Have you ever tried to deliver a pitch deck or other presentation, and the technology just won’t cooperate? Either your computer won’t talk to their projector, or there is some issue with the PowerPoint.

How can you handle these situations in a way that leaves you looking as good or better than you would have if everything had gone perfectly?

I was inspired to write this when some minor technical issues caused a presentation to my angel investment group to go off the rails. The founder was presenting with notes on his phone. He quickly realized that the slides were out of order because somebody loaded an older version of the deck onto our computer.

He became flustered and frustrated while our non-technical admin tried to find the correct version. Minutes went by before he finally gave up and used the document we had. These presentations run on a tight schedule, and there is no credit for the time lost to these kinds of problems. He wasted about a quarter of his total time.

 Unfortunately, using the old version left him scrolling back and forth on his phone to find the notes that corresponded to each of the slides, which were now out of order. He looked unprepared and unfamiliar with his own company.

Unsurprisingly, he did not get any new investors from our group.

I have a few suggestions on how to handle these situations. Technical glitches are inevitable. How you react to them is under your control.

There are two aspects to handling problems with aplomb. The first is proper preparation, and the second is how you react in the moment.

When things go wrong

As soon as you realize there are problems, stop and take a breath. Don’t panic. Shut your mouth and resist the urge to fill the dead air with random blather.

If you can fix it yourself, only spend a few moments trying to solve the problem. If someone else is working on it, don’t wait more than thirty seconds before getting started.

While they are working, ask them to turn off the projector. Nothing is more distracting than watching someone clicking all over a screen in a panic to solve a problem. Everyone will focus on that drama rather than on the message you came to tell. When the screen goes dark, all eyes will be back on you, where they belong.

Launch into your presentation as though your title slide was already showing. Keep the audience’s attention on you, not on the scramble to resolve the issue.

If the problem solvers can’t get things working within a minute, assume it won’t happen and charge forward as though you had never intended to use slides. If, at some point, the deck shows up, you can quickly forward through to where you are and continue with the pitch. However, that only works if you have been speaking in the same order as your slides.

Alternatively, if you are doing well without the slides, just stay on the title and keep going verbally. It looks impressive when you have the command of your presentation and company to speak without the assistance of a slide deck.

Some of my most successful presentations happened when I could not use my slides. At one law enforcement conference, my laptop would not recognize their projector. I was speaking at a law enforcement conference with about two hundred people in the audience. When the announcer introduced me, the techs could not make the connection work.

For the next twenty minutes, I took advantage of the freedom of having no visuals to walk around the stage. I did not need to worry about blocking the slides. I could quickly shift emphasis based on the reaction of the crowd. The whole talk came across as much more informal and personal. In the end, it was a hit.

Inside I was sweating bullets, but they never knew that.

Another time I was in a sales meeting with a government customer. Once again, we could not make the slides work. When I said I was going to present directly, they actually applauded. Don’t underestimate how tired people are of “death by PowerPoint.”

Preparation

Of course, this only works if you can deliver your talk without your deck and speaking notes. That’s where preparation and rehearsal come in. You need to know your material inside and out.

It starts with building the right kind of deck. Your slides should exist to support and amplify the points you’re making. But you are the one making all the points.

The presentation still makes sense if the slides aren’t there and conveys all the critical information. You might be missing some cute graphic or graph, but you will be sharing all the information verbally anyway. The audience doesn’t need the slides to understand the message.

You can still give a coherent presentation when the slides are suddenly unavailable.

Once you have the correct type of deck, the next step is to ween yourself from presenter notes. Don’t use the presenter mode in your software or have extensive notes on your phone or multiple sheets of paper.

Notes are a trap. It is easy to get lost and need to hunt through them to find where you left off, particularly if you get pulled off-script by a question. We have all seen speakers fumbling with their notes, desperately trying to get back on track. It looks panicked and disorganized.

Start by memorizing what you want to say about every slide. Don’t memorize the exact words, but rather know the precise purpose of the slide and the points you need to make. Word-for-word memorization usually comes across as stilted.

Once you can deliver your deck without notes, you are ready for the next step, doing it without slides.

Speaking without slides is challenging because they provide a framework and mental cues for the topics you will cover. Each new slide prompts you with the next point in your presentation.

If you don’t have those prompts, you must memorize all the points in order. Unless your memory is much better than mine, that means using some memorization technique.

I use the “memory palace” method when I have a long, complex presentation I need to memorize. There are many good references on using that and other techniques available on the internet.

However you learn the pitch, you need to practice it ... a lot.

It takes many repetitions to reach the point where you can consistently come in on time and hit all your marks without relying on the deck for support.

If you don’t have time to learn your pitch by heart, or you will only be giving this particular presentation once, then you can create a one-page reference sheet to help you. You might find that it acts more as a security blanket than a reference, giving you the confidence to move on without the slides as a backup.

The one-page note should include only high-level bullets. If you used my advice on titling slides, you could just use the list of your slide titles. Make the font big enough to read easily at arm’s length or on a nearby table. The one-page limit ensures you are never in the position of shuffling through paper or scrolling through a screen to find where you are.

If you always have that sheet in your pocket when you present, you know you won’t get lost at sea when the screen goes dark.

But, if you can present without the notes, that is even better. You will come across as someone in total command of their business and its context. Investors love to see that. It speaks volumes about you as a leader in the company.

I know I am ready to present without any support when I reach a state Bruce Lee called “Mind Like Water.” It is a relaxed state of mind where you can instantly adapt to any changing situation and handle issues and complications without missing a beat. I am not struggling to remember what was next, forgetting to hit key points, or adding extraneous information that causes me to exceed my time limit.

With that mental state, all your presentations are better, even the ones where all the technology works perfectly.

Until next time, ciao!