Always be the first person to arrive at the venue for your presentation.
There are a number of reasons for this – but for now I want to focus on room dynamics.
Be in no doubt: the dynamics of the room will have a direct impact on the success of your presentation.
In many cases, one of the following happens:
- The speaker has no prior conversation with the organiser about the set-up
- The organiser asks, but the speaker says they have no preference
- The speaker expresses a preference, but it turns out to be a poor choice (because they haven’t seen the room)
- The speaker requests a specific set-up, but the organiser doesn’t implement it
- The organiser passes it on, but facilities get it wrong
Do everything you can in advance to get things right.
But, even then, get there early and see it for yourself.
Let me share a recent example.
I worked with a client who did everything right before the event.
We arrived early and found 80 chairs set out.
The expected audience? Around 50.
If you leave it like that, people drift to the back.
Gaps appear at the front.
Connection becomes harder.
Yes, you can ask people to move forward, but that’s not the ideal way to begin.
So we moved 25 chairs.
It took time.
It was a workout.
But it made a big difference.
And it would have been much harder if we hadn’t arrived early.
So I’ll finish by repeating the opening line:
Always be the first person to arrive at the venue for your presentation.
Arriving early give you the time and space to make adjustments calmly, rather than reacting under pressure.
The earlier you arrive, the more control you have.
In keeping with the room dynamics theme, why not check out the following article on how layout, spacing, and crowd flow can shape audience engagement.
