How to Give a Great Virtual Presentation
The last time you attended a virtual call or presentation, what aspects of the speakers’ presenting did you not like? What elements would you deem as the reason for the general public’s “Zoom fatigue”—the tire of attending and listening to virtual calls. Jot down your irritants as “things not to do” as we dive into the best practices that will make for a great virtual presentation.
1. Set up Natural Lighting
Regardless of your presentation’s purpose, there is universal preparation to keep in mind. First, be prepared to be on camera. Virtual calls can become monotonous without the right visuals holding audience’s attention, which you are a part of. As you plan your computer setup, remember that you will need proper lighting on your face. Facing a window for natural light or investing in an affordable light-ring to place next to your monitor are both solutions. Similarly, your computer’s camera should be at or slightly above your eye level making it appear as if you’re starring at the audience. You don’t want your attendees to have a view up your nostrils.
2. Get To Know Your Event Webcasting Platform
Practice does not make perfect, especially when technology is involved, but it helps when unplanned situations arise. If you’re less computer savvy, be sure to allow yourself time to become familiar with the webcasting platform. When Investis Digital holds virtual events for clients, we provide no less than 2 prep calls with speakers alone to allow them time to adjust to our webcasting platform’s settings.
3. Practicing By Recording on Zoom
If you have unlimited access to a virtual call platform (ex. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, GoToMeeting, etc.), you can use this within your practice too. Start a meeting of your own, share your screen and run through your presentation as if it were live. Don’t forget to hit record. It can be painful to play your recording back, but if you don’t have a lot of experience presenting this practice could help you improve your cadence, articulation, and posture. Any presentation should be practiced, so you don’t come across as reading slides. Or worse, blatantly reading notes off to the side. There are more in-depth tips for public speaking preparation here.
4. Pre-Presentation Checklist
Before your show goes live be sure to distribute any interactive materials you may want the audience to engage with during your talk ahead of time. This will eliminate long pauses during your presentation as you wait for attendees to access such worksheets. You can share these materials via email prior or have a URL link on the initial intro-slide that shows as attendees join the virtual room and wait for the presentation to start.
The minutes leading up to your actual virtual presentation, triple check that all of your computer notifications are off. Common noises that may occur during a virtual meeting could be email notifications, text messages, chat pop-ups, and more. Instead of risking disruptions, we recommend closing all other applications if able, as mentioned in our blog 6 Tips To Run An Effective Meeting. Your attention should now only be focused on your virtual facilitators and attendees.
5. Ask Your Audience Questions or For Feedback While Live
Actively take advantage of the chat feature within the virtual platform. Engagement with your live audience, just as if you were in-person on stage or in a room, helps both the audience and your own mentality. It can be difficult to speak to a screen and not always see the faces of your listeners. Chat can help you receive real-time feedback – a pulse. Just remember, sometimes there’s a lag time of a few seconds for audience comments and virtual reactions to show up in the chat boxes if you’re soliciting responses.
It doesn’t hurt to have a helping hand monitor the chat features for you too. If attendees have questions, a coordinator could help you respond via chat in a timely fashion, or organize the priority questions for you to be asked verbally when the time comes for Q&A.
6. Keep Your Energy Consistent Throughout Your Presentation
Speaker energy levels and inflection is equally as important as audience engagement. Throughout your entire speech, variance in your voice and visuals will help your message get across. Like videos and podcasts, allow your storytelling skills to shine as it could make or break how many audience members stick around and pay attention to your entire talk. If you need help keeping your energy up on camera, we recommend standing as you present, rather than sitting down.
Ultimately, as you run through your presentation and preparation, put yourself in the shoes of your audience. What is going to hold their attention? What are elements you’ve seen other virtual speakers do that kept you engaged? Practice in your actual setup within the virtual platform and your fears will melt away. If you’re planning something that’s more encompassing, such as a virtual event, check out our Webinars, Webcasting & Virtual Events Guide and strategy checklist.
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