Learn 11 essential tips for delivering standout virtual presentations, including audience engagement, visual variety, tech prep, and dynamic delivery to captivate and connect effectively.
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It can be challenging to win the attention of your audience when delivering a presentation in the physical world, but even more so in the virtual world (during a virtual event) when an attendee can easily get distracted by all the digital things happening on their screen, they may be prone to task switching or context switching.
So, how can you present all that you need to without falling to attendees' task switching capabilities?
We have put together our 11 most relevant tips that will ensure you smash your next virtual presentation!
Attention span is no joke, and even more so in a virtual environment where people can become victims of task switching or context switching.
Some believe the average attention span is 8 seconds, a drop from 12 seconds in the year 2000. With the average range, ranging from 2 seconds to just over 20 minutes.
On the other hand, some believe this to be a myth, stating that the issue is "task-dependent", where attention spans vary from task to task, with no universal standard.
Whatever one believes about this, the point (and its lessons for virtual presentations) can be summed up by Dr Gemma Briggs, a psychology lecturer at the Open University, who says that:
"We've got a wealth of information in our heads about what normally happens in given situations, what we can expect. And those expectations and our experience directly mould what we see and how we process information in any given time."
Put simply, past experience shapes future expectation.
For virtual presentations, this means trying to change up the format a bit to shape your audience's expectations about your presentation.
If attendees have a certain stigma about 1 or 1 and a half hour presentations, then shape their expectations by stating, in the virtual invite, that it will be 20 minutes instead (this being the ideal length for a presentation).
Keep your virtual presentation to the point and address the main reason why your viewers came to watch your presentation. Give them what they signed up for!
Main point: Keep it short and sweet (ideally 20 minutes), hitting all the main points. Keep this question in mind: Why did attendees sign up to listen to this presentation?
The best way to keep your viewers engaged, is to do what? Exactly, engage them. But how exactly do you go about doing this?
There are a number of things that you can do:
Always keep in mind your timing and the length of your presentation when choosing various engagement tools.
If, for example, an icebreaker will take 10 minutes and the presentation 20, specifying in the virtual presentation invite that there will be a 10 minute icebreaker followed by a 20 minute presentation helps set the expectations for the event.
The presentation is still 20 minutes, but it just comes after a fun icebreaker which, if done right, won't feel like part of the actual event.
A good rule of thumb when choosing an activity for a presentation, would be to think back to a time you endured an uninteresting presentation and ask the question:
If you’ve felt this way before, chances are your audience will feel the same too. After all, they are human, just like you!
Main point: To make a presentation more engaging use various engagement tools, and ask yourself the questions: What do I usually want from a presentation? What ideas have I had before to make presentations better?
It is good practice to engage your audience by allowing them to submit questions to you during the presentation rather than waiting until the end. We know... it is not always easy to keep track of time and to stay on top of your thoughts when delivering a presentation, it is a skill.
However, if done correctly it will make your presentation relevant because the questions that matter most to your attendees are being answered and the answers they receive will mean a lot to them. Furthermore, this may spark discussion or debate. But beware of time-constraints as well (remember those 20 minutes from point 1), and if needed take the Q&A offline (see point 6 below).
This approach should allow for a two-way, rather than a one-way, discussion.
If you're using live chat as part of this virtual presentation, then use it as a way to generate questions or even inform follow-up presentations around that topic.
Main point: Try to answer attendee questions in the moment to help generate discussion.
I know what you're thinking,
It does sound counter-intuitive, but hear me out! That's not what we mean.
Look: Sometimes certain topics may benefit from a different presentation format rather than a traditional format instead. We're not saying ditch the presentation entirely, that would be counter-intuitive.
Rather, a departure from what may be considered the norm may be helpful and more engaging, than a standard virtual presentation.
Main point: Consider changing the format of your presentation to match your topic.
Try and mix up the pace and delivery of your presentation. Don't just have slides on the screen the entire time, or have you on the screen all the time. Try to navigate between slides, videos and images to keep your audience engaged.
A good rule of thumb is to have 10 slides max and keep them simple and to the point. It will also stop you from reading your slides too much and make you think more about what you say. Have you ever watched someone read their slides word for word, for them to only lose track of the flow of the presentation or their train of thought? Or they struggle to summarise what they had just read? It is the result blindly reading from your slides without much thought.
Also, don't add everything you will say onto the slide, otherwise your attendees can just read what's there without listening to you (ouch!).
Main point: Change up the pace and delivery of your presentation by using various visual aids like videos and images.
Sometimes a discussion can become enjoyable with points be made left, right and centre. But you only have a certain amount of time to get all your points in.
It's in these cases that you may need to take some questions offline by inviting those with burning questions, to message you privately or schedule a networking session.
Even more so, having a shorter presentation and leaving less time for your viewers to ask questions can spark stronger engagement post-presentation.
So, spend an extra 10 minutes or so setting up the area where you'll be giving your presentation. Make sure there are no distractions behind you, personal items you don’t want the public to see or your family members trying to barge in mid-presentation. The last thing you want are any unexpected surprises!
If all else fails, we recommend you choose a virtual background as a safe bet. Some video conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom already offer this, but you can always find a 3rd party one or even find a cheap green screen on Amazon. Our top pick is an app called mmhmm (yep, it’s actually called that) and it offers a free account with limited access, if you are just looking to try it out.
Lighting is as important in front of you, as it is behind. Check that you have good front light and if you have light behind you, close your shades, otherwise, you will appear as a slight silhouette. If you do not have good natural light, then get some suitable additional lighting to make sure your face is well-lit. How you appear on camera could set you apart and make you look more presentable.
The best way to know how you look on camera and what your presentation may look like is to present and record it to yourself. Practice makes it perfect as they say. Make a recording of your presentation in Zoom or any other webcam recorder you might use and watch it so you can make improvements for the live one. Make sure you change your tone and pitch of voice as you work through your presentation.
Don’t let the first time you use a platform’s technology be when you are live – testing it makes it perfect too so ensure to leave plenty of time to really understand how the platform works, how you are going to use it and just make sure to familiarise yourself with the setup. Do a test run with your provider or a colleague in the place and with the equipment you are going to be using for the live session.
Invest in a good microphone if necessary to really make you sound crisp and sharp when presenting.
Make sure you are making eye contact with your camera so the audience feels you are really talking to them directly, not their computer. Make sure the camera is at eye level and ideally stand when presenting as this will make you appear more dynamic and create more vocal variety. And finally, speak slowly and clearly as it can be harder to understand speech when you only have the presenter’s face for vocal and body language clues.
Last but not least, always try to remember to smile as that can make you look cool, calm, confident and positive to your viewers.
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