Oops! Now, what? When things go wrong on stage!

This article is intended to help presenters and speakers prepare for unwanted or unexpected situations that could happen on stage. From over 30 years of humble corporate experience, where I had given hundreds of presentations and coached many colleagues and friends in the same area, I observed that very few presenters would bother going through a much-needed discovery exercise about their audience and the venue they will be speaking at. They just go to that hall and think they’d wing it! It is sad for people to think that way. It is even more sad that experiences pass by unevaluated.

I was speaking once to a crowd of over 250 people in one of the local hotels. As usual, I went through the ritual of sending my questionnaire to the meeting organizer. I normally include questions about the audience, the venue and my requirements as a speaker. Yet this time, I made a big assumption. Since the venue was a reputable hotel, my assumption was that the room, the stage, the sound, the equipment were all going to be flawless. The organizers have conducted several similar events before. I was wrong! The screen was awkwardly positioned and the size of projection was too small to be seen by audiences in the back of the hall. More awkwardly, the room was divided by a partition to separate genders (fortunately, this is no longer the case). My attempts to relocate the screen didn’t work. It had to be placed exactly behind me and in the middle, where my shadow and me kept blocking the screen as I moved on the stage. The acoustics in the hall were far from professional and affected the quality of all speakers. Sound issues, projection issues, laptop issues, were all challenges. Since video streaming was needed for the ladies’ side, bright lights were a constant nuance! Not only that rendered the hall really warm, but also affected the quality of projected material!

As if all the above was not enough, by the evening (the time of my speech), I was completely drained physically and mentally. Had I not been in the middle of a crowd, I would have dosed off. And since I am a tough evaluator of myself, I gave me a very low mark that evening, despite some good interest by the audience! All in all, it was a good lesson learned. Here are a few tips to help you avoid similar situations:

1. Never, ever underestimate the effect of the venue on you as a speaker.
2. Never take for granted the quality of the hotel; names do not tell the quality of the meeting room.
3. Have good rest the night before you speak. A 20-30 minute exercise in the morning would give you a good dose of energy and clarity.
4. Always include questions about the venue in your list to the organizers.
5. If convenient, visit the meeting hall a day or few hours ahead of your slotted speaking time to assess if different arrangements to the stage, equipment, podium etc. are needed. If so, speak to the organizers to see what can and what cannot be done. Adjust accordingly. If you can’t physically visit, ask the organizers to send you images of the venue, including the speaking platform.
6. If you have slides, be prepared to start presenting even if there are some technical issues with projection. This means that you should pretty much know the content of the first 3-4 slides, if not more. Alternatively, have your slides printed and use the print if you have to. The show must go on!
7. There will always be surprises. Respond calmly, and try to adjust to the new situation. If it’s a show stopper, like if the sound system suddenly malfunctions and you are in a big hall, ask the organizers to fix immediately.
8. If there are speakers ahead of you and you happen to sit through their presentations, alert the organizers to any observation that may detract from your performance. In fact, do it immediately to help those speaking ahead of

Remember, as a speaker you will go through many experiences, good and bad. It’s important that you reflect on those experiences, assess them, and see how you can make your future speaking engagement much more valuable to the audience. Experience alone won’t help you. Evaluated experience will.