Slides should go hand in hand with your spoken words. For this to happen, they should advance transparently. The presenter approaching the keyboard and pressing space makes the audience aware of the technicality behind the talk, and distracts from the story.

A remote control empowers you to render the computer invisible. Furthermore, it allows you to move freely, and thus it enables a more direct discussion between you and your audience.

The good news is that remote controls did get increasingly adopted in the past years. Still, most speakers miss the opportunity the remote control offers.

A typical scenario goes like this: Every time the slides need advancing, the speaker looks at the remote control, sometimes he even raises the hand and points it slightly towards the screen, and then he presses the forward button. Looking at the remote and pointing it towards the screen might work well when controlling the TV from the couch. But, during a talk this type of usage beats the purpose of the remote, because it distracts the audience.

The projected screen is not a TV, so do not treat it like one. Instead, use the remote control to make the transition of slides transparent and to synchronize your gestures with the slides’ flow.