Public speaking is stressful enough for all of us when we're giving a presentation at work. What can make a situation unbearable is when the technology we rely on doesn't work or won't co-operate with what you're trying to do. We've all been there, whether in the audience or on the podium when, embarrassingly, we're scrabbling around with a projector that won't work, a laptop that won't connect to the projector, slides printed the wrong way around, or your 30-slide PowerPoint presentation somehow disappearing off the USB stick you backed it up on. What then, can we do to make sure that technology doesn't outwit us and that we're ready for anything without an ounce of fluster?

1. Projector or PowerPoint hell

These seem to be the main culprits when technology is to blame for a presentation grinding to a halt. It's all very well having a fabulous presentation, but no good if nobody can see it. Naturally, you'll have tested the setup prior to going in the meeting room but this isn't always a guarantee that it will be smooth sailing on the day. Always back up your work in hard copy - print the slides out and have them ready to hand out (you should do this at the end anyway, to make sure your attendees haven't forgotten the contents of your presentation). Have a flipchart ready in the corner to drag out and write onto to make your points, should you be left without a visual display. Test the obvious things like your laptop battery levels and whether you can plug in to AC while you're presenting.

2. CDs, DVDs, music, internet and video

If you're relying on showing a website as part of your presentation, don't risk being able to have it "live" on demand unless you really have to. Instead of streaming media, have a backup to play offline. If you have to show WebPages, print them out so you're not completely lost if you drop offline or you get a dreaded error. If you want to be really avant garde, have some colleagues act out a sequence you're trying to emphasise - it's guaranteed to be far more entertaining than watching just another corporate DVD!

3. The pen is mightier than the sword

Simply writing things down can be the best damage control there is in any presentation situation. Have crib-sheets ready so that you still have something to present - pen and paper doesn't need electricity. Brainstorming in the traditional way - having people put pen to paper, can sometimes make for a more interesting experience than them being sat, potentially falling asleep after lunch, in a stationary position, watching a screen. Make posters. Have them around the walls. Although technology is wonderful when it's all at your disposal, always have the paper plan B - it's never failed for thousands of years, and it's not about to let you down.

Conclusively, you shouldn't count on technology failing, but you ought to be ready should it happen. Rather than looking flustered or upset when something doesn't work, potentially forcing you to omit huge chunks of your work, you'll be cool, calm, collected -and still ready to present.