About 20 minutes before my International Marketing class, I decided to take my disk (with my lovely presentation inscribed on it) to the Mack Library labs and just run through my presentation one more time. When I reached the third slide – PowerPoint simply froze. This happened four times. Needless to say, I was annoyed but thought it must have been related to that computer.
15 minutes until class: I am dashing to the business labs to test it there. The whole thing crashes. It’s obvious now that the third slide has some sort of problem. When I try to edit or delete it…PowerPoint rants, raves and dies.
10 minutes until class: I am banging on my professor’s office door. He was really kind and listened to my breathless explanation. I offered to give the presentation without any visuals as long as he understood why I wouldn’t have any. He muttered for a few minutes and then his eyes lit up. Bellis Copy Center!
8 minutes until class: I burst through the doors of the Bellis Copy Center and franticly explain that I need them to make overhead transparencies from the tiny printouts of my PowerPoint presentation. The lady raised her eyebrows and informed me that it would take probably 20 minutes.
I got to class nearly ten minutes late but I had visual aids. Transparencies are so irritating but I learned to adjust quickly. The actual presentation went well and everyone told me they enjoyed it. It’s a wonder they did…with the annoyance that I’m sure was etched on my face.