Be prepared when making multimedia presentations.

There's a subtle change taking place in the realm of business presentations. More and more entrepreneurs have found that companies, potential customers and trade organizations are discouraging the use of slides and overhead projectors in presentations. It's similar to that little note in the corner of a dinner invitation that says "Black Tie Preferred."

The new dress code for presentations mandates digital, multimedia displays run from a computer. Slides and overheads could well become the leisure suits of the 21st century. What's an entrepreneur to do? A little preparation can go a long way towards a seamless presentation that impresses the audience and wins the account.

Multimedia presentations using software such as PowerPoint by Microsoft or Director by Macromedia will allow you to move within your presentation with speed and ease. You'll have more flexibility and won't waste the audience's time clicking back and forth among your slides.

Portability is a big plus, since there will be no need to lug around several slide carousels, large display boards and 3-D models.

All your visuals can be contained in one small laptop computer. But making a change after years of depending on slide shows or overhead transparencies takes time and practice. Don't expect your administrative assistant to master a graphics software program in the same time it takes to phone in some slide changes to the A/V department.

If you don't have a separate budget for the presentation, then it's fine to stay with a simple software program such as PowerPoint.

When building your presentation, remember: the fewer words on the screen the better. Try to limit each screen (what we used to refer to as a slide) to three lines of text, using upper and lower case letters.

There's no need to capitalize every word - the screen text should look like text in a printed article. The preferred color for type is white against a sharp contrasting background such as green or blue - never black.

Use yellow for headlines and maybe a third color for bullet points. Don't use red for type - it's difficult for the eye to adjust to that color. If your audience is distracted by the visuals, they won't be able to absorb what you are saying. Make sure any date on the screen is current (even if you created the presentation six months ago, the audience is hearing it for the first time). Don't put the company name on every screen, just the first and last one.

Multimedia presentations offer consistency. No worrying about the slides being out of order or getting misplaced. With the touch of a button, you can show colorful graphics, 3-D animation and videos that will communicate a clear, consistent message.

If your presentation is less than 24 hours away and you haven't done a thing - stop! PowerPoint can't rescue you.

The audience will know that you tried to put something together at the last minute. Remember that the competition is getting keen when it comes to digital presentations. Leave it to Martha Stewart to whip up a great product with only an hour's notice. You need to plan and practice your presentation.

Don't make changes 24 hours before the presentation. The more sophisticated the equipment, the more time it takes to make changes and be sure they will work.

You risk crashing your entire program by making edits - even small ones - the night before the presentation. The one exception would be a simple text-only display. Editing a multimedia presentation doesn't involve just a cut and paste function on the computer.

These presentations usually depend on sophisticated programming language that most of us don't speak. Those tiny tweaks you want to make in a typeface will make no difference at the end of the day. Let it wait until the next presentation. You'll save money and save face.

Take time to train yourself with your computer and the projector before you make a digital presentation before an audience. The first time you rode a bike without training wheels you probably fell down. That was fine when you were six, but with a major deal on the line, there's no room for error.

Consider bringing along a technician if you will be too distracted to work with the equipment. If no technician is available, then take time to visit the room where the presentation is being held.

Get to know the right computer settings for the LCD projector. Almost all hotels and boardrooms have the latest digital projectors that can be quickly connected to your computer. But you may find yourself faced with an older model that is difficult to calibrate.

You've seen the results - grainy images, scrambled text and screens that are cut off at the bottom. Invest some time in talking to the A/V crew a few days before the presentation. No sense in spending a great deal of time and budget on a multimedia presentation that can never get off the ground.

John Greer is president and Francie Murphy is director of communications for LJG Interactive, a San Diego-based producer of digital marketing and presentation materials.