Propresenter Keynote
Roy Dassow
So, I run weekly presentations using both propresenter and keynote. After upgradeing to Mavericks, but still using keynote 09 and propresenter, everything was fine. While running propresenter, and projecting the propresenter presentation to a secondary moniter, I would hit "play" on keynote 09 and it would show up on the secondary monitor just fine. When I would end the slide show, pro presenter would still be up and running on the secondary display.
When I upgraded to Keynote 6.0, things changed. now when I hit play when running propresenter I cannot get the keynote slideshow to the second monitor. When I hit "x" on my keyboard I can toggle on the primary display between the presentation and the presentor display. When Propresenter is not displaying to the secondary monitor keynote 6.0 is able to display on the secondary monitor. There must be something keeping keynote 6.0 from displaying on a secondary moniter when something else is also using it, even though keynote 09 does that just fine. I have tried lots of combinations under the apple system preferences/mission control, and have not had any luck yet.
In Pro-Presenter, go to preferences, and then display preferences, and unselect the checkmark in the Display at Top Most Window Layer. Now Keynote will be able to be at that top layer and when you quit it will leave the Pro-Presenter display up.
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I'm often asked for tips and tricks from other public speakers, or those who aspire to be public speakers on what I do differently to ensure a great event from both the organiser and the audience perspective.
I provide them with the same simple tips I have shared below, because I believe there are some things any speaker can do that will take you from being a good speaker to a great public speaker, and this doesn't have anything to do with your speaking delivery or style, it comes down to how you approach each event and your attitude towards the teams that support you.
I recently presented to the team at Speaker's Corner (where I am listed as one of their speakers) about how I approach any speaking engagement. I started off by telling them that I've actually produced large scale conferences and events in Australia.
Back in 2002, I produced the Property Industry Foundation gala dinner at Sydney Town Hall (500 person sit-down dinner), as well as the Rotary International District 9750 Conference in 2001. This meant that as a volunteer I developed the whole event, booked the speakers, organised the volunteers, booked all the tech and on the night was the one at the back of the room "calling the show" on headphones.
When I tell event organisers this, they immediately relax. They realise that I've done their job before and know exactly how stressful it can be on the day. They also know that I will make sure that my part (providing the keynote address) will go without a hitch and I will be one less thing they have to worry about.
While I realise many people reading this post may not have had the same event production experience, if you follow some of my tips below you will become the organiser's best friend and ensure that your presentation is well received by the audience and the event crew. It also means that you might be booked again, or have others recommend you - including those from the event team.
1. Arrive early at the venue. This may be obvious, but as someone who has produced large shows before, knowing the guest speaker/keynote presenter is actually in the building early reduces the stress levels considerably.
Being early means that you can survey the venue and check out the stage, sight lines, lighting and acoustics. If you have to modify your delivery because of any of these, then being there early will give you the chance to do this.
2. Find and befriend the tech team. I cannot underestimate this point. The tech team will be your partners before and during your talk - you need them to understand any of your technical requirements well before you step on the stage.
In the main shot above, I am pictured meeting AV Technician Richard at the 5P conference in London. Having arrived well before my speaking slot (closing keynote) we had plenty of time to talk through what I needed.
Richard was kind enough to run a cable to allow me to present with my laptop on stage. While taking this photo, I asked him if it made a difference to him if presenters make themselves known and personally meet the teach team. A huge difference was the answer.
I've also found that by knowing the team by name, when things do go wrong (and they inevitably do), they will have your back because you've made a personal investment in meeting them and treating them as an equal.
This setup is often not what is provided when I arrive. Most organisers are reluctant to allow you to present from your own laptop because they want to run everything from the show laptop at the AV desk to prevent messy changeovers.
I always push this point (my own laptop on stage) and if you are there early and have befriended the tech team then you are more likely to get your way on this. If you are not doing a main opening/closing keynote then they may be more reluctant to do this.
4. Speak to the person taking photographs - and let them know you're the keynote speaker etc. I always do this and as a result have had some amazing photos taken of me in full flight.
5. Embed ALL your videos and sound files on your laptop locally. If you need to use the venue WiFi to play a video - it will fail (and you will look super unprofessional).
All recent versions of PowerPoint allow you to embed and play videos locally, from your PC or Mac. You absolutely must take the time to ensure all your media plays locally from your laptop, and seamlessly (no finding the mouse on the screen to click the play button as you are presenting..). Set the video to "play automatically" from the PowerPoint video settings.
6. Video your presentation. This last point is not trivial. I bought my video kit more than year ago and I have literally taken it around the world with me and filmed every public speaking engagement. I seem to be the ONLY keynote presenter to do this!
Firstly - I can see how well (or not) I presented that day. I can review what worked well and how the audience interacted. I can correct mistakes for the next talk and also make overall content and delivery improvements.
I have found that by viewing my talks back after each event I have significantly improved my delivery style and stage presence. Practice does make perfect, as does the ability to critically review each and every presentation soon after.
If I quickly edit the talk, I can have it up on my site later in the day, in time to tweet "in case you missed my talk..." along with the link and the event hashtag. This means that I'm the only keynote speaker you can watch again while still at the event (or somewhere around the world following the tweets).
Secondly - As a result of the videos I produce, I own the content and the copyright and therefore I don't have to wait for the organiser to produce and publish the footage. I of course always ask for permission to film (no-one has ever denied this request), and always offer the raw footage to the organiser.
When I was assembling my professional presenter showreel earlier this year, I literally had dozens of talks to choose from, all recorded in high definition, with perfect audio, and with full permission to use the footage.
It amazes me that other presenters ask me how I manage to do this. Perhaps I am the only one silly enough to lug a camera kit around the world (and through airport security where they always get excited by the cables, antennas and batteries in my bag).
7. Stick to time! Again this may seem completely obvious, but how many of you have been to an event where the opening keynote has gone way overtime and as a result everything else suffers, and later presenters are often given less time to speak as a result. If I have been given 35 minutes to speak then I speak for 35:00 minutes exactly (or less).
How do I do this? I always take my iPad up on stage and have it running an countdown timer app called pClock (short for Presenter Clock) so I am always exactly on time. As I near the end of my allotted time, I can speed up or slow down as required to land on the exact timings.
8. Rehearse! I can not stress this enough. Not rehearsing means you don't care about your message, your audience, or your personal brand. Nailing that first 90 seconds is key to grab the audience. I always run through my slides and time them multiple times before I go anywhere near a stage. My friend and fellow presenter Jeremy Waite has seem me in rehearsal mode, backstage at the Royal Geographical Society before my first TEDx talk in 2014, pacing backwards and forwards and I practiced over and over again.
Camera: I use a Sony FDR-AX33 - 4K/HD camera. The camera can also stream live via Ustream. It has WiFi that allows me to check the angle and framing coming from the stage remotely on stage using my iPhone and an app called Play Memories from Sony. It records onto a SD card and I use a 128GB card which allows for around 5 hours of continuous filming.
I also use large capacity camera batteries and always try to plug into a power outlet. The picture below shows the camera fitted with the Sony UWP-D11 wireless diversity receiver mentioned below in the audio section.
Tripod: I use only Manfrotto tripods. One is a compact with a 3 way head - and this is small enough to fit in my suitcase. It extends to a full 165cms / 65 inches so it will shoot over the heads of a seated audience if placed at the back.
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