The day of the big presentation to the executive board has arrived. Anne walks into the conference room thirty minutes early to organize her presentation materials and begin setting up necessary cabling in the room.
She runs through her mental checklist as she accomplishes tasks – plugging in her laptop, powering up the overhead projector, turning the light on and off to see what was easiest to see the screen. She concludes her pre-presentation set-up and sits waiting for the team to arrive, hoping she hasn’t forgotten anything.
Across the building in a different room, Mark is wrapping up his weekly presentation to his sales teammates. As usual, Mark arrived just on time and spent the first fifteen minutes trying to get the presentation equipment to work.
During the meeting, he muddled through a couple of minor technology hiccups with the audio as participants called in, and he turned off the light halfway through the meeting in order to see the display a bit better. As the meeting concludes late and participants rush out to make the next meeting, his friend jokes about the audio issues and how long it took to fix.
Are your users more like Anne? Or do they tend to be like Mark? More importantly, have you considered what these two different approaches are costing you?
At Mechdyne, we work with “Anne’s” and “Mark’s” and every other style between. We have found that following the READY checklist, a meeting organizer can reduce pre-room prep time, meeting troubleshooting, and time overruns, which in turn frees up IT resources and saves you money.
R—Right Content
E—Equipment Setup
A—Audio and Display
D—Dim the Lights
Y—Your Agenda
R—Right Content
Is the right content—PowerPoint, online presentation, video, or Word documents—easily accessible? If you think that the group may want to dive deeper into a topic, your supporting content should be easily accessible. If you are using a presentation room computer, verify that the right applications and media players are accessible. Find Ethernet connections in unfamiliar rooms, or connect to the Wi-Fi.
E—Equipment Setup
Do not assume prior meetings have left the equipment in the right configuration. Check what connections you will need – HDMI, VGA, audio—and verify that you have the right cabling. If you are bringing equipment into the room, be sure if it charged or you have access to a power supply. Remember: projectors take time to warm up.
A—Audio and Display
Play a sound clip to confirm that the audio is working and volume is appropriate. Bring up your presentation on the display. If you are not feeling confident with this process, keep the help desk number accessible.
D—Dim the Lights
Think back to Mark’s presentation and how he flipped the lights off. When was the last time you were left squinting at a screen because it wasn’t bright enough? Think through the atmosphere of the room. Lowering the lighting or closing the blinds can create a more comfortable environment and improve the display quality. In some rooms, you may find the opposite is true.
Y—Your Agenda
Even the most well-prepared meeting space won’t result in a successful meeting without a well-organized agenda. Spend some time outlining your meeting topics so you are just as prepared as the room.
Minimize your users’ prep time and presentation anxiety by standardizing your rooms and increasing their usability. For example, tag wires with colored tape and have a quick start guide in the room about how to use each wire.