How can you use public speaking to connect with remote employees?

1 Know your audience

Before you plan your message, you need to understand who you are speaking to, what they care about, and what they expect from you. Research your remote employees' backgrounds, roles, challenges, and goals. Use surveys, polls, or feedback forms to gather their opinions and preferences. Tailor your content and style to their needs and interests. For example, if your audience is mainly technical, you might want to use more data and examples, while if they are more creative, you might want to use more stories and metaphors.

2 Choose the right format

Depending on your purpose and audience, you might want to choose different formats for your public speaking. For example, if you want to share information or updates, you might want to use a webinar or a podcast, where you can use slides, audio, or video to support your points. If you want to facilitate discussion or collaboration, you might want to use a virtual meeting, where you can use breakout rooms, chat, or polls to encourage interaction. If you want to train or coach your remote employees, you might want to use a workshop or a webinar, where you can use exercises, quizzes, or demonstrations to enhance learning.

3 Create a clear structure

A clear structure helps your remote employees follow your message, remember your key points, and take action. Use a simple and logical framework to organize your content, such as the problem-solution-benefit structure, the what-why-how structure, or the tell-show-involve structure. Start with a catchy introduction that grabs their attention, establishes your credibility, and previews your main idea. Then, develop your body with supporting evidence, examples, or stories. Finally, end with a memorable conclusion that summarizes your main points, reinforces your benefits, and calls them to action.

6 Follow up and follow through

Your public speaking does not end when you finish your message. You need to follow up and follow through with your remote employees to ensure that they received your message, understood your message, and acted on your message. For example, you can send a summary, a recording, or a transcript of your message to your audience. You can answer any questions, address any concerns, or provide any resources that they might need. You can track their progress, celebrate their achievements, or provide any support that they might need.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?