When to print off presentations for the audience?

Question

I will be giving a presentation shortly to some of the higher ups about what I did this summer as an intern. In some student presentations I've seen at University and at conferences, the presenter will print off the slides to distribute among the audience in case they would like to follow along. Additionally, this happens for some of my classes where the professors will print it off for students to take notes on. When is it acceptable and recommended to print off your slideshow in an industry setting?Obviously an everyday meeting is generally not a situation for this, but for situations like a 3-month progress presentation to those who don't know you seems like it would be helpful for them to have. I would like to know what are the industry conventions for this type of thing.

Answer 1

I don't recommend print outs. Its a huge waste of paper and your entire audience will be focused on the paper in front of them, not on you. They need to pay attention to you for the message to have any chance of being delivered and remembered, so stick with slides and keep them minimal.