Wi-Fi issues can be a nightmare when delivering a presentation online. Using your phone as a back up plan is a great idea but make sure it is fully charged. Sometimes we lose Wi-Fi due to a power outage. Have an extra power battery handy for your laptop and phone. In addition, having a producer at a different location who is equally well equipped as you also helps if worst goes to worst and you lose touch with the audience for a while. The producer is well-versed in your presentation and can ask the audience questions related to the topic, facilitate a chat discussion or assign activities using the excellent options of platforms like Zoom, MS Teams, etc. till you come back. Most importantly: stay calm so that you act wisely and quickly.

Here are some quick and effective strategies. Switch to a mobile hotspot or another available network if your primary Wi-Fi fails. Test this setup beforehand to ensure it’s reliable. Keep a secondary device (such as a tablet or smartphone) ready to join the presentation in case your computer’s connection drops. All essential presentation files, such as slides and notes, should be downloaded and accessible offline. This way, you can continue even if the Wi-Fi doesn’t recover quickly. Pre-recorded Video: If possible, could you prepare a pre-recorded version of your presentation? If the connection doesn't work, you can send this video to participants or play it while troubleshooting.

It is always possible to have connection failure. I use two lines in my phone (dual SIM) and one of them is a prepaid data backup - which is quite inexpensive. For a regular presenter, a backup plan is necessary with a small investment for a great impact.

Always plan for this in advance: *have a co-presenter who can share your slides or presentation *turn off your camera, people want to hear what you have to say more than see you - and often reducing the load on the Wi-fi can increase efficiency *hot spot from your phone *make sure the coordinator knows so that you can get feedback that you are not clearly coming through *consider having a pre-recorded segment that you can share if all else fails!