I would add the word “thing” to the list for speeches.  ”Thing” is such a non-descriptive word.  There’s always a better word than “thing” that describes the subject of your attention.

“Technical issues” – the projector doesn’t want to play ball, you forgot the power cord, your laptop died, the file is corrupted, a blue screen, the mouse, anything that can go wrong… did!

What are you to do?  Well, you can blabber on about how your slides would have shown this or that and blame technology for your shortsightedness… or you can take control of your destiny and use the “Talking Pad”

Seth Godin’s latest post tells you what the Talking Pad is.

thick pen or marker and a legal pad

This can be your backup when the unthinkable happens.  BTW, it really isn’t unthinkable so much as it is ignored with the hope that it never happens.

BUT WAIT!!!!

If you can present a compelling presentation with a Talking Pad, why not do this in the first place?  Why depend at all on slides?  There’s not much that can go wrong with a thick pen (with a backup) and a legal pad – both of which are likely available for next to nothing anywhere.

BUT WAIT ONE MORE TIME!!!

Did you just let out a sigh of relief?  Don’t get too excited.  You will need to spend just as much time (hopefully not the night before) on preparing your Talking Pad presentation as you would for your slides.  More possibly because this will not feel comfortable unless you practice it.

I suggest that the next time you give a speech to use the Talking Pad.  Get comfortable with when you give your next Toastmasters meeting so that when it really matters you will be ready.

When you use the Talking Pad next, please let me know how it went and share what you learned from the experience.

Update:

Seth just did a follow up post on a Modern Talking Pad.  Kinda like a Mad-Libs version where you fill in the blanks with your client.