Advancing through PowerPoint slides without any awkwardness is a worthy goal for any presenter. Here is a surprisingly easy, inexpensive, and extremely effective way to achieve that.

My business partner and friend, Circe Denyer, is a TEDx coach. She helps those scheduled to appear on a TEDx stage earn a standing ovation when they deliver their talks. It isn’t easy to do, but it can and has, been done.

A Dog clicker. Really?

Circe’s latest client did not have a laptop to practice delivering her talk with PowerPoint slides advancing seamlessly. A clicker normally used to train dogs worked masterfully! It probably worked better than if practicing with the real thing. Why? The physical sensation and audio sound of the clicker while moving through slides aids in memory retention!

The client discovered that by using the dog clicker, the exact time she should click for the next slide was so ingrained in her DNA that she didn’t need to think about it That meant one less potential distraction while delivering her critical TEDx talk.   When Circe brought over a laptop and clicker for her client to practice “for real,” the first run was almost perfect.

A Nifty Tool

I’ve written several posts about the challenge of PowerPoint.  Often I don’t use it because I want to be the point of power. I don’t want my power dissipated by discomfort with my slides.  A dog clicker is a tool to help keep the point of power in place!

Circe now recommends a dog clicker for all those working with PowerPoint. Whether they have a laptop and clicker to practice with or not.  It is instrumental in achieving a smooth, seamless transition through slides.

Standing ovation?

Yes,  that gal did receive a standing ovation.  That is not an easy thing to achieve in TEDx presentations.  It’s dog darn fantastic she made it!