How do you create digital presentations and training sessions that engage?

Before I get started, I tend to find out who my audience are and the platform that will appeal to them the most. In my experience I’ve learnt that what appeals to teenage audience might not appeal to adults, so I put this into consideration. I also consider the resources available, this way I can get myself prepared ahead of time.

Creating engaging digital presentations and training sessions involves a combination of effective content creation, design, & delivery techniques. I would define specific goals and objectives that I am aiming to achieve through the presentation, develop a clear & structured outline, incorporate a mix of text, visuals, and multimedia elements to convey the message effectively, choose a visually appealing and consistent design theme that aligns with the topic and audience, encourage audience participation by asking questions, soliciting opinions, and facilitating discussions. I like to use humor and relatable examples to connect with the audience, use feedback for improvements & familiarize myself with the content & flow of the presentation.

Understanding your target audience and content requirements are key to picking your platform and tools. You need to ensure that the platform you uses offers the correct functionalities for your presentation and resonates with your proposed target audience. Understanding and leveraging a platforms UX is paramount in delivering a successful digital presentation.

In my opinion, the way of presentation is very important and we prepare the slides in such a way that they can be touched by the audience to avoid overwhelming, try to use humorous content or exciting images more and find out the signals received from the audience through eye contact or physical body. we can get closer to the goals of our presentation

To make your digital presentations and training sessions engaging, think about keeping things interactive and straightforward. Use quizzes, discussions, and cool visuals to get your audience involved. Keep your content clear, short, and right on point, so it's easy for everyone to follow along and learn.

I always advise keeping presentations simple enough that the viewer is able to consume the educational content without being distracted by the glitz, but also have visual interest to avoid boredom. Remember we all consume content differently - have a mix of mediums - text and imagery. This allows for visual learners to engage with the content and offers a mental break. Text heavy slides can be overwhelming for the viewer and may cause them to 'sign out'.

Anyone can read something about anything. People can sit and read a slide before the speaker starts talking about that topic. How can you engage an audience? The simple answer is YOU! YOU need to be the star. YOU need to be the person that makes a slide relevant to an audience. YOU need to be the one who people remember and reflect upon. Fervor, emotion, and passion are essential elements of an effective presentation. None of these can be communicated the way an individual is able to.

Having an awareness of your audience and being able to react to their interest level is a learned skill, but will absolutely enhance your audience's experience! It will also allow you to customize your presentation on the fly and make edits later for future improvements. To elicit some reactions, don't be afraid to use cute or fun hypothetical example scenarios during your training. It breaks up the monotony of standard workshops and attendees are more willing to participate if the example is less intimidating.

If you walk away from a presentation or training session, and you feel _______. Trust your feelings. If you feel that your message and knowledge was received and acknowledged, you're probably right. If you walk away feeling discouraged that you didn't succeed in communicating your message, then you're also probably right. Don't stop trying, but don't annoy your constituents/clients by pleading for an explanation for why your efforts may have fallen flat. Recognize that you did something wrong in that situation and take note. Simply doing this will help you communicate more effectively in the future and help you, help others. People who train, train themselves by doing exactly what they preach: fail, learn, perfect, and share.