We often hear comments to the effect of, "I'm not really sure if Relational Presentation concepts are applicable to my situation. Most of my talks are in front of large audiences where interactivity is difficult, if not impossible. Viewers are given printed handouts in advance (usually of the slides to be shown) and my agenda is fixed." This topic opens the door to several important discussions, but we focus here only on a key misconception that underlies most digital communication.

One fallacy PowerPoint so effectively instills in presenters' minds is the notion that we give a presentation, and that's it. Speakers create a slide show for a single event, walk through the slides in preset order, and often never touch that slide show again. In reality, our messages and our interactions with people exist on a continuum. They never should be (in our opinion) so isolated. Parts of your main content presented an hour ago during the keynote might be useful for the breakout session afterwards, or in a board meeting next week, or at a club meeting next month. Who you are, and what you have to say, spans more than a single event. So why not organize that powerful collection of facts, figures, and images into what amounts to a visual database of everything you have to offer. Then those large-event talks simply flow out of the information available for display.

When using a presentation network in this way, even a purely noninteractive session can have positive impact beyond words spoken. Audiences will notice the sheer volume of information potentially available through your navigation elements, and their perception of your expertise inevitably will increase.