Being able to meet all of your audience requirements and wishes is vitally important if you are to convey a professional and contemporary impression. While delegates are unlikely to notice too much if everything runs expertly and smoothly, if the venue you choose lacks the AV and IT features your audience expect, or if there are "technical difficulties" during the conference, then they might well remember these failures more than the content or style of the presentations and speeches.

Presenters and trainers use advanced audio-visual and IT equipment to make the greatest impact possible on their audiences. Advances in technology mean that what was novel and amazing a few years ago is now standard and expected. Examples include plasma screens, video link-ups and electronic whiteboards. Extras such as laser pointers and touch screen functionality can take a presentation to an extra slick and impressive level. The use of innovative sound, music and lighting techniques can also add a little show business to your production.

Depending on the type of conference you are organising, you will need to call on a variety of technology and equipment. There are many occasions when delegates will bring their laptop and expect to be able to take notes or do other work while listening to the presenter. If you are expecting a Q&A session or audience feedback, then radio microphones can help avoid the awkward wait while runners manoeuvre through the chairs to get a microphone and lead to the next questioner. If your speaker or guests are not conversant in English, then you might require simultaneous translation facilities.

A 'room control system' can be very useful in ensuring that everything goes to plan on the day. Instead of a tangled web of remote controls, cables and switches, a room control system links everything to one central handset or panel where all the audio, screens, volume levels, lighting, and maybe even the temperature in the room can be controlled and monitored. The ability to record, either on audio or digital video, a speech or presentation and then distribute copies later to people unable to attend on the day can also be very valuable.

It is also important to consider what your audience requirements are likely to be before, between and after seminars. In these days of the mobile office, delegates can nip out between talks to send an important email, make an international phone call, or even take part in an online videoconference. Therefore you will want to ensure the venue you choose is equipped to deal with all of these eventualities. Laptop ports, wireless broadband and satellite phone and fax access are all things to consider.

You are more than likely not going to be able to set up to this level yourself. Despite all of the developments in AV and IT technology, the human element remains vital. A facility should provide a fully trained and experienced staff member (not the bellboy!) who knows how each element works, and who can troubleshoot quickly if something goes wrong. Even if you are technically competent yourself, you are likely to be busy on the day, and not free to find out why the plasma screen has suddenly gone black ten minutes before your first seminar is due to start.

While content is still the most important part of any speech or presentation, the use of modern AV and IT technology can be vital to getting that content across to the audience in innovative and impressive ways - so it is important to choose a venue that offers everything you that you need for a successful and memorable conference or training experience.

By Dermot Corrigan