Create the ideal presenting setup

Location

If you are asked to have a pre-event technical check or rehearsal, it's a good idea to do this from wherever you'll be presenting from during the live event. The rehearsal is not just to check that you can access our platform; it's to check that your presentation location will work for you on the day.

It is important to think about this location. Make sure that you have a good and stable internet connection and if possible connect directly to your internet modem / router using a network cable rather than using a wireless connection. It’s also useful, but not essential, to check that you can connect using a mobile hotspot on your phone just in case your internet stops working on the day.

You should also make sure that there is no loud or background noise and that your background is as visually uncluttered as possible.

If you have been sent a green screen and lighting kit, we will help you to set this up before your rehearsal.

Lighting

The space that you’re recording or presenting from should be generally well-lit. It is a good idea to have a lamp just to the side of your webcam / laptop or to sit facing a window. The brighter your face is the better.

Avoid having a window or light directly behind you.

Camera position

The position of the camera will affect the quality of your video. If the camera is too low, try raising your laptop or webcam using a pile of books. You should try to fill the screen with your head almost touching the top of the video image and the camera at the same height as your head, so that you're looking directly into the camera at eye-level.

Audio

We recommend that you use headphones with a built-in microphone. This improves the quality of the audio for you and the audience, allows us to speak directly to you if necessary, and prevents echoing and feedback.

We don't recommend using battery-powered bluetooth headphones for longer events as the constant use of the headphones and internal microphone can cause the battery to run out more quickly than you expect. If this does happen, your audio may stop working.

If you do not have headphones available then it may be possible to use the microphone in your laptop or webcam but please remember to speak loudly and clearly as well as keeping your speakers turned down as low as possible to prevent feedback.

If you are taking part in a multi-person question and answer session it is essential that you use headphones: you may not be able to participate without them.

Clothing

Please try to avoid clothing that matches your background and remove any noisy jewellery or accessories.

If you're using one of our green screen setups, it's usually a good idea to avoid light green clothing.

Presenting

Speak clearly and avoid moving around too much. Be aware that any noise such as fiddling with a mobile phone or typing on your keyboard may be picked up by the microphone, so please try to avoid it or mute your microphone if this has been enabled.

Please silence your phone and computer notifications before presenting.

Check that you have the best browser

Please use Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari or Edge on Mac or Windows as your internet browser. You will be unable to log on to the platform using Internet Explorer.

If you have problems connecting, try opening a new private window. This is called Incognito in Chrome, Private Browsing in Safari, Private Window in Firefox and InPrivate in Edge.

Close other applications

On your computer

Please make sure you that you close any application that might be using internet bandwidth on your computer, or any other application that might be using your camera or microphone. It's also a good idea to make sure that you only have one browser tab open.

We find a lot of connection problems are solved by ensuring that applications such as Teams, Zoom, Hangouts, Snapcam are fully closed (not just minimised). These applications can prevent your camera being available to our software and can result in a failed connection.

Closing other applications on your computer can also make sure that it isn't working too hard, which will help with the quality of your audio and video transmission.

On your network

During the rehearsal and live event please ensure that there is nothing running that might affect your network speed. This can include:

• other people making video or audio calls (using Teams, Skype, Zoom, Google Chat etc.)
• other people watching video content (Netflix, Vimeo, YouTube, Twitch)

Disconnect your VPN

If you are working remotely from your office and your company uses VPN software, this may restrict your internet speed or may completely block your connection to our platform. If you can disconnect your VPN, please do this before attempting a connection. If you are unable to disconnect your VPN you may need to contact your IT team to whitelist some domains. That sounds mildly terrifying but don't worry! See our presenter troubleshooting page for some tips and a template email.

If you are connecting from the office, your corporate firewall may block the connection to our platform. This may be fixed by using a mobile device to connect (if you have one), or using a mobile hotspot. You may need to speak to your IT department (see the troubleshooting page).

Prepare to take notes

When you connect to the presenter platform you will be asked to follow a couple of steps by one of our call handlers in order to be ready to present. It's worth making a note of any steps you have to follow to ensure that your experience when reconnecting for the live event is as stress-free as possible.

Connect to the platform

Have you read all the above and it's approaching your allocated time to connect to the platform? Read about connecting to the event platform now.