How to keep your audience involved during an online presentation?

Posted by jaques montegolifier on June 2nd, 2021

You are more likely to offer a remote presentation to a virtual roomful of colleagues or clients these days. Remote work is becoming more common worldwide, and it has quickly become a new reality for millions of people as the COVID-19 epidemic has forced many to stay at home and adjust to life away from the workplace.

Since you are working from home, the presentations you used to make in front of a group of people in a conference room must now be done online. Giving a conference call presentation can be far more daunting than giving a public speech! Especially if you are concerned about technology's ability to cooperate.

For helping you with video conferencing, we have compiled a list of do's and don'ts from online experts, as well as tips on how to get through even the worst-case scenario.

Scheduling: Finding a time for your virtual meeting can be more difficult than the meeting itself. However, there are resources available to make scheduling easier. For example, Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook Calendar both have a built-in feature for determining the best time for a group to meet.

Leverage your voice: When you take out the physical aspect of your presentation, your voice must carry a lot more weight. In the virtual world, a monotone, undefined, or difficult-to-hear speech gets amplified. As your primary mode of communication, you can make sure your voice is as clear as possible. It is where your speech training comes into the picture.

Start by taking a video of yourself, reviewing your strengths and weaknesses, and then getting to work. There is information available on the internet about how to develop different vocal problems. Do some quick warm-ups before your presentation, at the very least? Your money is where your mouth is, just like a great vocalist, so do not take it lightly.

Plan interaction: You should have some interactive elements in your presentation to keep your audience interested. Humans have a five-minute average concentrated attention span, but intermittent attempts at interaction will not suffice. Make sure to use your leadership skills training to keep your audience engaged.

Plan for interaction every four to five minutes to get your audience to engage before reaching the attention-free fall. A question, a poll, or a white-boarding session can all be used to accomplish this.

Whatever you pick, make sure you schedule ahead of time and prepare, so the interaction does not get lost in the shuffle.