Virtual presenting has become an everyday feature of business. Since Covid-19, it’s become the mainstay of business communication and it’s here to stay.
Many professionals find the very thought of virtual presenting unsettling.
It’s not too difficult to understand why that is.
In the good old days of presenting in person, many presenters struggled to:
– Make eye contact – now we look at a camera.
– Keep their audience’s attention – there are so many distractions online.
– Express themselves non-verbally – now we have to remember to turn our mic on.
– Use simple and compelling visuals – ‘Death by PowerPoint’ is worse online.
– ‘Read the audience’ – It’s like presenting blindfolded now.
– Interact with the audience – Now they’re not even in the room with you.
Virtual presenting is here to stay, so let’s focus on taking advantage of it and making it work.
Shift
Your thinking. Focus on the possibilities and opportunities of connecting with your audience rather than just talking to a camera.
Reduce
Your content. Remember the human mind is conditioned to wander and the online world is full of distractions. Craft a presentation which is mindful and content rich. If it doesn’t support your message and isn’t relevant to your audience leave it out.
Exercise
Your voice. In the world of virtual presenting your voice is your greatest asset. Long before you go online to speak, practice stretching and challenging your voice with vocal exercises.
Use
Your imagination. Avoid the classic PowerPoint data dump and bullet points. Create clear, rich, compelling slides using pictures and images.
Take
Your time. Just because your audience aren’t in the room with you doesn’t mean you don’t have to prepare. Take the time to prepare fully, to practice and to get feedback.
Craft
Your message. The success of any presentation depends on the clarity and impact of its message. Virtual presenting does not exempt us from ensuring that our message is clear, focused and relevant to our audience.
Repeat
Your message. Don’t expect to tell your audience once and expect them to get it. You have to tell them again and again.
Share
Your passion. If you don’t believe in yourself or your message then don’t expect your audience to. Let them feel your passion as though they were sitting right next to you.
Ensure
You are professional. Get the lighting right, choose your background mindfully. Check your sound and visuals including all of the functionality of your video conferencing platform. Set your camera at eye level and look at it. Shut down all other apps and browsers. Check your Wi-Fi. Test your screen sharing, polling, and white board.
Put a do not disturb sign on your door, place all phones in another room and keep the dog out.
Be
Your best self. Don’t just be yourself; be your best self.
In other words, ditch the ‘corporate spokesperson’ and ‘telephone voice’. Let your audience into your world by showing them how you think, feel and why you care.
Pace
Yourself. Calm down and slow down. Take a few deep breaths before you start the presentation.
Check your speed and pace remembering to pause and breath after each important point.
Involve
Your audience. Don’t just talk at them.
Ask them questions, get them thinking. Use polls, chat, hand raising and break out rooms. Invite them to turn on their cameras where appropriate.
Tell them stories, ask for feedback, ask them what they think and how they feel. Plan an interaction every 5 minutes; no longer. Call on them by their names.
Increase
Your visibility. It’s one thing not being able to see your audience but when they can’t see you clearly, that’s worse.
Set your webcam so they can see your head, full upper body and arms. If you can use a standing desk that’s even better. Let your audience see as much of you as you can.
Commit
Yourself fully. Open your presentation with a commitment to your audience that you intend to give them 100%.
That means your complete, focus, energy, passion, knowledge, empathy, respect and insights. In return, ask them to turn off their phones and close all other devices and windows.
Look
Your best. Dress appropriately for the occasion, watch out for distracting jewellery or accessories. Watch out for spinach stuck in your teeth and bed head hair, if it’s an early one.
Set
Yourself and your audience up for success. Craft a presentation that you would like to be on the receiving end of.
Build it with empathy, humility and creativity. Don’t focus on impressing your audience focus on connecting with them and making a difference to their lives.
In today’s COVID-19 world, virtual presenting has become the norm and for many reasons it’s here to stay. We owe it to ourselves and our audience to get good at it.
Have you noticed that everything I have shared with you in this article applies to in person presenting just as equally? At Mindful Presenter we have always held the belief that when it comes to presenting, virtual is real.
If you need help with virtual presenting:
– Book yourself onto a powerful public speaking course.
– Invest in some really good one to one public speaking coaching.
– Get yourself some excellent presentation training
Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash
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