The Most Common Technology Failures and How We Should Avoid Them

That’s right…I said we. Meaning your organization and mine. Some of the problems described below have easy fixes, while others require more prudent planning. I’m certain that you’ve experienced all of them — either hosting or attending an event.

The most common problems fall into four categories: Sound, Projector, Presentation and Lighting.

Sound

Microphone Problems

When your presenter’s mic doesn’t work due to feedback, echoing or in and out sound you have a conundrum. Feedback is often caused because the presenter gets too close to the sound system, echoing and cutting out are usually audio problems on the soundboard.

If you don’t address this issue right away, your audience will leave or tune out. What good is a great message if no one can hear it?

Microphone Solutions

• Mark how far in each direction a speaker can move without causing feedback.
• With each speaker, test the audio several hours before your conference.
• Keep an AV tech onsite for an immediate remedy.

Projector Problems

The speaker insists on bringing their own laptop, but when they arrive it’s not compatible with the LCD projector. Or halfway into their presentation, the projector lightbulb goes out.

Projector Solutions

• To avoid any presenter meltdowns because their system won’t connect to yours, insist they send you their deck several days ahead of time. Load all presentations on your laptop rental and test connectivity to the projector several hours before the meeting.
• If they insist on using their own computer, have on hand a variety of adapters that can be used to connect to the projector.
• If the lamp goes out, call for a brief break and swap out the unit.

 

Presentation Problems

You have the wrong monitor size for your audience. Or you have the right size, but the presentation won’t render to it.

From a presentation standpoint, your speaker has far too many slides and all of them are crowded with tiny text. When this happens the presenter rushes through the material and starts to read the slides, both are big turn offs for attendees.

Presentation Solutions

• Make sure you have large monitors stationed around the room so the last seat in the last row can see the presentation clearly.
• Work with your AV provider, to make sure every presentation uses the entire screen.
• Limit the number of slides each presenter can have. Review each deck for too much text. Make recommendations how they can improve.

Lighting Problems

Your room either has too much light or not enough. You don’t have any windows in the room so natural light isn’t coming in. You have some specialized lighting, but it’s all wrong for the meeting.

Lighting Solutions

• When on a venue walkthrough, ask to see all the rooms with different lighting options.
• If you choose a room with windows, have curtains or blinds if you need to close them.
• Work with your lighting specialist to choose the right system to meet your goals.

 

Final Advice for Coping with These Problems from Rentacomputer.com

As you have just read, many of these problems are preventable. We are a nationally recognized rental provider of event rentals. We can provide you with the best advice to solve these problems and will always treat your event as if it was our own. Give us a call at 800-736-8772 to speak with one of our expert account representatives.

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