Frequency Check

During your public speaking course you will learn that it is pretty common to have multiple wireless microphones going during the same presentation. The AV crew that sets everything up will ususally make sure that they are all on different frequencies so no cross over occurs. With that said you should still double check the MIC anyway. BUT WHAT ABOUT MICE? OK, OK, AV people running around are not rodents, but if your Mic does not work, you might say "Rats!" Same way with your mouse.

When I spoke in Thailand last week I ran into a certain situation that was unique to myself and the other presenter. We each had a Logitech Trackman RF Mouse. RF stands for "Radio Frequency" which means that the wireless mouse doesn't have to be in line of sight with the receiver like an infra red mouse would. It also means that I couldn't keep my mouse from moving the cursor on his computer (the other guy was on right after me with no break in between).

We tried every thing we could think of but still didn't have any luck. We finally decided to shut my whole system down quickly after I was finished and boot his up as fast as we could while he made some opening comments to the crowd. In your public speaking course you will learn how to work with other presenters, and work with audio-visual technicians as well.

With more and more wireless technology being used during presentations you must thoroughly check out all systems and consider presenters who are on both before and after you. This is a reason to be there early and find out what is going on during other programs.

Had we not noticed this ahead of time he would have had a really difficult time in the beginning to his program . .. if the program were switched . . . it could have been me! Like a Boy Scout, "Be Prepared" with frequencies and other speakers.

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