By now you know we are big fans of TJ Walker, expert on media and presentation training and CEO of Media Training Worldwide and blogger at TJWalker.com.

Many Evoca subscribers embed audio recordings within their PowerPoint presentations, either as a link to the web page with an embedded Flash player (provided by Evoca – standard or customized by you) or from their Evoca Express account. Evoca streams the audio playback from our servers. Player widgets can be for a single recording or playlist.

So we are always on the lookout for good advice about using technology in presentations, especially to incorporate voice recordings that bring PowerPoint slides to life. For example, you can let your own customers or supporters record a testimonial  to enliven a success story or case study. Real people’s voices bring credibility to your assertion that your product or service is the best in the market.

With his permission to publish, here are TJ’s:

Ten rules to follow when you are using technology in a presentation

1.    Assume the worst.
2.    Practice using the technology, that includes the laptop, microphone, projector, speaker, microphone, laser and anything that you are going to use in front of people you should practice in advance.
3.    Practice in the same environment as you will be giving your final presentation, i.e., if you are presenting to 400 people in a conference hall using a big projector, then practice in that hall or one similar. Don’t simply practice on your laptop in a hotel room because it’s easy to do anything with your laptop in a hotel room and this will give you a false sense of confidence.
4.    When microphones [and speakers] break and computers freeze, don’t panic and don’t complain. If there is a tech person around, calmly mention that your microphone is no longer working and ask for help. If you computer freezes, calmly restart it without drawing attention to your problems.
5.    Have a plan B. If your PowerPoint stops working, just be ready to talk to people using nothing more than your paper notes.
6.   Test all technology either right before you speak (if possible) or during the largest break of the day (breakfast, lunch or dinner) preceding your presentation so that you can make sure you know how everything works.
7.    If you get lots of feedback from a microphone, just stop talking and step back. This solves most problems right away.
8.   Never, ever try to learn any piece of technology in front of people. Every laptop keyboard is slightly different; every remote control is different. It’s really tough to learn anything new when you have the tension associated with being in front of people and they are staring at you.
9.    If you are going to use PowerPoint with video clips [and/or audio clips] and use a microphone, give yourself an extra hour to rehearse in the room where you will be presenting—because there are a million things that can go wrong.
10.    Never forget, the presentation is about the ideas you have to help, inform, inspire and educate you audience, the presentation is not about your technology.

About Evoca

Evoca (http://www.evoca.com/) is a leading global Voice-to-Web services provider, enabling businesses, organizations and individuals to easily create, post, and share fresh, engaging voice recordings using any phone, Skype™, and its browser microphone. Evoca Express is available as a free 30-day trial, Pro, Local, or Toll-free subscriptions. It provides voice recording and online digital content distribution services through its highly scalable “Software-as-a-Service” media platform, providing worldwide public phone numbers, as well as dedicated local and toll-free telephone numbers available in over 45 countries and more than 5,000 cities around the globe.

Evoca’s Twitter audio update feature, TweeVoca, enables posting of audio recordings to this popular micro-blogging site. Evoca subscribers can also share recordings on Facebook, MySpace, websites, and blogs by posting digital media players streamed by Evoca. Large organizations and partners can license, Evoca Enterprise, its multi-media platform delivered through a flexible interface (RESTful HTTP API – applications programming interface).

For more information, visit www.evoca.com or contact Evoca at +1.212.372.7670, toll-free U.S./Canada +1-866-940-9988, businessdevelopment@evoca.com, use our online contact form http://www.evoca.com/contact.php, or record your message using our Skype call recorder contact: evoca-bizdev-call-recorder. Any Evoca Express subscriber can receive the Evoca Express webinar training schedule by emailing: customerservice@evoca.com.