In the past year, as remote working has become the norm for many fields, virtual presentations have become inevitable. The process of content creation for a virtual meetings is the same, the style of presenting differs. For an in-person presentation, the presenter can interact with their audience, obtain their feedback, and clarify their questions in real time. However, one of the main challenges for presenting virtually is the lack of face-to-face interactions with the audience. This makes it difficult to keep the attendees engaged throughout the session.
Here are seven tips and best practices to overcome this challenge and ensure your next remote presentation is a success.
Choose a good background and lighting
For your background, go for a professional background like a tidy bookshelf or a plain wall without any distracting visuals or objects. Learn about your conference tool and explore its features, as some of them offer the option of blurring the background or choosing a virtual one of your liking.
Here’s a bonus tip: If you are a sales professional or a marketer pitching your campaign to a client, reinforce your brand identity by placing your company branding or products in the background.
As a presenter, the entire audience’s attention will be on you, so make sure to have proper lighting. While natural lighting is the best option, if your home workspace doesn’t have enough of it, consider investing in supplemental lighting options.
Know your technology
If you’re using a presentation or conference tool for the first time, know the platform well enough to avoid any disruptions during the meeting. Once your deck is ready, go for a dry run to practice navigating any hitches during the main event.
Check your sound
Make sure the volume and system sound settings compatible with your presentation tool and use the same configuration for the main session. If there are videos in your content, ensure the audio is clear and can be played without distortions during your trial run.
Maintain level eye contact with your computer camera
Consider delivering the presentation by standing up and place the laptop on an elevated position to maintain eye level. This encourages the free flow of your body movement without restricting yourself and helps sustain your energy level until the end. If you are presenting seated in a chair, then make sure to lean forward and not to slouch away from the camera as this disconnects you from the audience.
Pace yourself
Unlike live presentations, maintaining the pace can be a challenging task without real-time audience feedback. Keep a steady and consistent pace and have an audience interaction session towards the end to verify your content has been presented clearly.
6. Share access with a team member
It is essential to have a backup in case of any technical failure. Share your deck with a team member and confirm they are well-versed in the technology and the contents of your material. This can help ensure efficient delivery of your presentation, even if something happens and you’re unable to finish presenting.
Record the session
Document or record the entire meeting and share it with your audience and team members along with the contents of your material. This way, your audience can revisit your important points and take notes any time.
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