Feeling nervous before a presentation in front of a live audience? Want to double-check everything is set up correctly before you start? Not to worry - We've got you covered. Here you can follow these tips to ensure that you have everything ready for your presentation.
Before The Presentation - Check Your Physical Setup
The points in our first checklist relate to your technical setup on stage to ensure the best Mentimeter experience. If you need help on stage, we recommend reaching out to your IT department, or similar, to help out with the points below:
Make sure that the technology you are using meet the requirements for running Mentimeter.
Make sure your audience have access to a smartphone or computer - this will be needed for them to vote with.
Ensure that you have a good internet connection on the computer you are using to show your presentation - You can check our recommended bandwidth depending on your audience size in our requirements.
Make sure that the audience have access to the internet. For larger audiences we recommend that they use their mobile data rather than the WIFI.
If you will be using a projector or a screen, double check with your IT department that you have everything needed to connect to it - Necessary cables, etc.
Double-check any microphones or any other technology that you are using to make sure it works.
Using a laptop? Check the battery before you plan to start - Plug it into a charger if you need to.
If you are having any issues with accessing Mentimeter, please view this article for more guidance and check our self-check page to see if you are set up to use Mentimeter. If the problem persists, please reach out to our support team at hello@mentimeter.com.
Before The Presentation - Do A Test Run-Through Of Your Menti
Test your presentation in present mode and ensure that you are familiar with Mentimeter, and confident with your presentation. You can also use this to see how your presentation looks from the perspective of your audience. Here are some things to think about:
Do a test run through your presentation in Presentation View by pressing the “Present” button in Mentimeter;
To navigate through your presentation, use your arrow keys on your keyboard. You can use the right arrow key to progress - This doesn't necessarily mean the next slide. For instance, if you have a bullet slide where each bullet appears one at a time, the right arrow key will show the next bullet. Then, once all are showing, it will now take you to the next slide.
If you have any quiz questions, you start the countdown for the quiz by pressing the "Enter" key.
Get familiar with keyboard shortcuts - You can bring these up in your presentation at any time by pressing the "K" key, so don't worry if you forget any during the presentation - You can simply press "K" to refresh your memory!
Once you are happy with the content, you should now do a run through as a voter. You should do this for two reasons. Firstly, to make sure you know how the voting function works, and secondly, to help you understand the audience experience. This will help you to become a better presenter!
Join your own presentation via menti.com, and now as you go through each slide, look at how the audience will experience your presentation from their phones.
If you want to preview your presentation with test data outside of your own votes, you can show test votes.
Remember! If you have submitted any votes during this test, reset the results after testing.
If you want to do one final run through of your presentation before the big event, you can use Preview Mode to see exactly what both presenter and audience will see and experience during the presentation at the same time.
Final Preparation Steps Before The Presentation
Got everything ready for your presentation? Go through these final tips before you start to ensure everything is prepared.
Check that your projector or screen is connected to your computer, and is showing Mentimeter correctly.
Make sure you hide the edit view by pressing "Present".
Check that you are presenting from the first slide.
Have a glass of water on hand.
Take a deep breath to calm your nerves - you got this!
During your presentation
Whilst presenting with Mentimeter, keep the following things in mind for a smooth presentation:
Remember to allocate some time for the audience to connect to the presentation at menti.com at the start - You can show detailed voting instructions to the audience by pressing the 'i' key on your keyboard.
Ensure that the audience has enough time to answer your questions. For example, answering an Open-ended question takes more time than a Multiple Choice question. You can see how many votes you've received on a slide indicated in the bottom right of the slide, if you know your audience size.
Spend a couple of minutes after each question going through and commenting on the results with your audience. Your results can turn into a discussion!
If something with the presentation seems to be causing an issue, don't worry - Hit refresh and this will put your Mentimeter presentation back in order.
Now you have everything you need to run your presentation - Good luck and have fun with it!