In today’s world of advanced technologies and increasingly cutthroat competition, doing business usually demands the use of specialised audiovisual equipment, especially if you need to present your business to an audience.

There is now a massive range of different technologies available for doing this cost effectively, with applications in just about every area of corporate operations.

The main reason for using such equipment is to make a favourable impression on business partners, potential and actual customers, and employees. Project the right impression, and you’ll boost your business potential.

Products and pitches

The ability of a business to make good and meaningful connections with clients and partners will have a great impact on its success in both the short and long term. Appropriate audiovisual equipment will help this process enormously, and is increasingly critical when it comes to managing clients and closing deals.

Intelligent use of the latest audiovisual equipment also plays an important role in product and services promotion, and of course, in marketing. The idea behind using it in marketing is to create a positive and lasting impression in clients’ minds about your products and services, through the optimal presentation of interesting and engaging information.

By backing up pitches with impressive and convincing data, presented in an imaginative and understandable format, sales performance will also be improved.

Time saving using audiovisuals

Audiovisual equipment really comes into its own as a powerful tool when time is limited and you have to prepare a pitch for a major potential customer. Rather than working longer hours, simply work smarter.

Try, for example, creating a pre-recorded presentation that has been cut with relevant snippets of information relating to the deal in hand. This gives the client a powerful and convincing overview without any useless information or ‘fluff’ that might dilute the core message.

It's a good sign if people are still awake at the end

In a business environment where time is always of the essence, having the right audiovisual equipment can be invaluable. This is especially true where the subject matter is too complex and involved for written transcripts.

So instead of ‘losing the room’ with long, boring monologues, use visual representation like pie charts, photographs, graphs, video shorts and various types of animation to get your ideas and information across. The equipment to do this is readily available, and you could use a mix of flip charts, projectors, white boards and models.

Effective use of audio aids

More advanced audio equipment might be beyond your budget, but using simple audio aids in the right way can have an equally positive impact on your presentation. A good set of speakers in your presentation or conference event can have a transformative effect, because everyone can hear what you’re saying clearly. It might be a small point, but it’s crucial for effective presentations.

Get the right person for the job

All the AV and audio equipment in the world isn’t going to make a boring speaker more interesting. So try using presenters who are able to interact with the audience and field Q&A sessions in an entertaining and engaging way.

Importance of lighting

Having the proper lighting in place will help make your event, be it a team or company meeting, presentation or conference speech, better. This may involve stage lighting at a live event or the lighting techniques used in a pre-recorded video.

Either way, good lighting will help the audience focus on the key elements of your presentation. It can also add real interest to the event, making a mundane marketing conference something to remember for all the right reasons.

A good presenter and top tech are a dynamite combintation

Signs of the times

Creative, intelligent and focused signage that uses proven psychological techniques to grab audience attention is one of the best ways of communicating with attendees.

LED signs allow you to encourage attendees to interact, for example by streaming a live Twitter feed to channel the latest updates and audience contributions. You can also use moving images or still photos along with social media links to get your information across in an exciting and lively manner.

Budgets and timeframes

The types of audio and visual aids selected for a particular event such as a presentation will be determined mainly by the size of your budget, and the time constraints of the event.

It is best to ensure that you have plenty of time available for planning, as it’s better to use no aids at all rather than rely on ones that have been poorly prepared and may let you down mid-speech. If your budget is small you can use the good old white board or a flip chart.

With more funds available, consider the full range of computer multimedia, professional videotapes, slides and projectors that are now on the market.