Sparkie's Ten Commandments #5

Thou shalt prepare for (nearly) every eventuality and be flexible in thine approach to thine event.

It doesn't well you have laid your plans for your presentation, or workshop - the law of sod will sometimes intervene.

As a presenter, it pays to be adaptable. To be flexible. To go with the flow.
The more you consider and even plan for such changes, the better you are likely to react when at the last moment:

* swine-flu puts half your audience into quarantine the night before your event
* the electricity fails five seconds before you power up an incredible video clip (or more likely the bulb blows in the projector)
* the person before you overruns and your time is cut in half and what's more they nearly killed your audience with PowerPoint and they are now semi-comatose
* you find out that your delegates have just been given 30 days consultation before the organisation closes for good

The key to being a great presenter is to be able to think on your feet, and change your direction.

For each of the elements you have planned in your session - your chunks of talking, discussions, interactive exercises, planning or coaching sessions - consider the "what if" options.

What if I have twice or half as long to do this - what would I do?
What if I have more or fewer people at the event - what would I do?
What if the technology fails - what would I do?

By thinking through these options, and having an answer in most cases, then you will be a whole lot better prepared and able to respond if (not when) something does change.

If you have designed your session around core NEED TO KNOW information or skills, then making these changes is much much easier than if you have a long script that rambles. But more of that in commandment #6.