If you show up at your next presentation with slides and overhead projector graphics, you might as well wear a polyester, powder-blue leisure suit. At the same time, you don't want so many bells and whistles that the audience is distracted. Keep it simple and professional, says Burt. The key to an outstanding multi-media presentation is to let the technology enhance it, not overwhelm it. To some entrepreneurs, the very idea of new technology elicits sweaty palms.
More technology means more money spent and more time to understand it.
Then you must adapt your old message to a new medium. But basic software, such as PowerPoint by Microsoft or Macromedia's Director, is easy to learn, and the benefits are monumental. Instead of lugging slide carousels and binders of overhead sheets, all you need is a laptop. Most hotels and conference rooms are equipped with speakers and projectors. They don't allow the energy and spontaneity of a small business to come through.