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Effective use of a projector

One of the things your audience will greatly appreciate is your level of familiarity with your equipment, when you do your presentations. By "equipment" I mean projector, microphone, computer, etc.

This week, I will talk a bit about using a projector. Here are some tricks that will help you to improve the quality of your projections during your next presentation.

Adjust the image size: it often happens that because of the distance between the projector and the screen, the image is either too small or too large. To correct this, I used to bring the projector closer or farther away from the screen until the image was the correct size. However, you don't always have to do this.

Most modern projectors contain two image adjusters: one for focus and one for zoom. The focus adjuster allows you to correct the image if it is out of focus. The zoom adjuster allows you to make the image larger or smaller without moving the projector. The better the quality of the projector, the greater variation you can get with the zoom.
Integrated speakers: when I bought my projector, I also bought some small speakers in order to play music during my training sessions. Six months (!) after buying this projector, I had to do a training in the United States, but I did not have enough room in my luggage to put the speakers. I decided not to use music for that training.

As I was setting up before my session, I realized that there was an audio plug in the back of my projector. When I tested it, I realized that the sound of the projector was loud enough for a room of about 100 people.

I had once used a projector which contained such integrated speakers, which I had rented for another training session. All the while, I never realized that I already had this feature in my own tool! Sometimes, getting to know your tools can really pay off.
Integrated zoom: certain projectors allow you to zoom into an image in order to see the detail. On a high end projector you can also pan this image. For technical presentations this can be very useful.
Keystone: have you ever been in a presentation where the projected image was larger at the top than at the bottom (or vice versa)? The image looked more like a trapezoid than a square. This happens when the projection angle is too pronounced on the screen.

The keystone feature, which you can find on most projectors, allows you to change the projection angle in order to have an image with a more regular shape. High-end projectors also allow horizontal keystone correction (when the image is taller on one side).

An irregular image can be distracting to your audience. Take the time to make some projection tests before your presentation in order to eliminate this annoying detail.
Remote control: most projectors now come with a remote control. With the help of this device, you can control all aspects of your projector's behaviour. Learn to us it, so you can adjust the image without fiddling directly on your projector's controls.

One of the most useful features is the ability to blank the screen. When you are speaking about something that does not require an image to be shown on the screen, blank it. That's one less distraction for your audience. (If you use PowerPoint, use that program's screen blanking feature instead of your projector's).

I hope that these tips will be useful for your next presentation. Take the time to get to know your projector and get to your room a little bit earlier to adjust the image before you begin. Your audience will not notice if you do it, but they will surely notice it if you don't!