Quick Summary
In this BNI Tech Talks session, Jeremy Walsh demonstrates how to prepare and deliver featured speaker presentations and assigned meeting sections in BNI Plus. Follow the process from planning and confirming speakers to sending preparation emails, uploading presentations and bios, previewing slides, and controlling presentations during the meeting. The session also explains how to delegate sections such as Networking Education, upload materials on behalf of members, and make presentation files available to attendees. Along the way, Jeremy shares practical tips for readable slides, smooth presenter handoffs, and backup preparation, while the live Q&A explores file formats, video links, access for incoming leaders, and the planned speaker integration with BNI Connect.
Complete Summary
Plan and confirm featured speakers
Jeremy demonstrates scheduling speakers through Meetings > Speakers, using both the List view and the drag-and-drop Planner.
The distinction between Planned and Confirmed matters. Planned assignments let the coordinator work on the schedule without sending notifications. Confirming an assignment activates the speaker preparation process and associated emails.
Jeremy recommends planning approximately six weeks ahead to leave room for new members and changes in availability.
Send preparation emails and reminders
Confirmed speakers receive preparation notifications scheduled five days and two days before the meeting. These messages provide links for submitting presentation materials and a bio.
Leadership teams can also go to Admin > Notifications and use Send Now to send a message immediately—for example, when a speaker needs another copy of the preparation link.
Upload and preview presentation materials
Speakers can follow their email link to enter a bio and upload a presentation without a separate sign-in step in the demonstrated process. Once the file finishes processing, another email provides the Preview and Control the Presentation link.
Speakers should retain that email, review every slide, and practice before the meeting. Processing may take several minutes, so uploading early leaves time to resolve problems.
Someone with full BNI Plus access can also upload a presentation and bio on a member’s behalf. The member can then use the ready-to-present email to preview the materials.
Understand file formats and presentation limitations
PowerPoint and PDF are the recommended upload formats discussed in the session. Uploaded PowerPoint slides become static slides, so animations, transitions, and sequential bullet-point reveals are not preserved.
During the Q&A, an attendee reported a 100 MB upload limit, correcting the earlier suggestion that there was no maximum. Jeremy’s final guidance was to keep presentations under 100 MB, compressing images where needed.
For presentations created in Canva or Google Slides, the recommended approach discussed was to export a PowerPoint or PDF file and upload it. An attendee reported a different experience with Google Slides, so direct linking remained a question for follow-up.
Control presentations during the meeting
Members can control their own presentation through the emailed controller link using a phone, tablet, or another suitable device with a web browser. Once the meeting presenter hands over control, the speaker can advance the audience-facing slides.
Preparing materials in advance reduces the need to change laptops, cables, or adapters between speakers. If a member cannot connect their controller, the person running the meeting can advance the slides for them.
Use video links with preparation and testing
The session discusses linking to externally hosted videos, such as YouTube or Vimeo, instead of uploading a presentation file. BNI Plus does not host the video itself.
At the time of the session, the presentation option was described as either an uploaded file or a video URL, rather than both together. An attendee also noted that video links could open a separate window requiring the correct screen-sharing or display setup.
The video demonstration did not fully complete during the session, and Jeremy requested support tickets for further investigation.
Delegate individual meeting sections
To assign a section such as Networking Education, go to Meetings > Agenda, open the relevant section, and select the responsible member or members.
A leadership role alone does not automatically assign control of that agenda section. The section assignment establishes who prepares and presents it. Multiple members can be assigned where a team shares responsibility.
Section preparation follows a similar process to featured presentations, with a topic field, presentation upload, notifications, and preview controls. An option also allows presentation download links to be shared with attendees.
Keep speaker records in BNI Connect
At the time of this recording, speaker schedules still needed to be entered separately in BNI Connect and BNI Plus. Entering speakers in BNI Connect supports the speaker history and public chapter website.
Jeremy previews a planned integration intended to bring speaker assignments and bios from BNI Connect into BNI Plus. This was still in development, with an anticipated October timeframe and unresolved questions about conflicting assignments.
The direction of information flow remains a central point: BNI Connect sends information to BNI Plus; BNI Plus does not send it back.
Prepare early and keep a backup
Jeremy recommends uploading early enough to troubleshoot, previewing replacement files after changes, and downloading an exported copy of the meeting as a backup.
Slides should be readable on the actual display: a television, projector, laptop, or phone. Large graphics and a few clear points work better than dense paragraphs or small text.
The session also emphasizes delegation as a way to develop future chapter leaders. Giving members responsibility for a manageable section helps them build confidence and presentation skills.
Additional questions covered
The live Q&A includes access for incoming leadership teams, agenda customization, speaker confirmation, notification behavior, country and language availability, regional training, and where to find BNI Plus help articles and previous Tech Talks recordings.
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