End with a Bang!

The ending of your presentation should be its pinnacle, not its abyss. Everything that you have done so far should lead up to a crescendo. I recommend that you never end a presentation with a dry restatement of the agenda. Never say, “Let’s summarize what we’ve covered.” Go back to why attendees are here in the first place.

If the presentation was meant to address a problem or a yearning, do not simply remind them of that fact. Get them to feel it. Creating a feeling rather than describing it is one of the most basic differences between writing and poetry. Standard communication tells you that it is snowing, but poetry compels you to feel the coldness and wetness of the snow. It evokes the emotion of what it was like when you were a child, saw the pure white blanket, and felt that thrilling sense of not having to go to school. Go back to your introduction, conjure up the hopes and dreams that participants had at the beginning of the presentation, and help them imagine what it will feel like when they realize those dreams.

Focus on enabling attendees to answer the following questions:

Why did they come there? What was their goal?
What will they do tomorrow, in a week, and in a month to attain that goal?
What was their experience like?
What type of support can they expect from you, or from others?
What will success be like for them personally? 
How will they continue what they have started today?

Two Great Unfounded Fears

Most presenters have two unfounded fears: (1) that they will finish their presentation early, and (2) that they will not have enough time to share all the information that they wanted to cover. Since most of us are well versed in the subject matter of our virtual presentation, we feel that we have a great deal of knowledge and would like to share as much of it as we can with our attendees. Often, we overestimate the amount of knowledge that suits our goals and attendees’ patience. Whenever possible, slim down your virtual presentation so that you can end on time. Most of us have complained when presentations ran over, but I do not think that anybody has ever complained when one ended early. We are typically overjoyed that we have a few moments in which to send an e-mail or make a call before our next meeting. Finally, it is far better to leave your audience hungry for more than overwhelmed than bored with having received too much. Let the attendees crave a bit more, so that they will explore on their own, attend your more advanced presentation, or look forward to a follow-up call.

Receiving Feedback
One of the best ways to improve your virtual presentation is to solicit feedback on how well it went. As I’ve mentioned before, there are several ways to do this, such as asking attendees to complete a comment form or a survey. You may also feel that if they do not complete the form while they are in the presentation, they never will. You are probably right! My recommendation is that you think very hard about what type of information you really need and keep your questions to a bare minimum. Reasonable requests are:

How likely are you to use the skills covered in this presentation within the next week?
Are you interested in knowing more about how our event management services can make planning your next event more convenient?
How comfortable do you feel with your knowledge of our new health plan? 
Are there any areas that you still find unclear?
Would you like to stay in touch? How (e-mail or phone) and when?

Be very specific, and do not ask for information that you are not sure you will use. Regardless of how much time you give them, participants will probably spend less than a minute providing you with information, so choose what you request wisely. You can always send a more detailed questionnaire in a day or two.

Never End a Presentation with a Question-and-Answer Session
You need to end your presentation with an inspirational finale and a call to action. Nothing is more deflating than then a question-and-answer session. Try doing these throughout your session or early in your ending. I know that this sounds counterintuitive, but trust me: it works.

Be Helpful
Display your e-mail or Web address for at least 30 seconds toward the end of your presentation. This will convince attendees that you really do want them to contact you if they have any questions. Be sure to respond to any questions in 24 hours or less.

Disconnect Please
Ask all attendees to disconnect from the session, and make sure that they do so. Be very sure of this before you make any comments that you may regret later. People have lost good careers for not being careful about making sure that all attendees gave disconnected before making “questionable” remarks.

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

When to Consider a Virtual Presentation (and When Not To)

As the author of a book about conducting virtual presentations, I have an obvious bias toward presenting virtually whenever possible. Having said that, though, I am a pragmatist: there are going to be times when giving a virtual presentation would not be the best way to go. In most cases, I would encourage you to consider conducting a virtual presentation, but there are definitely circumstances that call for the tried-and-true technique of presenting in person. Here is a breakdown of times when you should consider a virtual presentation, and times when you should not.
Virtual Presentations are a Must When You…

Need to present to more than 25 people at the same time

As stated previously, there is only so much space in a conference room. Whenever you need to send a message to the entire floor or the entire company, your best bet is to go virtual.

Need to reach people far away (cheaply)

If it’s in your company’s best interest to keep the travel budget low, then a virtual presentation can get your message across while saving a fortune in airfare. Virtual presentations will enable you to reach larger and more dispersed audiences that you may not have been able to reasonably accommodate in the past.

Have serious stage fright

Some people are excellent communicators in certain settings, but deathly afraid of being in the spotlight. They are great on the phone, but not so good in person. Although programs like Toastmasters can be beneficial in the long term for helping such people improve at presenting in person, in the short term, a virtual presentation is ideal.

Need the more advanced capabilities of virtual presentations.

You should consider using virtual if it would be beneficial to archive your presentation for viewing by those who were not able to attend in person. A virtual presentation may also benefit your organization by establishing and maintaining a cohesive group of participants (e.g., a community of practice) who stay in touch after your presentation. Finally, using frequent virtual presentations may foster collaboration and build stronger teams.

In-Person Presentations Are a Must When You . . .

Have bad news to deliver. If the meeting is about something that is deeply emotional, such as an announcement that layoffs are forthcoming or that performance has been poor all-around this quarter (and hopefully that isn’t the case for anyone reading this book!), then the message needs to be delivered in person. Many people feel that finding out bad news on a computer screen feels like a slap in the face on top of the bad news itself. It’s better to conduct these kinds of meetings in person.

Need to establish trust

A crucial objective of many meetings is to establish trust. Presentations designed to engender investor confidence or unquenchable desire for a new product would be a couple of examples. Establishing trust requires engaging many of the attendees’ senses. Visual cues and social presence are critical to building trust. These two elements are usually missing from a virtual presentation. They can be achieved only by someone who is highly skilled in the art and science of virtual presenting. After reading this book, though, you may become a member of this elite group.

Need to change attitudes

Conducting a presentation that can change people’s attitudes is difficult to pull off in person and nearly impossible in a virtual environment. As with building trust, visual cues and social presence are critical here. To succeed, these presentations not only need to establish trust, but must create an environment that is intimate, open, and accepting. After all, you might have to call people out on the carpet regarding their current attitudes before you explain the need for change. You may attempt such a feat with an audience of people who are already familiar with one another and are committed to the tasks at hand, but even then, you need to tread carefully.

Delivering Great Virtual Presentations – This is your time to Shine

You made it! The hard part is over—since you have rehearsed so much, the presentation should be a breeze. Remember to breathe and breathe deeply.

Leave no Participant Behind

Avoid scrolling quickly—some people take longer to read and digest information than others. Be aware that it may take a while for attendees’ screens to refresh. Assume a couple of seconds of lag time so that you leave nobody behind. When it’s important that the audience notices a particular point, pause, verbally call attention to what you would like the attendees to notice, and ask them if they are seeing it. If you click on something, describe what you are clicking on. Be sure to speak slowly and clearly. Avoid statements such as “look over here” or “notice this.” Instead, use statements such as “look at the second bullet of the screen” or “notice the arrow at the top left-hand corner of your display.”

Be Very Careful before you Press the Send Button

Be sure that you are sending your message where you want it to go.
Otherwise, you can embarrass yourself and offend others. You typically have the option of sending comments to another presenter, to a specific attendee, or to all participants. Check for typos as best you can, using the spell-check feature of your word processing application to create and check your comment and then just paste in into your message window.

Maintain a High Level of Energy

Sustain a fast and lively pace that might seem just a bit faster than is comfortable for the average participant. Smile; even if the attendees do not see you, a smile always shines through. You’ll find that people seem to be able to hear your smile. Vary your intonations. This includes your pitch, volume, and inflections. When you change the way you sound at times, it keeps listeners interested. Stay positive and enthusiastic. Avoid statement such as, “I hope this works.” Use the singular “you” in your statements and questions. Instead of saying, “I wonder if anyone out there can answer this question,” say something like, “I wonder if you know the answer to this question?” Listeners should have the feeling that you are speaking directly to them. Use attendees’ names as much as you can to add further personalization.

Be Flexible, Agile, and Intellectually Nimble

This is probably the one element that separates great virtual presenters from simply good ones.

Avoid Distributing all of your Handouts at the Beginning of your Presentation

Attendees often look ahead. Wait to distribute handouts until they are needed. It is acceptable to include contact information in your handouts, so that attendees can reach out to you if they need to. Be sure to make this information understated and tasteful. Send private messages to attendees complementing their chats and other involvement in your virtual presentation. Also, send chat messages to participants whom you feel need a little extra help or encouragement.

A Few More Thoughts

Where appropriate, include support information such as Web resources and an e-mail box for questions to subject matter experts (SMEs). Include an “I didn’t know that “whiteboard where participants can write something new that they learned during the presentation and how they intend to use it. Expect that unexpected things will happen. Remember that you can broadcast the results of a poll as it is running or wait until it is winding down. I recommend waiting until it is winding down, so that attendees do not alter their answers to agree with the majority.

Virtual Presentations that Work

Executives of Fortune 100 companies are directing their organizations to conduct more meetings using electronic conferencing software (e.g., Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro, WebEx). Technical communicators are concerned that the limitations of the medium will severely diminish the effectiveness of their presentations. They want to prepare themselves to develop and conduct electronic meetings that are compelling, interactive, and motivational.

Read this article published by Ezine @articles for a wealth of ideas that are useful in organizing virtual meetings:

Virtual Presentations that Work

How Companies are using Virtual Presentations

Virtual presentations have become a standard communications tool in just about every industry and department. A cornucopia of industries are utilizing virtual presentations to achieve rock-solid business results.

Read the Ezine @rticle by Dr. Joel Gendelman here: “How companies are using virtual presentations”

Energizing Virtual Meetings

First published in Intercom, February 2009

by Joel Gendelman

Executives of Fortune 100 companies are directing their organizations to conduct more meetings using electronic conferencing software (e.g., Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro, WebEx). Technical communicators are concerned that the limitations of the medium will severely diminish the effectiveness of their presentations. They want to prepare themselves to develop and conduct electronic meetings that are compelling, interactive, and motivational.

I believe that it is not the medium that creates compelling communication; it is the communication strategies used. Electronic meetings have several inherent drawbacks (e.g., lack of visual feedback, more diffi cult social interaction), but there are also strengths (e.g., the ability to collaborate over great distances unbounded by time). Flexibility and creativity enable technical communicators to duplicate all of the benefi ts of a physical meeting in a virtual meeting.

To follow are a wealth of ideas that are useful in organizing virtual meetings.

Gain Attention

Begin your virtual meeting with a wellthought- out introduction. Introduce yourself and, if time permits, invite participants to introduce themselves. Ask them to share background information, including professional and personal interests and hobbies. Try posting your picture and, if possible, pictures of participants. Experiment with innovative methods for gathering and sharing participant background information (e.g., matching unique experiences with the appropriate participant).

Establish Relevance

A great way to establish relevance is to poll participants to determine their background and interest in the subject. It is always a good idea to use a variety of media, such as animations, background information, current events, cartoons, articles, thought-provoking questions, quotes, and stories.

Present Information

In presenting information electronically, use similar multimedia as you would in a face-to-face presentation, but be to sure vary the types (for example, use media such as text, graphics, animations, video and multimedia presentations, illustrations, diagrams, schematics, models, audio presentations, and concrete objects). As with any other type of meeting, it is always important to keep things on track, so consistently refer to the meeting schedule that you presented at the beginning of the presentation and provide content summaries throughout the session. Attention spans can be short in the Internet world, so present information in short chunks and in a logical flow. Be sure to vary the pace and format of your presentation every five to six minutes.

Incorporate compelling communications strategies that include storytelling, guest-speaker presentations, simulations, analogies, homework assignments, case studies, discovery learning, relevant and irrelevant examples, experiments, mnemonics, and games.

As in any powerful presentation, support your main ideas with graphics whenever possible. Using too many colors and fonts confuses people, so keep the format simple, especially if you are using PowerPoint.

Since simplicity is the soul of wit, keep your presentations simple and clear. Tell participants what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you have told them. This should be easy, since you have plenty of media to play with. You can set the stage in a multimedia presentation, then present the topic via a whiteboard presentation, and finally review the topic in a discussion using the chat or a polling feature.

Simplify your life by enabling participants to download documents instead of passing them out. Be sure to use PDFs, since they display and print more predictably than other document formats. Use the whiteboard as you would a flip chart. You may point to, highlight, draw, and notate on the whiteboard. In addition, refer to websites and other resources as valuable sources of information, references, and exercise materials. Try something different and present information from another point of view (e.g., customer, competitor, user, and engineer). Finally, anticipate and prepare for participants’ questions. Distilling important information for participants is also useful, so construct job aids that distill relevant information.

Conduct Demonstrations

When conducting demonstrations, experiment with using case studies related to real-life situations. Ask participants to explore controversial issues. Finally, request that participants share their own experiences related to the content.

Showing photographs or video presentations of salient portions of your demonstrations can help focus participants’ attention. You can also use the drawing and text tools for highlighting and labeling. Screen sharing is a powerful method to demonstrate computer applications. Be sure to use the drawing tools to label and highlight sections of the screen. Finally, select examples and activities that mirror the setting where participants will apply their new skills.

Facilitate Practice

Incorporating practice is a powerful method for maintaining participation and interest. Assign participants to groups and ask them to collaborate on specific assignments. The group size should be no more than four participants. Assign and rotate roles within each group to ensure sharing and cooperation. If applicable, synthesize activities completed outside of the meeting. Encourage lively presentations of no longer than five minutes in length. Encourage participants to use the whiteboard. To increase the relevance of your practice, use case studies, roleplays, and simulations that mimic reallife activities.

If participants cannot interact with the real systems, provide links to training databases or test sites. If you would like participants to demonstrate their usage of applications or share information as part of interactive demonstrations or exercises, simply use your virtual meeting application to display their screen to the rest of the group.

Instigate and Manage Discussions

Managing discussions requires being both bold and careful. Open discussions with a provoking comment. Plant ideas by asking a leading question on the whiteboard or in a chat window. Discussion can quickly get out of control, so include a proposed outline of the discussion. Also keep the discussion on course by clarifying the theme of the discussion and the topics that you expect to cover. Closely manage discussions. This instruction cannot be stressed too strongly. You have some powerful tools at your disposal, so do not be afraid to use them. Use the microphone, whiteboard, chat window, or email as media in the discussion. Give learners “interesting” roles during discussions. Finally, always end discussions by restating the goals of the discussion, summarizing the results, and pointing out how the results relate to the next topic.

Assess Participant Engagement

Polling questions are a powerful vehicle for verifying understanding, wakingup participants, determining their level of engagement, or identifying where participants stand on particular issues. Ask questions that are clear, pertinent, brief, and challenging. Utilize the polling capability to ask true/false or multiple-choice questions and see how many participants select each choice. You may keep these results to yourself or share them. Include questions with a degree of difficulty that matches the level of the audience. You never want to come across as negative, so avoid feedback that is too brief or abrupt; participants may interpret such feedback as angry. You may wish to have groups use materials and assessment instruments located in a shared folder to complete in-basket exercises (e.g., completing customer service transactions in a variety of situations).

Develop and Conduct Exciting and Motivating Activities

Create constructive conflict or “creative abrasion” by:

• Asking leading questions
• Representing other points of view
• Exploring the content in a new context

Extract positive outcomes from difficult situations by:

• Directing the question to the group
• Asking the group for solutions or methods to find solutions
• Calling upon specific participants to help out

Sometimes presentations require taking some risks, so build suspense into your presentations by creating activities (e.g., discussions, games) where the results are not predictable. Also feel free to change the rules while the activities are still in motion. Do so using chats, selective emails, and several shared folders to provide different groups with varying rules and instructions.

A good method for fostering collaboration is to conduct group activities. Enable groups to communicate using chat areas or emails. If you are bold, you can have groups set up their own virtual meetings in order to work together. Be sure to assign a leader for each group.

You Are on Your Way

I hope that you will find these ideas useful in creating and delivering technical presentations that engage participants. Good luck and enjoy!

Joel Gendelman has over 25 years of experience developing activity rich presentations and eLearning. He has developed communications solutions for companies that include Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Nissan, Lucent Technologies, Hewlett-Packard, and Genentech. Joel has published a book and over 50 articles. He is the recipient of a Brandon Hall “Excellence in eLearning” Award and is a frequent speaker at international conferences. Joel holds both a masters and doctorate in educational technology from the Catholic University of America.