Murphy's Law states: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." This is especially true and especially painful when there is an audience involved.

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This blog was active from April, 2008 to July 2012.
It is no longer being updated. It will continue to be maintained for reference purposes.

The Weekly Might Have Missed List (08/23/08)

Geek News Central: Richard Cheese the Ultimate Classless Act — A case study in how to not treat your audience.

The Public Speaking Blog: Book Talk at DP Architects (and What To Do When PPT Fails You) — “The reason why I am asking this question is because it happened to me! Everything was fine till the final minute. My laptop was connected to the projector but no matter what I do, nothing seem to appear on the screen.”

Corporate Presenter: Another TV Presenter Blooper — “A tv presenter must always do his/her research, otherwise you look stupid. And as for the mic handling – rubbish.”

Speak Schmeak: Where do you put your notes? — “Ideally, you will make these arrangements with the organizer of your talk well before the day of the presentation. This is a critical part of your preparation, making sure that all the equipment you need is available.” And Using a lectern: do or don’t? — “But using a lectern is problematic for several reasons.”

Can You Hear Me Up the Back?: Can You Kick The Lectern Habit? — “Here are five reasons why lecterns are bad for your presentation.”

Great Public Speaking: Audio Failure — “Wouldn’t you know it? I just got my laptop back from getting fixed because it was locking up. That problem was fixed beautifully, but the shop must have done something to mess up the headphone / audio output jack which I never thought to check.”

The New Yorker: Going for gold in the bimonthly status meeting by John Kenney — “Al, this is an event dominated by the Dutch, the Swiss, and, to a great extent, the North Koreans. These are active participants in bi-monthly status meetings, people who really prepare, whereas Americans- new to the sport-tend to be far more lethargic, taking it more as a pastime than as something to really prepare for.”

The AV Report: How Many Screens and Lumens? — Make sure you don’t undermine your presentations with the wrong projector or room set up. And Before You Play Back Audio or Video from Your Laptop Computer… — “Bottom line – until all computers and projectors get along in the real world (not the product literature world), AV presentations must be checked and double checked through the exact equipment which will be used on the day of a presentation.”

The Power of Reflection: Presentation Skills: How to Handle Cell Phone Interruptions During a Meeting

Advanced Presentation by Design: A new book about the Extreme Presentation method

The Weekly Might Have Missed List (07/27/08)

(Diigo bookmark list)

Speak Schmeak: Don’t waste time talking about time — “She didn’t say it just once. In the course of her 20-minute presentation, she mentioned that she didn’t have enough time about five times.”

Loot Ninja: Konami Exec Fails at Her Own Game — “This lady is a Senior Product Manager, but has some of the worst microphone skills I have ever seen. She starts her talk by calling the crowd “lame”, that should get everyone into it. … Overall this lady needs to be booted from public speaking and never allowed to play a video game in front of a crowd.”

The AV Report: Would You Like a Mac Dongle With That? — “When I asked three (3) Mac users if we could try a Mac to run the slides from, not one of them were able to do it because they didn’t have their Mac VGA dongle with them! It’s just one more item to add to a checklist, but often forgotten about. I’ve seen three versions of this dongle/adapter – DVI, Mini-DVI and Micro-DVI! Which do you have?”

Shane Gibson: Blogathon 2008 – Entry #1 – Murphy’s Law — “What this means is if you are going to a clients office to demonstrate software or a web application we must assume and prepare for the following circumstances.”

Pro Humorist: Presentations: Fast Tip — “If you get the two muddled up, as people invariably do, then you’ll find yourself having to get permanent marker off whiteboards. Not fun.”

Face2Face: Privacy? What’s that? — :Cindy relates the tale of an association that found something from their meeting on YouTube that they really, really didn’t want to be out there for the world to see.”

Man In The Mirror: Check This “Avoid At All Costs” List.