Best option for doing a presentation with a projector

I would go the wired route.

The most important thing though, is to get to the place early and set everything up.

I would avoid the phone option, do you have a way of showing as a grab from your phone transferred to your laptop.

Is it a slot at a conference? Most have tech support and normally ask for your stuff in advance.

Ask the organisers for some advice.

Buy a USB-C converter that has HDMI and VGA outputs. Try to find a projector or monitor with both those inputs and test your laptop with the converter and your own cables to make sure they both work and you know how to set it up. Do that tomorrow, not when you get to the venue or 10 minutes before you leave.

When you get to the venue, ask if you can test the projector before your presentation, ideally the moment you arrive. Make sure you know how to turn the projector on and set it up by yourself and take your own cables with you. Do not rely on the venue staff to be able to help you or provide cables or converters.

If you can possibly show the mobile app from your laptop, do that. Otherwise use a wired connection from your phone to the projector if you can. If you can't, test the wireless system you plan to use and make sure you know how to connect it quickly and troubleshoot any problems.

There's nothing worse than having a room full of people sitting waiting while a presenter stammers out excuses about how it worked back in the office.

There’s nothing worse than having a room full of people sitting waiting while a presenter stammers out excuses about how it worked back in the office.

I can only imagine!!

If you can possibly show the mobile app from your laptop, do that.

I probably can and was wondering about that as it seems to make sense to keep it simple with just one device.  The Chromecast route does work (having just simulated it using a HDMI equipped monitor) but wired seems to be the favoured method.

Definitely go wired. Much more reliable.

Remember to close your browser tabs 🙂

+1 for wired but be absolutely sure you know what inputs the projector has (from personal experience). If it's just a standalone projector it ought to be straightforward but if it's plumbed into a conference room there could be allsorts of horror to contend with which only onsite IT can sort out. Of course they won't be in.

Contact the venue ahead of the event, ask them what their facilities and expectations are, go from there.

There's sod all point in speculatively buying a USB-C to HDMI converter if you're going to get there to find a VGA cable.

+1 for wired but be absolutely sure you know what inputs the projector has (from personal experience)

I'll be chasing this up with the venue - it's a hotel so chances are it's a standalone projector.

Remember to close your browser tabs 🙂

And delete your history.

We normally ask if there will be an IT person available to help – some boardrooms etc have integrated conferencing/presenting installations that can be very difficult to fathom.

And have a backup adapter

And have a backup of the presentation on a memory stick (if you are being particularly paranoid)

And set your laptop to Do Not Disturb mode (just in case any awkward alerts/messages pop-up)

And ensure you are familiar with how to get to your device monitor settings and know how to use them (ie, screen mirroring/resolution etc).

and turn off notifications.

Don't do a PP presentation.
Do it in a creative way instead.

Don’t do a PP presentation.
Do it in a creative way instead.

You might be right - but it's to a bunch of hairy arsed scaffolders who might not do 'creative'.

There again they might not do PP either!!

I’ll be chasing this up with the venue – it’s a hotel so chances are it’s a standalone projector.

Do that and (politely) demand to speak to someone who will be there on the day. Build a rapport with them. Ask them about the kit in use, what connections it has etc. Meet them on the day in plenty of time (or the day before if staying over) so that they can help with any issues while you test the setup. They/the hotel want it to run smoothly as well, so any half decent hotel will help to prepare in advance.

Depending on the hotel you could even ask about what, if any, extra support will be available on the day. I have spent many days sat idly in a nice hotel on standby in case there is a Wifi/Internet issue.

I use a cheap (£10) usb hdmi grabber and appropriate adapters to show phone screens on laptops when I need to present them (in person or teams).

Just use VLC/QuickTime/whatever to show the window.

Google slides - output to pdf or putting yourself at the mercy of hotel wifi…

Google slides – output to pdf or putting yourself at the mercy of hotel wifi…

Good point. Have everything saved locally if you can.

I'd actually plan to do it with WiFi off to avoid any surprises mid-presentation. Think about how you'll work it if you have to be remote from the laptop itself, some venues only have hdmi at awkward output locations so a remote clicker is useful

Google slides – output to pdf or putting yourself at the mercy of hotel wifi…

Yep already going to happen as you can download in various formats or just make available offline.

I have a question....

You've almost unanimously said go for wired, but why that over a Chromecast using the phones hotspot?

I would have control over the WiFi, distance from the projector wouldn't really be an issue and I could swap between phone and laptop easily.

I'm sure you're all correct, but I'm just after some clarification as to why?!

(I can see that it does bring in one issue...with a wire I could set everything up first and it would then work (🤞) when I needed it.

If I set up the Chromecast and hotspot beforehand there's no guarantee it would be there when I needed it and might need sorting before starting the presentation = uncool)

I manage venues which are hired out for presentations with various display options.

TALK TO THE VENUE!

We can accommodate most hardware and software options but what works most reliably is if the presenter brings in a USB stick with a presentation built on PowerPoint in a standard resolution with minimal distracting transitions and plugs it into our laptop.

I issue a tech spec sheet to every booking with recommendations but we still get presenters who ignore it.

The best was a guy with a load of PDFs on an old iPhone which he expected to be connected to a projector whilst using a clicker to move from one PDF to the next. Oh and he turned up 2 mins before the presentation was due to start. We'll try and make anything work but at least give us a chance.

So talk to the venue. See what they have, see what they recommend, see what tech support they have and work with them. I always welcome clients wanting to visit beforehand as it means their event will be successful, they are more likely to use us again and I'm not trying to make something work in front of 150 pissed off people.

Don’t do a PP presentation.
Do it in a creative way instead.

Hard disagree here. Without wanting to go down a rabbit hole, ‘creative’ presentations (especially done on the Godforsaken Prezi) are usually awful.

Lessons of p-cubed can be learned in PP

From experience of hundreds of these things the hotel might have a nice steel frame, acting like a cage to prevetn any mobile signal so the Chromecast might be a challenge. Hotel Wifi is often not site wide so inevitably the room your presenting in will the be the one that has a dodgy signal. Wired = safe every time.

Like other have said call ahead and ask what connecter they have on the projector they will be giving you on the day, as I've had different connectors on different projectors and hotels often have a few.

They might just put you on a big screen with no projector so well worth calling ahead and being there early as others have suggested and also get a remote clicker (as suggested above) as this helps you be more chilled too.

Keep the PP to a minimum and just recall all the pants slides and presentations you've seen and don't do any of those things!

No videos built in, no sound, no wifi, and a wired connection = painless as it can be.

Good luck.

James

Thanks.

Think I'm going to arrange to go a couple of days before as it's not too far away.

I'll take my kit and go a dry run on the connection.

Buy this and whatever adaptors you need: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kensington-Wireless-Presentation-Clicker-Compatible/dp/B000FPGP4U

Outside of the remote always go cabled.

Have fun.

Thought I'd update this!

last week I contacted the venue and they said they used Click-share (wireless) or direct HDMI connection to the projector.  The presentation was yesterday so I went along fairly early loaded with all the options:

My Dell dock that I could plug HDMI into

Click-Share app loaded onto my phone

Chromecast (just in case)

Went to the room and they guy there pointed at the long HDMI cable "plug that in and Click-Share will appear in your file explorer" ........ nothing!!

After a bit of plugging in and out he then bought a Click-share wireless dongle to plug into my laptop, except it wasn't USB-C and that's all that's on my laptop.  Never mind, plug it into the  dock....... nothing.

So then he started messing with the projector, switching it off and on, reconnecting the HDMI ...... still nothing.  He then decided that my laptop was broken and there was nothing he could do.

I then noticed another HDMI cable sticking out of the ceiling - "why don't we plug that one in just for fun?"

Plugged it into the projector..... boom, working!

FFS!!

I completely understand why you all say to keep it simple and not to trust the on-site "IT" !

Oh, and I forgot to connect to their wifi as I'd already switched on my phone's hotspot when I got there!  Luckily we were in a 4G+ area (didn't know that was a thing) and it worked perfectly.

That's a pretty typical experience. Always take your own HDMI cable and plug it directly into the projector if you can. Projectors always have some way of selecting input, you often need to set that. Make sure the lens cap on the projector is opened or removed, they are very effective at stopping the light getting to the screen. Never rely on the venue staff to be able to sort out the tech details, expect to have to do it yourself.

Make sure the lens cap on the projector is opened or removed, they are very effective at stopping the light getting to the screen

Thankfully that was off already but the projector wasn't really pointing at the screen and was wildly out of focus!

Your own wireless mouse (assuming you have one) will act as a second rate clicker if you need it.

As you found out there are many reasons Clickshare won’t work. Bloody nightmare.

Make sure the lens cap on the projector is opened or removed, they are very effective at stopping the light getting to the screen

It's also a great way of building up heat. I nearly burned down part of the Natural History museum by putting the lens cap back on the projector when we couldn't work out how to switch it off.

I worked for 15 years as a full time trainer all over the UK, always taking my own kit, laptop, projector, clicker, mouse speakers etc. The kit in hotels is usually dire and takes an age to set up and they don’t have IT support. Even delivered a course at the BBC in Manchester and after politely letting their tech guy fail to set me up a projector ended up using my own.
Delivering a presentation is always a bit of a challenge, having unnecessary IT stress only adds to it.