How to present on a phone or tablet at a client meeting

Not every client meeting has a projector. Often it’s a cabin, a shop counter, a site office or a café table. You pull out your phone or tablet, turn it around and start explaining.

It works well when you prepare for it. A deck made for a big screen can feel cramped and awkward on a small one. Here’s how to get it right.

Pick the right device

If you have a choice, a tablet is easier. The screen is big enough for two people to look at comfortably, and you can lay it flat or prop it up.

A phone works for a one-to-one conversation and short decks. For more than two people, or anything with charts, it gets difficult. Everyone leans in, and nobody can read the small text.

If you only have a phone, plan for it. Fewer slides, bigger text, and be ready to hand it over.

Design slides for a small screen

What looks fine on a laptop can be unreadable on a phone held at arm’s length. Change your slides for the setting:

• Make text much bigger. If you’d use 24-point text on a big screen, go well above that for a phone.
• One point per slide. A headline and one picture or number is often enough.
• Cut long tables. Show three rows, not twelve. Keep the full table in a PDF to send later.
• Use strong contrast. Dark text on a light background is easiest to read in bright rooms and outdoors.
• Choose landscape or portrait, and stick to it. Turning the device mid-meeting is clumsy. Most decks are landscape, which suits a tablet. A phone held by one person may feel more natural in portrait.

Fewer slides help too. For a fifteen-minute chat across a table, six to eight slides is usually plenty. For more on this, see how many slides a presentation should have.

Set up the device before you leave

Small things go wrong on phones. Fix them before the meeting:

• Download the file. Don’t rely on the internet at the client’s office. Save a copy that opens offline.
• Keep a PDF version. A PDF opens on almost any device and is easy to swipe through.
• Charge it fully. Carry a charger or power bank if the meeting may run long.
• Turn on Do Not Disturb. A WhatsApp message popping up on slide three is distracting, and sometimes embarrassing.
• Turn screen brightness up and switch off auto-lock, so the screen doesn’t go dark while you talk.
• Close other apps and tabs. If you need to switch to a photo or a price list, you want to find it quickly.
• Clean the screen. Fingerprints show more than you’d think when someone else is looking.

Arrange the table

Where you sit changes everything. Sitting opposite the client means they see your device upside down or at an angle.

Better options:

• Sit beside them, or at the corner of the table, so you’re both looking at the screen from the same side.
• Hand the device over for key slides, like photos of your work, and let them swipe.
• Use a simple stand or a tablet cover that props the screen up, so neither of you has to hold it.

If there are three or more people, consider sharing your screen to their TV or a laptop, or sending the PDF to everyone just before you start.

Running the meeting

Presenting on a small screen feels more like a conversation than a talk. Use that.

• Start without the device. Say who you are and why you’re there before you show anything.
• Let them ask questions as you go. It’s natural in this setting, and it tells you what they care about.
• Point and explain. Use your finger to show what matters on the slide: “This is the price for 50 pieces.”
• Skip freely. If they’ve already understood a slide, swipe past it. If they want to see more photos, go there.
• Put the device down at the end. When you make your ask, look at the person, not the screen.

Follow up the same day

After the meeting, send the PDF by email or WhatsApp with a short message: what you discussed, the price or option they liked, and the next step. People often look at it again later that evening, and a clear PDF makes it easy to say yes.

A quick checklist

Before you walk in:

1. Slides with big text, one point each
2. File downloaded, plus a PDF copy
3. Device charged, notifications off, brightness up
4. A plan for where to sit
5. Your opening line and your ask ready

For more ideas on presenting in small business settings, see our presentation tips for small businesses. When you need a short deck for your next meeting, you can describe it to Deck and refine it from there.