Getting ready for your virtual presentation

This section includes a checklist with a number of ideas for preparing your virtual presentation. This is a guide on maximising the various aspects that influence your audience, rather than designing the actual PowerPoint presentation. (You can find a step-by-step tutorial on making a great online PowerPoint presentation here.)

External interference should be kept to a minimum.

Have you put your phone on silent mode? The first point in the rule book is always the most important! If your phone calls during your presentation, you risk appearing unprofessional. You may avoid this by muting your phone with a simple click.

If you won't be presenting alone in the room, let your coworkers or roommates know ahead of time that you'll need silence throughout your virtual presentation.

Technical specifications

You'll need a microphone and a camera or webcam to give a good online presentation. Before the event, you should properly test these. Technical issues can cause you to lose your audience and get off track unintentionally. You can avoid this if you follow the thorough instructions below.

The presentation on PowerPoint

It's even more vital than usual when presenting a virtual presentation to make sure your slides are easy to read and well-structured. It's often sufficient to jot down only the most important elements; you may expand on them vocally. Less is more in this case. As a digital handout, you may always include background information.

Introducing yourself

We discussed how your wardrobe decision should be evaluated and how it should relate to your background before. In terms of the latter, a popular trend right now is to use digitally generated backgrounds that portray the speaker on Caribbean beaches or in space. In a professional corporate presentation, these have no place. If you're using a digital background, follow the golden rule of high contrast: make sure you stand out as much as possible from the actual background so the software can tell you apart. Otherwise, strange portions of you may flash in and out of view, causing unnecessary distraction.

Where do you make your presentation?

Make sure the space where you'll be presenting your presentation is as quiet as feasible. If there is a lot of traffic, close the windows, turn off any devices that aren't needed before the presentation, and give anyone else in the room plenty of notice. As previously stated, your background should be as clear as possible. You should also be comfortable during the presentation – a good seat and a comfortable room temperature can help.

On your work surface

Maintain as much clarity as possible at the desk where you will be presenting. Objects that aren't required can be distracting. In front of you, you only need the materials that are essential to your presentation. A glass of water and tissues may also be useful for dry mouth or a runny nose, but these can be stored out of sight until needed.

Virtually presenting: our pointers

Basic guidelines for the virtual presentation

A well-planned arc is followed by a disciplined presentation. This serves as a connecting thread between your presentation's key points and values. It's a good idea to think about the following things ahead of time:

What do you hope to accomplish with your presentation? Who do you want to reach out to? What information is absolutely required, and what information is not? How do you put all of this information into a logical order, and how do you do it within the time constraints?

The presentation's entire content should support your main message and goal. Anything that contradicts your message should be removed (you can put it in your digital handout if needs be). Keep your target audience in mind at all times. Who is listening to you, and what do you want them to get out of your virtual presentation? The goal of your presentation should always be to provide value to your audience.

In virtual presentations, having a clear core message is especially vital. Because many participants are alone and often go unnoticed at home, their attention can wander more easily than at face-to-face events. This emphasises the need of developing a clear call-to-action and emphasising it constantly. The audience should know what they need to do next when you finish your presentation.

Body language that is appropriate

Virtual presentations, as contrast to face-to-face presentations, get you much closer to the audience. On a home screen, the presenter's facial expressions and gestures are considerably more up up and personal than they are in a crowded theatre. It's crucial to be conscious of your facial expressions and overall body language.

It's critical to have a calm, relaxed demeanour while while appearing friendly and attentive. You could find that standing helps; an erect posture exudes confidence, even to oneself. Uneasy body language not only makes your audience nervous, but it can also cause a presenter to experience actual emotional distress. This is soon transmitted to the audience. Fast movements or gestures can also cause jerky broadcasts, depending on the quality of the camera and your internet connection.

Calm motions can also help with nerves and maintain a clear voice. Eye contact is another key part of presentations in general; it not only helps you connect with your audience but also keeps their attention. At first, making on-camera eye contact without receiving visual feedback may seem weird. Every now and then, practise looking into the lens of your webcam to create a sensation of online connection. We strongly advise you to film a practise presentation to see how you come across.

Here are some wonderful recommendations on how to use body language during presentations.

Your voice is your most valuable asset in virtual presentations.

To hold your audience’s attention, you need to tell a compelling storey with your presentation. When you have your voice tone and intonation right, this works a lot better. Monotonous presentations put your audience to sleep quickly and don't do your content justice. So, instead of hindering, learn to utilise your voice to help: a vibrant voice, well-adjusted speaking cadence, and strategic pauses for effect help your audience warm to you and pay attention to your message. It's critical to speak slowly and clearly, especially while giving a virtual presentation. We've compiled a list of more helpful hints for you here.

Include the audience in the process.

When giving a presentation online, it's especially tough to keep an audience's attention. On the home computer, there are several distractions, most of which are simply a mouse click away. As a result, begin by including your audience in the presentation. A lively conversation holds people's attention and creates excellent results. Encourage your conversation participants to ask questions or take part in fast online polls. You can address this fresh input or respond to questions as your virtual presentation develops. Active audience engagement enhances attention and creates a sense of belonging, increasing the likelihood that your audience will buy into your message.

\ It's best to enlist the services of moderators if you want to be able to respond to any questions that arise without disrupting your flow of speech and ideas. Someone else on your team may, for example, monitor the live chat during the virtual presentation or screen audience queries and incorporate them into the presentation at the proper time. If you don't have anybody who can do it, you could go over all of the questions with the audience at the end of the presentation so you don't get off topic while making the presentation. In any case, you should aim to engage your audience and provide them with clear directions so they know what to expect.

Use interactive tools as a bonus tip.

You can now employ a variety of online technologies to increase the variety of engagement with your audience during virtual presentations. Here are a few of the best, along with brief descriptions of their most valuable uses.

Slido: Allows for live audience queries, as well as votes and polls.

SlideLizard is a presenting tool that may be used for meetings, workshops, and seminars. SlideLizard is a PowerPoint add-on that allows you to integrate SlideLizard into your presentation without having to open another programme.

Tedme is a conference, lecture, and seminar specialist. To engage the audience, it includes interactive question and answer sections, polls, voting, and quiz games.

Mentimeter: A web-based service with a simple log-in code that focuses on presentations and seminars.

Glisser: For workshops and events. Audience engagement is facilitated via interactive slides, polls, and a social wall.

td:wrk: An online voting tool that allows you to use and integrate vote results in real time.

VoxVote: It's free and comes in a variety of languages. The results can be instantly shown and incorporated in your presentation slides.

OMBEA: Because this tool works directly with Microsoft, all of the results may be seen on your PowerPoint slide in real time.

VoxR: Allows your audience to participate in polls with real-time results and additional information about your presentation. All participants can click on information that you have uploaded in advance, such as an agenda, maps, or more information about the event, during your virtual presentation.

feedbackr: In-the-moment surveys.

Voting in colleges and other educational institutions is the focus of this TED talk. It is both free and web-based.

POLYAS: Ballots, polls, and other forms of online real-time voting. Rather than being used during a live presentation, this is a good tool for analysing results. High level of security.

Backchannel: Provides a variety of web-based surveying tools.

Wooclap: It's all about the pupils. It can be utilised for remote learning and encourages all participants to interact.

Socrative is a website that caters to high school and college students. Educators' online lectures are supported. Surveys, interactive quizzes, tests, games, and more are available.

eduVote is a popular voting platform for universities and other colleges. Provides a few survey options.

AhaSlides: Can be used in both the classroom and the commercial sphere. Polls, question-and-answer sections, and other interactive elements are included.

Kahoot: A game-based learning platform aimed towards schools, universities, and businesses. Allows content to be queried in a fun way, and new subjects to be started in a fun way.

When giving a virtual presentation, keep it entertaining!

Emojis and GIFs in letters, traffic signals, and newspaper cartoons are all examples of how people nowadays communicate through graphics. These are frequently more urgent than a lengthy explanation. Even in corporate presentations, the use of visual media can not only help dynamically communicate content but also attract your audience's attention. Using a variety of media types in your presentation can keep your audience engaged. However, don't go overboard: too many graphics can detract from the seriousness of your message. Keep it simple: any usage of visual media should have a particular goal in mind. They should support rather than detract from your content.