How to Present, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 17Setting up the room for live presentations

It's true that we want our audience's full attention for as much of our presentation as possible. We know that most people find concentrating on a presenter's message difficult when there are distractions around, so it is critical that you remove all distractions from your personal presentation and your room.

If you have ever been to a presentation where the presenter from the session before left the room in a messy state, you will know how difficult it is to concentrate on what the presenter is saying. I have seen many a meeting room with the previous presenter's drawings still on the whiteboard, handouts and papers still on the tables, and all the old coffee cups and muffin wrappers strewn across the tables — yuck! It's time to listen to the wise words of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who said, ‘Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected'.

The theory of managing distractions in your presentation room is called ‘zenning' the space: it is the art of managing people's unconscious responses. Unconscious responses are the responses people have that they don't even know they are having. Interesting, hey?

In this chapter, I take you through setting up the room to your advantage during in-person presentations. For help with your set-up during online presentations, see chapter 19.

The best room set-up

The key to a good room set-up is to respect your audience and remove as many ...