When I was starting out in my career, PowerPoint had just been launched and it certainly wasn’t as widely used as today. In those days, the old fashioned projectors using transparency slides still dominated the workplace. The presenter would turn up, turn on the projector and place a transparency on top of the machine. Once he had finished speaking about one slide, he had to select a new transparency and switch it with the existing one.

The problem with continually switching transparencies in this way was that the flow of the presentation was interrupted. Although each change would normally only take a few seconds to execute, the effect of seeing the presenter manually switching the slides had the tendency to create a stop-start effect. This constant short break in the proceedings often inhibited the potential for a truly fluid and natural presentation.

The stop-start syndrome is still with us

With the technology available today, presenters really shouldn’t suffer from this problem anymore. However, despite the undoubted benefits of PowerPoint, many still suffer from the stop-start syndrome. Instead switching old fashioned transparencies, some presenters still use the PC keyboard or mouse to move the slides on.  Although this doesn’t take as long as the old style transparency switch, the stop-start effect it creates is similar.

Typically, a presenter finishes speaking about one slide and then moves a couple of steps across the podium, before bending over to hit a button on the keyboard to move to the next slide.  This only takes a couple of seconds, but the unconscious signal it sends to the audience is that there is a break in the presentation. As this occurs repeatedly for five, ten or more slides, the presentation loses flow.

Use a presentation remote control

For a smoother presentation that isn’t interrupted in this way, try using a presentation remote control. The best devices a ‘plug and play’ and connect very quickly to a PC via the USB port. A remote control will give you so much more freedom when presenting. No longer will you have to stay close to the PC and use the keyboard or mouse each time to move to the next slide. You will find that you will be able to deliver a more natural and fluid presentation, whilst gaining  the freedom to fully engage with the audience using body language, eye contact and facial expressions. And, by combining the use of a remote control device with effective verbal transitions,  you will find that you are able to deliver more fluid and professional presentations.