When we use Powerpoint or Keynote to present to an audience, we create an instant barrier between the speaker and the audience – the computer.
For nervous speakers, they feel that they need to have the script in front of them so they stay behind the computer in case they forget something important.
Even speakers who want to interact with the audience are trapped there behind the machine in order to be able to push the button at the right time. I’ve even seen speakers try to fight this by stepping away from the computer to interact with the audience but always being dragged back to the computer to click onto the next slide.
A remote control solves this problem.
It allows you to move away from the computer and be able to truly interact with the audience. As we already know from the “Five Elements of the Perfect Speech”, Interaction helps you connect to your audience, which is vital, if you want them to accept your message.
For slide presentations, always use a remote.
Very valid points. Using a remote device helps reconnect you as a presenter with your audience. Most presentations I’ve been to in the past have involved the speaker standing awkwardly behind a lectern or table, which is yet another ‘barrier’, and I believe affects audience engagement during Q & A sessions.