Audiences need to be entertained as well as informed. Whether it's fireworks for a fashion show or lasers for a product launch, technology has become an integral aspect of all sorts of presentations.

Indeed, it is often technical wizardry that transforms a conference into an event. Even if you eschew such special effects in favour of the simple human voice, you are still going to need the aid of a microphone and speakers. And because you'll need to be seen, you're likely to need extra lighting. Given that even the soap-boxers on Speakers Comer use a microphone these days, it seems presentations and technology are inextricably linked.

Simon Clarke runs the event coordination company Cetek. For him successful presentation depends on technical preparation just as much as it does on content.

"Too many people depend on going into a hotel room or venue and just expect all the necessary equipment to be there. They don't realise just how much is actually involved. A client who wants to impart information to an audience puts time into speeches, brochures, catering and entertainment even, but the simple principal that the bums on seats need to be able to hear that information is forgotten."

Very many hotels will supply equipment that, while adequate for a wedding, is not really suitable for conference events. "These days many hotels offer audiovisual equipment. The problem however is that for their visual facilities to work the doors need to be closed and the curtains drawn. So basically the guy is on stage in the dark. Yet for a really effective presentation, the audience needs to be able to see the presenter's hand and facial gestures."

"Organisers need to check also that the hotel has basic conference requirements such as a stage or a large screen for those people near the back to whom the speaker looks like a postage stamp. There is no standard technical format for any conference, every individual aspect has to be tailored to meet the size of the audience and venue," he says. "A small business training meeting, for example, may require nothing more than a tripod screen and overhead projector. For larger conferences you might find a need to rear-project information onto a giant translucent screen."

New software is coming on stream all the time too, allowing presenters to exchange animation for text. "People go to a conference to see a show," he says. "They expect to be entertained as well as informed. If you can draw the audience into your presentation then your information is better imparted. Everything from lighting changes to moving logos will help them remember you once the event is over. If an event is technically brilliant, people associate this brilliance with your product or brand."

Special effects such as confetti bombs and exploding logos are easily achieved these days, depending on how far your budget will stretch. "Very many events choose to use such effects as a hook, to make people remember them. For car launches I've even had cars crashing through walls. I've had a castle built in a Dublin hotel that looked so realistic the client was worried if the room would take the weight of granite. It was in fact polystyrene. The fact is that whatever your idea, no matter how technically outlandish, it can be done if you have the budget to do it."

Those who don't are well advised to spend their money where it offers best value, such as in the hiring of radio microphones for speakers who want mobility or speakers that surround the hall ensuring there are no spots where sound is poor.

"For anyone organising a conference on a smaller budget there are certain rules I would always apply to technology," says Clarke. "Firstly, check that the hotel or other venue has an adequate sound system. It normally comes as part of the room hire but make sure that you get them to give you a demonstration. Too many people just presume it will work on the day. Secondly, decide on one visual format for all your speakers. The changeover from slide projector to rear projection unit, or whatever, is awkward and takes too long. Finally, spend the €350 it takes to have a technical expert on hand on the day. I'm flying my own flag here but really it's the best money you'll spend on the whole event simply because it's your insurance."

While technology can indeed add value to your presentation, too many presenters forget that technology, particularly visual technology, is merely a facilitator and not an end in itself. "Many presenters believe that if they put something up on screen they have done their job. That is like the postman leaving your letters at the end of your street and saying he has done his job. It doesn't deliver the message. The presenter's responsibility is to deliver his or her message to every single member of the audience. This is rarely done by excessive text and inappropriate clip-art."

People are putting up mountains of text because it costs nothing and they can do it, he says. "I call it PowerPoint-itis and it bores the pants off people. Audiences are sick and tired of going to conferences and seeing the same colours, the same text, the same Mickey Mouse-men running across the screen. People are very sophisticated these days and the presenter is competing with the technology his audiences sees every night on the nine o'clock news."

The answer is not to try and compete but to concentrate on the message to be delivered.

"Technology is simply a delivery system"

The Sunday Business Post - Conference Directory