Help
Interactive presentations

How do I present my presentation smoothly?

Open it from the portal with Present, load it before you start, and share one tab on a video call. It needs an internet connection, so have a phone hotspot ready.

Last updated October 22, 20264 min read

Open the presentation in your portal and select Present. Open it a few minutes before you start so its images and videos have already loaded. On a video call, share only that browser tab or window. Your presentation runs live in the browser and needs an internet connection the whole time, so have a phone hotspot ready in case the Wi-Fi is weak.

Before any presentation

  • Use an up-to-date Chrome, Edge or Safari. Older browsers run animations and video more slowly.
  • Close what you don't need. Other tabs, especially ones playing video, and heavy apps all compete for the same memory and graphics power.
  • Open the presentation a few minutes early. The first time a device opens a presentation, it downloads the images and videos. After that, your browser keeps them, so the presentation starts faster the next time. Click through once if it has videos.
  • Plug in your laptop. Many laptops slow themselves down on battery power to save energy.

How do I present from the portal?

  1. Open the presentation from Library.
  2. Select Present. The presentation fills the browser window.
  3. Press F for true full screen. Press Esc to step back out.

If your presentation has speaker notes, open the arrow beside Present and choose Present with notes. Your notes open in a small window of their own, with a clock.

Presenting from the portal while you're signed in counts as an Internal visit, so it doesn't add to the numbers you see under External in Insights. See What do the numbers in Insights count?

Presenting on a video call

  • Share one browser tab or window, not your whole screen. In Zoom, Google Meet or Teams, choose the window the presentation is in. Your computer has less to capture, and people don't see your notifications.
  • Use Zoom's "Optimize for video clip" only while a video plays. It sends smoother motion but takes more of your computer's power. Turn it off again for the rest of the presentation.
  • Turn your camera off if things slow down. Sending your camera and your screen at the same time is the heaviest thing a video call does. On an older or slower laptop, turning the camera off while you share often fixes it straight away.
  • Turn on hardware acceleration. In Chrome, go to Settings, then System, and turn on Use graphics acceleration when available. Relaunch Chrome afterward. Some company laptops have it turned off.

Presenting in person

  • Test the screen before the meeting starts. Plug in or connect to the room's display, open the presentation and click through a few slides. Projectors and TVs vary in shape, and the presentation fits itself to the screen it's on.
  • Mirror your screen, or move the browser window onto the room's display. If you use speaker notes, extend your screen instead and keep the notes window on your laptop.
  • Bring your own adapter. HDMI or USB-C, whichever your laptop needs. Don't rely on the room having one.
  • Turn the volume up before you start if your presentation has videos with sound.

What if there's no Wi-Fi, or the Wi-Fi is weak?

Your presentation always loads from the internet. It doesn't work offline, because that's how it stays up to date and how it records who viewed it.

  • Use your phone as a hotspot. On iPhone, go to Settings, then Personal Hotspot. On Android, go to Settings, then Network & internet, then Hotspot & tethering. A strong 4G or 5G signal is plenty for a presentation.
  • Connect your laptop to your phone with a cable if you can. It's usually steadier than a hotspot over the air, and it charges your phone at the same time.
  • Load the presentation before you walk in. Once it's open and you've clicked through it, slides you've already seen show from your browser's memory, which helps if the connection drops for a moment.
  • Keep a backup. If PDF download is turned on for your presentation, keep a PDF on your laptop. See Can I download my presentation as a PDF? The PDF isn't interactive, but it keeps the meeting going.

It still feels slow. What should I do?

Tell us which computer and browser you're using, whether you were on a video call, and which slide felt slow. Use Get Help in your portal. Some presentations have heavy effects or large videos, and we can make them lighter without changing how they look.

This did not answer your question? Email hello@bridgercreative.com.

Was this helpful?