PhD skills: presenting online
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has moved a substantial amount of meetings to online form. Many conferences have moved to a completely virtual or hybrid format. In this text I'll reflect on a few experiences and give tips in particular for PhD students how to avoid some pitfalls, and prepare well for this.
Online versus Live
Conferences take you to interesting places, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, most of them in present form are cancelled, and will be only online.
For PhD students, going to conferences is of critical importance: you build your network, get to know your peers, see related work, and improve your presentation skills (see earlier posts Why go to conferences and Checklist for conferences). Thanks to remote meeting technology however, you can still attend conferences during trying times like the COVID-19 pandemic. As much as they enable you to attend conferences, they are quite different from the experience to meet and see people personally at a conference. Nevertheless, online conferences have the following advantages over live conferences:
(1) Reduced cost: For any conference you must pay a registration fee. In a hybrid conference, most likely the virtual registration is cheaper than the live registration (the organisers have less cost for virtual attendees). For yourself, usually expensive additional costs such as travel, accommodation, and eating fall away for an online conference.
Online conferences have lower cost associated with them, which gives an opportunity for example to attend more of them.
(2) No travel time: You will not need to travel to the location of the conference, which usually saves you up at least two travel days in which you can work. You can switch almost instantly from your 'home work' environment to the conference, and the same applies when the conference ends. Since you will be working from your office or your home, it also means you have your 'home resources' right at hand, which can come in handy when you need to consult something.
(3) Digital record: online conferences increasingly record the event, which gives you an accessible backlog of presentations, and of course, also your own presentation. Often a conference requires you to submit a pre-recorded presentation in interactive or playback format. You can use such a presentation for example by showcasing it on your web-page, or in your professional/social network. Also you can use a recording to review your own presentation and learn from it.
Use the online record of your presentation for sharing your research work in your network.
Preparation of your presentation
Whether you will present from your office or from home, the quality of your presentation is in your hands only. So make sure you have a decently working computer from which you are working, and that both your sound speakers and microphone work well, and also the camera. If you work from a laptop, those are usually integrated and most of the time function well enough for online meetings. If you have a desktop computer, then most likely you will have add a camera and headset with microphone yourself. Make sure all components work. For example, Skype has a call test service, through which you can easily check if your microphone and sound is working.
Make sure you have a good internet connection. If your presentation consists of slides/series of images, then usually your presentation will run fine. Do not use extremely high-resolution images (higher than HD 1280 x 720 pixels) since that will only result in large files which may cause loading delay in your computer (and thus for the audience as well), and it does not add more quality. Video is a bit more tricky: it may happen that the video plays well on your system, but due to bandwidth it is seen on the other side either in a very stuttering manner or not at all. Check this beforehand with the organisers. Interactive demos or running programs live also may not reproduce well over an online presentation. Again, check this with the organisers to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Set the scene
When you are at an online conference, you present yourself to the audience from your office or home situation. Bear in mind that what you are used to in that environment, may not be what you want to show the audience!
Check what the audience will see when you make your presentation. The background can sometimes be very distracting from your presentation. Image source: https://media.wired.com/photos/5eb5daf388ead7be95a5c676/master/w_1600%2Cc_limit/20200511-wheeler-meeting-view.jpg
Some online conference programs offer the option to automatically swap your background with a virtual background, taking cue from the camera information where you are and filtering out the background. If you use that option, consider for example to use an image that is related to you and your presentation rather than an arbitrary image such as an exotic location. Drawback of this technique is, that parts of your body (typically hand gestures) are faded out when they do not fall in the area of focus.
Lights - Camera - Go!
If you use an external camera, you can manipulate easily the position, angle, and light quality. Integrated cameras in a laptop are almost always positioned at the top of the display, thus offering very limited options.
Check that you are properly visible in the camera view (top left): sometimes it helps to add an additional light source. Make sure you are in centre view and not too close to the camera. Check the light level so you are visible, and do not present with a window or strong lightsource in your back. Manipulated images from image source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3853452/mediaviewer/rm2343812865
Home Alone
Make sure when you have your presentation, that you are alone, or in a room which can be closed during the presentation. Sounds from colleagues, phone calls, outside events, and so can be very distracting for the audience.
Make sure you cannot be interrupted during your presentation. Here is a well-known incident published widely on the Internet, where a person is interrupted during his interview. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4f9AYRCZY
While we are at it - dress well
Usually there is a certain dress-code at a conference, most typically business-formal or business-casual. Adhering to a dress-code means you haven taken care of yourself, and it signals that you value being part of the event. The same applies for an online conference. The fact that you can attend the conference from the comfort of your bed - so to speak - does not mean you can attend in your pyjamas.
Dress well, not only at the top. You may never know if during your presentation you need to get up and show more than you intended... Image reworked from source: https://www.bubblestranslation.com/wp-content/uploads/International-Zoom-Meeting-Fails-Featured.jpg
During your presentation
It is always a good idea to rehearse your presentation a number of times before you give the actual presentation. Check it for example with a colleague, in your research group, or with a friend via an online session to get the feeling of your online presentation.
Since you are at home or at work during an online conference, it is tempting to do additional work or be called out during the event. You should really treat the time of the online event as if you are not present in your regular work/home environment (it is not easy). Long stretches of online event can be quite exhausting, so make sure you are well-rested. Image reworked from source: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/J19C7D/tired-man-in-front-of-computer-J19C7D.jpg
Another source of distraction during an online conference, or even your own presentation, is a phone call. Obviously answering a phone call during your own presentation is really not done, but visibly answering a call in an online meeting also signals that you do not prioritize attending the online meeting.
Make sure to switch off your phone, in all cases during your presentation. Image reworked from: https://previews.123rf.com/images/grinvalds/grinvalds1711/grinvalds171100087/90838324-man-working-on-laptop-and-mobile-phone.jpg
As a rule, whenever you have the word in an online event, you should have your camera on so that people see who is speaking. For your own presentation it is really important, because the audience will appreciate much better what you are presenting. Also it is simply being a matter of netiquette, being courteous, to show yourself when you are presenting.
No one wants to look at a collection of name initials, or icons of switched off cameras - especially not of the one who is presenting or talking.
Similarly as your office or home environment may show things you would not want the audience to see, your desktop and computer can also reveal too many things you would like to keep to yourself. Especially when presenting, make sure your computer is cleaned up: switch off all unnecessary programs you do not need, and avoid large clutter on your desktop. If you know you will share from your desktop, you might want to consider using a special image just for the presentation - like an interesting image from your presentation, or maybe even a 'corporate' image like logo of your university or research group.
If you will share work on your computer, make sure to clean it up a bit. Image source: https://art-u2.infcdn.net/articles_uploads/1/1089/overcrowded%20desktop.png
Although it is tempting to have a snack or something to eat as you are sitting behind your computer, it really should be avoided to do so in an online conference. Having a drink such as a coffee or tea is not so much a problem, but taking a complete lunch does not look well for the other attendees. There will be breaks scheduled for such occasions, so stick to that time schedule. If it really cannot be avoided, then at least turn off your camera and sound.
Avoid eating behind the computer. Reworked image from: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/J19C7D/tired-man-in-front-of-computer-J19C7D.jpg
At online presentations, there is literally a larger distance between you and the audience. That means, that you cannot trust on body language, eye contact, and gestures to clarify your presentation. The audience will have as only clues your words and the images they see on their screen. For this reason, make sure to speak more slow than usual. If you want to put emphasis on something in your presentation, single it out, or zoom in and out to point out that specific thing. Presentation programs sometimes have things like virtual pointers, or the option to draw lines, but you have to make sure that they will actually show up in your presentation. If you want to use those options, check it first with the organiser.
Aim to speak slower than usual. Reworked image from: https://domz60.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/what-language-is-he-speaking.jpg
As with regular presentations in present-form conferences, stick to the time limits of your presentation. This is simply being courteous to your fellow presenters, so you do not take time from their slot, and also to your audience. Rehearse your presentation a couple of times so you know it will fit with your limits.
Stick within your time limits of the presentation. Image sources: https://blog.zoom.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/477607425.jpg, https://medias.pylones.com/4844-thickbox_default/colortime-alarm-clock.jpg.
Finally, note that online presentations are usually followed by people through their own computer. The viewing screen of your presentation will be shared with additional items such as your running video, other attendees of the presentations, perhaps a chat-channel, and so on. That means that the precious small area of their screen will be even smaller and just for your presentation. Thus, online presentations should not feature lots of text which will be very hard to read for the audience. It is better to work with a minimum of text and give ample space to your images.
Avoid lots of text in your presentation. Image source: https://prezibase.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/dont-bore-people-with-too-much-text.jpg.
Thank you for your attention
At the end, leave some time people to quickly note your details should they want to contact you after the presentation or event. There is most likely an online programme where people can find you, but if you one of several hundred(s) presentations, that may not be too easy.
I hope you find these tips useful. Looking forward to read your reactions! Have fun at your online presentations, and most importantly, stay healthy and safe.