According to statistics, about 65.7% of business owners prepare the entire presentation independently. So, most of the burden of carrying presentation-related equipment will fall on you.
And a business presentation includes so much more than making slides and remembering their contents.
When you have to impress clients or business partners through a presentation, you must carry many things with you into the presentation room.
This is especially true if you’re doing it somewhere other than your office. So here’s a last-moment checklist for your day!
Handouts for the audience
If your presentation is a fairly big one, you might want to consider printing a few handouts that contain the basic aspects of the presentation.
The handouts don’t have to be anything overly fancy; they should just have the basic information about your company, the purpose of the presentation, and the expected outcomes.
You can even print out the slides from the presentation and add them to the handouts so that everyone involved can refer to a physical copy of your work. Finally, make the fonts legible and clean, and add any necessary diagrams.
Laser pointer or remote
While this isn’t an absolute necessity, carrying a laser pointer or remote control with you when you’re giving the presentation is still an advantage.
For example, if your slides contain a lot of points or you’re elaborating on each point, then a laser pointer will come in handy.
You can also carry a presentation remote that will switch slides without having to go back and forth to the laptop and then manually change the slides.
Moreover, if there are animations or videos, you can also control them through the remote. Simply buy one and carry it in your pocket for convenience.
Pen drive
An absolute must is to carry a pen drive that contains a backup copy of your presentation and other important documents.
You never know when the presentation file on your laptop might crash or your laptop itself might stop working.
In this situation, you don’t want others to think you’re ill-prepared. Otherwise, that can give a bad impression of your brand.
But if you have a backup of the presentation of the pen drive or USB stick, you can easily plug it into a spare laptop and continue with the slides. This will not only save you time but also impress your audience.
Business cards
Many business owners don’t carry their company business cards with them during a presentation, but that’s actually a mistake.
Remember, your business cards are your brand’s identity. So, you must use any opportunity that you get to let people know more about your company and its products.
After your presentation, you can hand out these cards and talk with each recipient.
This will prove to be effective when someone remembers your company and calls you up later. So order business cards and always carry at least one stack with you.
Laptop charger
Even if you have charged your laptop all night, you never know when it might run out of battery. And there’s nothing worse than your laptop shutting down in the middle of a presentation and you scrambling to find a spare charger.
To avoid this hassle, always make sure that you carry the power cable along with the laptop.
If you can’t seem to find the regular laptop charger, carry a laptop power bank that can be plugged into the laptop sockets.
Otherwise, you can also ask the venue management team to have an extra charger on the presentation day.
Microphone or headset
You won’t need to carry a microphone if you’re conducting the presentation in a small enclosed space, such as a regular meeting room.
But if you have to present at a banquet hall in front of a large gathering, it’s best to carry a microphone or headset to make it easier for the people at the back.
While most management teams prepare a mic for large events and halls, you should still be doubly sure.
A good headset costs quite less but can prove effective, especially if the presentation venue is outdoors and there’s a lot of background noise.
Presentation notes
Presentation notes can be useful, especially if this is your first big presentation.
Anyone, even experienced professionals, forget a few lines here and there. And while feeling overwhelmed or nervous is understandable, it can make the audience bored or confused.
On the other hand, if you have small presentation cards with you, you’ll understand the cue and how to keep your flow going.
Ensure the cards are properly labeled and written so you can quickly understand what the slide is about.
Water bottle
Now, this isn’t directly related to the presentation. But if you carry one or two bottles of water, it can change your entire game.
Most people are nervous about their big day and often prefer to carry at least one water bottle to take regular sips before the presentation.
This will calm you down and hydrate you. You might think that you’ll get water at the venue. But there can always be a situation where they run out of bottled water, or you may not see any nearby.
Moreover, if you have your water, it will also make you feel more comfortable.
Perfume and mints
Again, this doesn’t have anything to do with the presentation itself. However, if you sprinkle a bit of perfume on yourself right before the presentation and chew a few breath mints, you’ll notice how much the crowd appreciates you.
You don’t need to spend hours grooming yourself in the bathroom, but it’s important to walk into the room and smell nice.
Suppose you’ve had a heavy lunch with onions or tried to drive away the jitters by smoking. You can easily get rid of that smell using perfume and mints.
Over to you
So, dear reader, for your next big PowerPoint presentation, ensure you have everything safely tucked inside your laptop bag or briefcase!
