Can you position yourself and your laptop so that you can see the screen clearly when you stand to the side, out of the projector beam? If there is a provided monitor, is it compatible with your laptop and cabling? Is it in a good position for you to speak and still see the screen? If the using a provided system is it compatible with your presentation? What are the optimum areas where you can stand and still engage well with the audience? Does the remote work, are the batteries fresh and do you understand which buttons do what?
Having the right tools and doing a walk through before hand will add substantially to your confidence, your professionalism and the audience’s feeling that you are the expert in control.
