Preparing Great Virtual Presentations

It is just a week before your virtual presentation, and you want to make sure that everything goes just right. Here are some items that you want to make sure you have on your checklist.

Send a Motivating E-mail Reminder to Participants before the Presentation


Keeping your future attendees aware of the event will help to build excitement for it. If applicable, remind participants why the presentation is valuable to them personally, not just to their organization. Ideally, you want the attendees to feel as though they get to participate in your virtual presentation, rather than that they have to do so. Playing up what they stand to benefit from it personally only increases your chance of this outcome. Be sure that your requests highlight what would be of value to them, not to you. This announcement should be more detailed than the confirmation. Include help-desk information for technical problems that may occur before or during the virtual presentation. Warn participants not to plan to call from a cell phone. Often the reception is poor, and everyone gets to hear the static. Finally, recommend that audience members participate in the presentation using a headset or a quiet room, so that they can concentrate and not disturb others.


Review and Refine your Presentation Materials

If you have conducted the virtual presentation before, take some time to refine the presentation based upon your prior experiences and to personalize the presentation to the attendees. Include their company logo in your presentation and handouts. Use terms that are part of their industry jargon.


Check the Room where you will be Conducting the Event
If possible, gain information on the rooms that the attendees will use. If several participants are located in the same remote site, check that the site meets your needs in terms of the size and layout, access to computers, number of chairs, and equipment in working order. 

As the presenter, you may use a conference room, a corporate office, or your home office. You just want to make sure that you have a quiet and private location to eliminate distractions. If you will be conducting your virtual presentation from a home office, place the dog outside and ask your family to go to the mall or a park.

Select your Wardrobe

Lean toward the conservative side. Wear neutral, solid clothing. Avoid stripes, plaids, and floral designs. Make sure that your clothes contrast with the background colors. Try everything on beforehand to ensure that you have not gained enough weight to make for a distractingly too-tight outfit. This is the time to learn that a shirt is missing a button or that you need to take a trip to the dry cleaner.

Build a List of Participants
Include participants basic job information, and distribute the list to all attendees. This will provide attendees with a sense of community and you with a vehicle for referring to participants by name and knowing something about them. Add more information about attendees as they introduce themselves, such as their company, department, position, and what they hope to glean from the presentation. 

Upload Supporting Materials
If your virtual presentation software supports uploading materials to a shared folder, upload everything that you intend to distribute during the session to the folder. Then you won’t have to worry about whether participants will be able to access the materials easily before, during, and after your presentation.



Rehearse!
There is no substitute for rehearsal time. Each speaker needs to practice delivering her presentation aloud as if there were an audience listening. Rehearsing is the only way to work out timing, find the right words, and become comfortable with transitions and segues between talking points. Audiences can easily distinguish between a presenter who is confident, unrushed, and unflustered and one who is struggling with phrasing and pacing. When you rehearse, practice slowing down your speech. Most presenters tend to move too quickly and risk breezing by a key point. When you rehearse, do so using the computer that you will use for the presentation. That way, you will be able to recognize and resolve issues way ahead of time.

This is an except from “Virtual Presentations that Work”, published by McGraw-Hill and available from Amazon.com and other fine book sellers.

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Five Tasty Morsels for Conducting Virtual Demonstrations

1.  Never be the “sage on the stage.” 

Always attempt to be the “guide on the side.” Unless you are a thrilling speaker or a Nobel Prize winner, or unless your audience is composed of young children, no one fully appreciates a sage. Attendees want to have some participation in the experience and some involvement in its direction. You are the presenter, though, and you are there for a reason. You were chosen because of your credibility and expertise. You have a great deal of wisdom and knowledge to share. That is not enough. A major factor in the success of your presentation will be your ability to relate to the members of your audience and get them involved in your presentation.

2.  Everyone likes a good story

Use case studies or stories to engage participants. Ask participants to share their own experiences related to the content. A good story is like the peanut butter with the pill inside—it makes everything go down more smoothly. When people are relating to you, they will be more open to the information that you present and whatever actions you suggest that they take.

3.  Use strong presentation strategies. 

Present key ideas using different types of media. These include text, graphics, animations, illustrations, diagrams, schematics, and models. Keep in mind that excessive animation can be distracting and that lengthy text is difficult to read on the screen. Use additional presentation strategies that include simulations, analogies, case studies, examples of doing it “right,” non-examples that feature what not to do, mnemonics, jokes, war stories, and testimonials. The sky is the limit, and you are restricted only by your imagination. There are many different content delivery types (lectures, interviews with subject matter experts, participant demonstrations, and so on), and you should switch between them frequently. Tell stories to support your main points, and add interesting photographs and other media. Present information in a video format when you need to conduct a live demonstration or to include a message from senior management or other company leaders. 

4.  Present familiar information from another point of view. 

If you are covering the history of England, do so from the perspective of King Arthur. Try acting out the role of the customer and presenting information from her standpoint on the efficient usage of the application you’re presenting.

5.   Focus on the delivery, not just the content.

While the content of your presentation is crucial, the way you deliver it plays a huge role in how the audience accepts your message. Here are a few important guidelines to adhere to.

● Stick to the schedule.
● Structure your presentation for maximum affect. 
● Present information in short and logical chunks.
● Maintain a casual and effective tone. 
● Keep a brisk pace. 
● Use repetition artfully.
● Gracefully handle distractions 


This is an except from “Virtual Presentations that Work”, published by McGraw-Hill Professional, and available from Amazon.com and other fine booksellers.

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Let them do the Work

Instead of you doing all the talking. Direct participants to read an article. Assign sections and ask each participants to present the section and identify how they would apply the information to a current project using the white board feature to highlight the major points.

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Memorable Introductions

Ask participants for forward pictures of themselves prior to your virtual learning session At the beginning of the session, direct them to send you, via chat, a description of something they are or experienced that most people would not imagine (e.g., winner of Ms. Teen USA Pageant). Read aloud a few of the most unique experiences and one by one ask participants to match the experience with the most probably participant.

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Gaining Attention

As you know, before you can accomplish anything in a presentation, you need to gain the attention of the attendees. Use the same type of icebreakers and creative introductions that you would employ in a face-to-face presentation. For example, ask participants to introduce themselves through the eyes of their pet or share something significant they experienced that few would guess.

Here are a few simple guidelines that will get you the attention that you deserve.

• Use a web cam or a slide with your picture and, if appropriate and possible, pictures of participants to establish a human element in the presentation.
• Ask participants to share background information, including professional and personal interests or hobbies. Show interest in the information that participants provide.
• Begin with a well thought out introduction that captures the essence of your presentation and the attention of the audience. Most participants switch to other tasks in a matter of seconds when things do not hold their attention.

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Use a “Great” Producer

A good virtual instruction producer is a real gem. They should be very tool savvy. They should handle the technical aspects of your session. These include loading and troubleshooting your presentation and supporting materials, recording the session, launching your presentation and media, introducing the presenters, teaching participants how to use the virtual meeting tools, holding questions until a convenient time, conducting polls, and setting up the breakout rooms.

A great producer is also a valued sidekick. Every great late night host had an equally gifted sideman. Johnny Carson had Ed McMahon, Jay Leno had Kevin Eubanks, and Gracie Allen had George Burns. What made them uniquely wonderful was their interplay with the host. Ask your producer to feed you questions. Begin discussions by directing questions to them. Banter with your producer in a comfortable and casual way. Be sure to select a producer that complements your style and rehearse with them until you zig and zag together.

A good producer will make your presentation sizzle. A great one will make it shine.

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