Prepare & Practice
In-person meetings require an agenda. A virtual meeting – a well-produced, TV style news broadcast – has a show flow. Segments are each 3 to 5 minutes long, speakers have lower third graphic overlays, transitions are animated and there is a host who moves things along. A successful show flow that includes all of these elements, will make the virtual meeting more engaging and relevant.
Take time to prepare the "script" before the meeting. Virtual meetings cannot rely on in-person ques and body language alone - YOU have to set the stage.
Pro-tip: Condense presentations as concisely as possible, involve as many speakers and voices as you can and keep the "show" moving.
Set the Stage
When presenting virtually:
- Prepare.
- Take time to setup your lighting and background.
- Be animated.
- Be authentic.
- Control your voice to ensure sound quality.
- Tell personal stories to convey your message and break through the "tech" barrier.
- Call on people by first name when appropriate to build connectivity and openness.
- Use great visuals but don’t reply on them. On stage, you are the most important visual.
- Use the time before a meeting to talk to particpants and set an interactive tone.
Lighting & Background Matter
- Look presentable - remember you're an "on stage" professional.
- Make sure lighting is placed in front of you, not behind you.
- Consider your background - you want people to focus on you and not your background. Make sure it is clean and orderly.
- Placement - sit centered and at eye level with your camera. Be sure to also sit back far enough for your head, neck and shoulders to appear in the screen.
- Test your audio before you start.
- Consider purchasing a microphone, lights and camera to further polish your "stage".
Improve Your Public Speaking
Successful, engaging communication is crucial in every career and position but is even more important when presenting to a virtual audience.
- Rehearse and ask friends and peers for constructive criticism.
- Authenticity engages - an audience can feel realness - so be real.
- Awareness connects the speaker to the audience - even virtually! Look for cues and feedback and adapt to the the feedback. Plan to be adaptable from the beginning.
- Be audacious and proud of your subject matter. It will show through and engage your audience.
Establish Ground Rules - start the meeting off right!
- How and when can people ask questions?
- Does everyone need to be on mute?
- What will you be discussing and for how long?
Examples:
“Throughout this presentation I’ll be asking for some of your feedback and ideas, so if you can just keep your finger on the mute button to ‘un-mute’ yourself and pop in at those times, that would be appreciated.”
“I have questions for some specific people on this call. Their answers will help us move this project/pitch forward, so it would be very helpful to have your full attention.”
“I’ll keep this call/presentation as short as possible, and we’ll be able to power through it if I can get your full attention so that we can work through all the issues and ‘moving pieces.”
One of the most common frustrations with hosting any meeting is the potential for participants to talk over one another - or not talk at all!
Help minimize this issue by using the Zoom chat feature. This makes it possible for two people to say something to one another or share a document without taking away from the discussion already taking place. Encourage the use of this feature at the beginning of your meeting so the audience feels comfortable using this tool.
Pro-tip: Just like in-person meetings, pick up on audience ques and don't be afraid to pause and interact.
Use the Virtual Tools
Use the tools within Zoom regularly to break up the monotony of a presentation and to establish trust as a virtual leader. Tools may include:
- document sharing
- chat box
- whiteboard
- screen share
- breakout rooms
- and more!
Virtual Icebreakers
In person meetings allow for attendees to move around and walk between back to back meetings. Virtual meetings don't always allow this movement and the time to decompress. Help counteract this by starting your meeting off with an ice breaker - even if it's as simple as playing music before the meeting starts or having everyone stand up and stretch before starting.
Co-Presenting
When presenting with others, consider a talk-show style presentation:
- Designate presenter roles - one being the facilitator/interviewer and the other being the interviewee.
- Prepare and share your questions with one another ahead of time to eliminate surprises.
- Perform a dress rehearsal if possible to provide helpful critiques.
- Pay special attention to time - do not let the questions or answers go too long. 3-5 minutes per question is sufficient.
- Always ask questions that naturally lead into the next question.
- Know your audience and ask questions they would ask.
Virtual Facilitation
When you're in charge:
- Introduce the presenter and set clear, measurable expectations for the session. Provide more details than you normally would for a co-located group.
- Record the presentation. This is a great way to share the presentation with those who may not attend and to review and hone your skills as a facilitator. Let the audience know at the beginning that the presentation is being recorded.
- When helpful, show the meeting agenda (or "show flow"), and mark it up with check marks to show progress. “Stickies” on Mac or “Sticky Notes” or “OneNote” on Windows works well for this purpose.
- Check in regularly with your audience. Make sure that remote participants know where you are in the meeting process, and that they are in agreement with how the meeting/presentation is proceeding.
- For any presentation over one hour, take a 2-5 minute break.
- Prompt participants to communicate through the chat feature by asking questions throughout the presentation.
- Use participants’ names frequently. Avoid using general greetings such as "anybody" or "anyone" when possible. Make it personal.
- To replace applause, instruct the virtual audience to "clap" once within their screen box. Similarly, to signal a question, ask your audience to raise their hand within their screen box.
When technology fails, stay calm and go back to the basics. Your voice and ideas are enough to hold a virtual meeting and give a presentation. If internet fails, start again or reschedule. DO NOT WASTE ANYONES TIME. Remember that preparation and testing is the best policy to avoid these unfortunate situations.
Credits:
Created with images by AS_Appendorf - "corona church coffee" • FunkyFocus - "manipulation smartphone gleise run" • StartupStockPhotos - "startup whiteboard room" • mohamed_hassan - "virtual learning online learn" • RyanMcGuire - "speak talk microphone" • StartupStockPhotos - "children win success"