What are some effective ways to break the ice and build rapport online?

Quizzes and surveys are great for identifying audience preferences and can be great icebreakers. That said it’s time we’ll spent to gauge the audience you’re presenting to.

Before you poll or quiz, know that your audience is receptive and prepared. Communicate the poll or quiz interactive portion of your talk BEFORE the audience arrives. Generally speaking, not all audiences will like a "pop quiz" and that dislike increases as you add friction or overhead required to participate. Also, while there might be native poll or quiz support, assume your audience is multitasking and engagement will be low single digit percentages. As a backup plan, having a QR code ready on the slide that takes the audience member directly to the poll or quiz on their other mobile device can remove friction too.

Sorry but if it is a new audience a poll or a quiz won’t work. You haven’t earned the audience trust nor have you shown them anything to warrant it. A poll or quiz is an engagement technique. Dan-1 AI-0

To break the ice between your audience and yourself can be done in various ways such as by using a small quiz consists of 2-3 questions or a poll to gauge audience interest. You can share your thoughts or experience about the specific topic and keep the door open for their opinions. You can use Google forms or such tools to design a quiz to know about your audience.

Post quotes and add comments to other posts. Throw out positive messages that other people can respond to. Polls do not work. They are flash in the pan. Stay off of controversial subject matter. Religion and Politics are ok to talk about but do not let dominate your conversation. Be active in your local community so you have something to talk about.

Making connections requires being vulnerable and willingness to understand the audience that you are talking too. It is important to do your research, listen to your audience, and build connections by also addressing your own human mistakes. According to a study by the University of Kansas, individuals who ask questions and actively listen to others are perceived as more likable and trustworthy. This is because people appreciate when others take an interest in them and value their opinions. Talk with your audience and not at them. Be willing to BE YOU!!! Anyone can speak, no one can tell your story like you.

Sharing a personal story or anecdote will also allow them to see the you in your authenticity. You don't want to share too much and you need to know your audience as well as relating it back to the topic. Otherwise, even sharing a professional one will help them see that you can relate. Storytelling, soft skills, these are what one needs to succeed these days.

The opening sequences in the “Mission Impossible” franchise grab their audiences right from the first moments. And audiences return time and again because they know they can count on being entertained by the excitement and action at the very start. Do the same in your engagements! Humor and memorable personal anecdotes will stay with your audiences long after the event is over - and have them looking forward to your next appearances, too. Especially if you can weave humor and personal experiences together with stories of “how did she get into that situation in the first place?” Or better yet, “how in the world did he manage to get out of it?”

The art of storytelling is taking your audience on an emotional journey. The goal is to make them feel something; joy, hurt, anger, rage, laughter, curiosity, anything. Once they are emotionally invested, now discussion can start. Of course the story must be appropriate to the reason for the discussion but once it's told an open ended question can easily facilitate discussion.

Add insightful information. If someone connects to me I drop them a list of about 10 books to read and I let them know that I am not open to talk about investment. I will go out and through a local bank or financial institution to find out how to invest.

Snazzy visuals are great but people also want to see the presenter live. They want to feel the human connection during the presentation. So I recommend splitting up the typical presentation format and breaking away to a live conversation by selecting "Stop Share."

If you want to build rapport and connection: Don't start with visuals. Delay screen sharing for the first 5-10 minutes. Connection means people need to be visible and the focus, screen sharing prevents this from happening. However you choose to connect (story, sharing activity, etc.) it's gotta be done with and between people. Wait on the visuals and see how an online interaction gets instantly transformed.

Simple but informative graphics make things more interesting, for the presenter and the audience alike. Sure, they can be overused but they show that you put effort into your work and that you have the interest of the viewer in mind. And it's fun!

This is a great idea except that the LinkedIn algorithm doesn’t reward video and doesn’t allow pure audio. Again this is a great idea after you have earned trust. Dan 2 AI 0

That stuff is great fun to play with. But the purpose of my posting in linkedin is get profile views. I am looking for profile views. That is the bottom line. Not looking for anything else. I know that I have never been the model employee that shows up everyday or am available to take the "oncall overnight crap". We learn about the 24 in gauge. That there is a time for work, a time for refreshment, a time for worship and a time for family and play. You need to divide your time between these. Everyone is going to have different needs. I find my play is taken up reading "self help books" and education.

A practical method to improve engagement with your audience is to engage one-on-one with specific guests. When meeting virtually with familiar colleagues and having first-time interactions, a tactic to implement is to drive the conversation by eliciting feedback from a specific member. By following a question up with the direct engagement of an audience member, you limit the likelihood of a question going unanswered. For example, "Mike, what do you think of the timeline discussed?" Mike will respond and open the floor up to others' input. Ice has broken - conversation flowing.

Here's a better way to ask questions online--it's called simultaneous chat posting: Ask the question this way: Write in the chat a question you would ask if you decided to ask one --but do not hit send. Give people 30-45 seconds. During that 30-45 seconds offer some encouragement but mostly stay quiet and just give them a reminder halfway through the time. At the end of the time, invite everyone willing to share their question to hit enter simultaneously. Watch the magic happen. Done well you'll get upwards of 75% participation. PS I post about presenting more effectively every day on the main feed. For those interested, follow or connect with me there.

Ask people to introduce themselves in the chat. As soon as the session kicks off, ask people to engage with the chat function. Also have someone responding to people in the chat, this encourages people to engage with the chat and the content being shared as they can see someone is paying attention.

I encourage participation in your local community. The reason why most people can not get jobs. They are boring and only think about themselves. Dale Carnegie's book How to make Friends and influence people talks about putting yourself into some body else's place.

YEs, I Love this...we need to be more interactive virtually. Talk to people as if you are in person, use your cameras and see who you are speaking with. Not having your camera on is like going into a live conference room wearing a blindfold.

Knowing how to use humor can be a game-changer for those who do it well. But make sure you have feedback and validation that you are funny by those who have heard you speak. Using content that is humorous can also help break the ice. Finally a funny story that makes you more relatable can ease and relax the room.

Humor goes a long way. Most people don’t want to be in front of a computer screen so you need to make your presentations interactive more like conversations.

Everyone loves to laugh. Laughter leads to smiles. Smiles lead to pleasent feelings. Pleasent feelings lead to people willing to open up and participate in discussions.

As a former improv comedian, I've found that this training has helped me tremendously to be flexible and spot instances where others may be "eating the fun" from the room. If you want to learn more about humor check out the "tiny book of improv" from Jill Bernard (https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/jill-bernard-1a9809167/). If in a corporate environment- seek out the book "Humor at work" by Drew Tarvin. If you want to learn more or do something local, look up ComedySportz improv comedy groups near you. They often have corporate training.

Actually responding to comments, for example on a LinkedIn post, is something I have found really engages audiences. And not just a “Thanks”, but actually responding to something they have said and maybe asking a follow-up question. When we are building rapport and relationships, we are not speaking AT people, we’re interacting with them.

Create a "Gratitude Post" on LinkedIn after your presentation so you can properly thank your audience. Be sure to make it more about them than you. Acknowledge their participation and expertise. You will be thanking them and also giving them visibility.

The follow up should not be a salesy follow up where you want to sell them a service or product! That is a big turn off! One thing I have seen work is again doing the opposite. With so many analytic tools available, the engagement level of each of the attendee is clearly documented. Using this as a way to tell them for instance (I have used it personally and it always works) - We noticed that you joined for a very short while and did not participate in any discussions or ask any questions. Clearly we did something wrong. What is one thing we could have done better to get more of your time and attention?

Do not just end presentations with a "thank you for listening" or "thank you for attending" which are too weak. Be more specific about your gratitudes, something along the line of "it has been fascinating to have the engagements with you", or "your questions have really stimulated my thinking and I look forward to coming back again".

To establish rapport with someone, start by mirroring their posture - if they have their legs crossed - do the same. If they have their arms crossed - do the same. Keep your shoulders back, smile and make eye contact - but be careful not to stare. Ask questions about their hobbies - what they like to do in their spare time - ask any question about them - other than the job that they do. Show interest in them. Establishing a rapport leads to building a relationship. Building a relationship leads to respect for each other.

One of the most underutilized virtual presentation tips is using the chat box! With large meetings, not everyone is as extroverted to speak up or come off mute. The chat option is a perfect way to engage participants using words, gifs and questions! Presenters should intentionally ask participants to interact in the chat box. Easy way to do so is intro questions where presenters can ask who’s in the audience and where they are from. Asking participants to react with a funny gif is a great way to get some fun engagement.

Rapport at its core is simple, likeness. LinkedIn is a great way to establish likeness with another person, 'you're here, I'm here, we're in this group together, we share a connection, saw your post on...', etc. Rapport is established in a three-part process: a simple greeting, reception and response to the greeting. I always recommend using the platform to connect with people you have professional likeness with. Anything can happen from there.

I think true rapport starts with transparency who you are, where you come from and where you are trying to go. This sets the ground work for open communication and feedback from those who eventually will support and represent the brand. Picking 1-2 platforms for a heavy presence and actively engage. Ice breakers, daily affirmations and jokes. People want to know 3 things, how genuine you are, how relatable you are and if the problem your brand is presenting itself to solve practical; are you in itself far removed from the issues. No one wants to be exploited for personal gain. Keep it fun, and keep it real.

Be genuine,cbe authentic, be you. People says this sll the time but does it mean? Simply put, it means who you really are and not who you think you should be. I'm a New Yorker and a sailor. I am animated, loud snd emotional. I embrace it with small adjustments based on topic and audience. I speak simply in order to reach the largest audience possible.