It’s been quite some time now living in these unprecedented times. We have been hearing news from all around. The increase in the count of coronavirus patient is going through the roof. Almost all countries are either in the middle of their lockdown or have just started lifting it for the sake of reviving their economy. Like the United States, UK, China, Italy, France, and other nations of the world, the World’s biggest superpowers are taking the stride of this pandemic. We see economies and big corporations all adjusting to the new reality. As the world is relentlessly fighting against this pandemic, each of us struggles with our own. The struggle to strike the right work-life balance, keep your entire team in the loop, learn and adjust to new normal. Among many other things, online presentations and virtual meetings have become an absolute new norm.
However, you will meet people who would tell you that online presentations are no different than offline ones. It is just the same presentation you have to give in front of the camera of your laptop. Trust me, and if you have any experience giving presentations, you would surely agree that online presentations are a different ball game. In the article below, we try and learn ways to take our online presentation a level up.
If you want to ace the art of online presentation, then you sure should consider following the tips below:
Focus on how you start
Consider giving presentations online, like flying an aircraft. How you start and how you end are the two most important things. So, it is often suggested to spend most of your time planning your start and end of the presentation. In this part of the article, we will focus largely on how to start your presentation.
The beginning of your presentation is the most important part. It sets the tone for the remainder of your presentation. If you cannot create a good first impression, you will have a hard time keeping your audience hooked. As a matter of fact, a great start will make you feel much more comfortable and place your audience well in your grip. The momentum you set in this part will move forward to the rest of the part of your presentation.
Basically, if you fail to kill in the first part of your presentation, you will most certainly have a tough time in the later parts. Also, there is another thing which you should know if you do not know already is that people take no time to form judgments. So, it is all about the very first impression. A study by the University of Toronto concluded that observers take not more than 5 seconds to determine a person’s character.
Things to take care
When you have an online presentation planned, you should try and make the process as seamless as possible. It requires certain preparation, which needs to be done beforehand. You can sit and think of potential roadblocks/ errors that can potentially creep in.
Fix technical errors: Make a point that you double-check all of your pieces of equipment well before time. All things (including your microphone, webcam, and wifi/LAN connection) are working fine. If technical problems arise, it can potentially give the impression that you are an unreliable person.
Get rid of distractions: Put your phone in silent mode, turn off the desktop speakers, switch off electric appliances, which can cause distractions. Ensure that your room is kids/ dog free. Know that all of your audience will be listening to you through earphones so even the slightest noise from your end can be heard.
Dress properly: This one is often neglected in online presentations, but know it is important that you dress wisely. If you have to give an online business presentation, you must dress in business-appropriate clothes (including your pants). Another highlight here is to keep in mind that your clothes’ color shouldn’t be matching the background.
Smile and be happy: Studies conducted show that people can gauge your mood just by looking at your face or by hearing your voice. Start your day with something which you think might lift your mood. Therefore, ensure that you are in a great mood before you actually go live.
Best ways to start your presentation
Following are the best ways of start your presentation:
Icebreaker: Icebreaker, or should I say online icebreaker, should be kept handy all the time. It is a great way to have your audience’s attention right from the beginning. Make sure whatever you have can be done easily through the computers.
Illustrate: If you have to make your audience remember something, try and incorporate an image or paint a picture for them. You can do so by making them imagine a hypothetical situation.
Have a story: Story is a crucial element of the presentation, and it can be immensely helpful to grip your audience. make sure it is relevant and not very long.
Be witty: Use of aphorism or commonly known phrases is great. You can add a twist to it by making it much more relevant and relatable.
Analogy: This is a great way to break complex processes into simpler words. This way, it becomes much easier and digestible for your audience. For example, saying that project closure is like trekking down a mountain.
Interrogate: Questions make the presentation much more engaging and enable people to take an interest. A lot of times, asking questions can get people to think out of the box.
Insert Quotes: Another great way to start and have people’s attention is by adding quotes. Ensure that whatever quote you are using is from a credible source and holds pertinence to the topic.
Keep your face in the frame
Here is an interesting fact about us, human beings. We are naturally attracted more to faces. We are born with this attraction, and in short, we adore faces be it ours or others. So, if you are going to attend or conduct a presentation online, keep your camera on. Even if you are on a video call while talking to your client globally, make sure your face is visible. Doing this alone will increase your likability significantly. Almost all the online meeting hosting platforms give you the option to keep your video on while you are sharing your screen.
You can take your game a notch up if you keep your camera a little far from you. This will allow your audience to see more of you and capture your body language. It will allow you to demonstrate more non-verbal cues like your hand gesture. If I start to dwell on what wonders your hand gestures/ body language can do, we will need another blog altogether. Following are some basic tips for starters:
- Do not just say hello. Wave your hands while you say it
- Try and keep your hands visible while you are on the presentation
- Include adequate gestures
Use as many visual cues as you can
Before we discuss this, it is important we know why do we need visual cues in the first place? Visual aids :
- Enable us to engage with our audience in a much better way
- Add diversity to the overall presentation
- Makes complicated ideas look easy
- Helps the audience retain information better
I don’t know if I need to tell you this, but nobody likes to read large blocks of texts. You should use visuals in all of your presentations; otherwise, it is just tough to keep your audience attentive. Visuals make your presentation less boring and help you get your message across to the audience. The following are some examples of visuals aids that you can use in your presentations:
- Pictures (licensed)
- Videos
- Charts and graphs
- GIFs
- Memes
- Hand-drawn diagrams/ pictures
The purpose of visuals
If you are still conflicted about whether or not, you should leverage visual aids. You should totally consider asking yourself some questions:
- Does my visual answer something or make something otherwise complex looks simpler?
- Is it appropriate to show it to the audience?
- Are there just too many visuals?
- Is the video too long?
Ask yourself if the visual that you are planning to use answer any of the aforementioned questions. You can also consider explicitly mentioning the purpose of your visual on the said slide. Also, do not forget if your visuals are not adding value; you should consider not having them at all.
Do screen recording
There are a couple of things about virtual presentation which you can totally use to your advantage. You can present where you practice, so you have a better idea of connectivity, noise, lights, etc. Most importantly, since you are doing it from the comfort of your home, it will help you take some load off your shoulder. When you practice, make sure you turn on the screen recording feature. It is just crucial, and all the platforms enable you to record. After you are done practicing, make sure that you check your recorded video. When you look at your recording, consider the below-mentioned points:
- Are there too many hand gestures?
- Am I coming across as rigid or unnatural?
- Is my audio just fine?
- Are there places where I fumble?
- Am I able to wrap up well under the designated time?
- Did I face any issue on a technical level?
- If there is any perpetual noise in the background that can be eliminated?
- Am I derailing from the set path and where exactly is it happening?
Another major benefit of screen recording would be to give it to a friend/ colleague/ family member you think can help you. You may ask them for their honest feedback and inquire about ways you can improve.
End game strategy
You must know how an ideal presentation should end. It is the part where your audience experience they have learned something new. They should be happy and feel inspired. If you have made this far in your presentation, I am sure you really do not want it to take a nosedive. The following are some tips that will make your presentation stick into people’s heads long after it has ended.
Keep it easy: Make a point to end your presentation in an easily digestible way. Keep the heavy statistics for the middle part of your presentation.
Close with clarity: Instead of ending with “Do you have any questions?” have an end slide summarising your entire presentation in an easy to understand manner. It can be a simple walkthrough or a call to action.
Call to Action: We know that humans are emotional creatures, and we more often than not are ruled by emotions than logic. Let’s say if your business has come up with an innovation to mitigate an existing problem. Instead of solely showcasing the statistics, appeal to the emotions of the people. Tell your customers how it will make their lives easier instead of just focusing on your product’s features and benefits. Showcase how it is making the world a cleaner place instead of just saying it reduces carbon footprint, and so on. You can also use a method called the double method. End your presentation by showing how the world will be a much worse place if your recommendations are not adapted or how it will make the world a better place.
Humor: It is a little risky one, but if done right, it leaves a huge impression on your audience for a lasting period of time. There are more than a few ways to incorporate humor in your presentation. You can ask your audience a question at the very beginning of your presentation and answer it funnily and surprisingly while closing. Humor has a lasting effect, and it makes your presentation a memorable one. Some great presenters take inspiration from standup comics.