In Retrospect: A Recap of the Recently Concluded LinkedIn Event “How to Present Confidently in Virtual Meetings”

Did you know that 92% of the population believe that presentation skills are critical to success at work??

Yet as much as 77% of the population has some level of anxiety and fear when speaking in front of an audience. This translates to roughly 3 out of 4 individuals admitting that they lose confidence when presenting in-person or virtually — and that’s a huge number!

Being a Career and Confidence Coach, it hit me hard when I heard these statistics. This led me to think that I needed to use my platform and my voice to give confidence to others in speaking and delivering presentations, especially in virtual meetings.?

Considering that a huge percentage of the population experience the same problem, I immediately knew that I am not alone in this journey of helping others find confidence in themselves.?

So, on June 30, 2022, I teamed up with Lorraine K. Lee, the Editorial Director at Prezi. Lorraine is also a virtual keynote speaker and a LinkedIn Learning Instructor for the Virtual & Hybrid Meetings Essentials Online Course.?

Despite my health not being in its perfect condition, I was still in my best element to have the best conversation possible with an amazing speaker like Lorraine. We had a fun-filled and informative discussion as we talked about the common virtual meeting and presentation mistakes, tips and tricks for setting up tech equipment, secrets to making a great impression and speaking with confidence, and many more!?

Here are some of the highlights on How to Present Confidently in Virtual Meetings:

Failing to Prepare is a Big Mistake

One of the topics discussed during the recently concluded LinkedIn Live is the common mistakes people make when speaking and presenting in virtual meetings. When asked, Lorraine immediately asserted that the number one mistake people make by far is not being prepared.?

When you are not prepared for a meeting, you are not getting as much done or what you want to get done. This leads to more meetings, eventually causing zoom fatigue and hectic calendar schedule.?

Lorraine also emphasized the importance of content when presenting. If you want to stand out, you need to focus more on experiences, something that’s different. Rather than presenting slides with tons of bullets, there are a multitude of tools available online that one can explore.?

Review your Tech

Lorraine shared her TEA Method which stands for tech, energy, and aesthetics. These three things should be the first considerations of speakers before getting on any video conference. To set up your tech equipment for a successful meeting and presentation, Lorraine emphasized on the importance of the use of a good microphone for clear audio, an external camera for better video, effective software, and the right hardware.?

In this conversation, we both shared our opinions on the use of your own background over virtual backgrounds. An important factor to consider when setting up your own background is starting simple and adding a few things — what’s important is that everything should showcase your personality and brand.

Energy is Crucial in Meetings and Presentations

Making a great impression is something a lot of people struggle with. How you introduce yourself and how you get off a call can already make a huge difference.?

So when doing meetings and presentations, it is important to have an amazing amount of energy as a starting point. It’s all about energy and it’s all about showing warmth by letting people feel that you, as a speaker, are enthusiastic and excited to do the meeting or the presentation.?

Speaking with Confidence

The main purpose of the LinkedIn event is to impart knowledge and help people learn how to present themselves confidently in virtual meetings. Having this in mind, Lorraine shared her tips and tricks on how to give the impression that you are confident in speaking.?

The first thing one can do is by smiling when talking. When you are smiling, you connect with the audience and infect them with energy and enthusiasm. Aside from smiling, maintaining a good posture —either standing or sitting— is also important. Thirdly, to speak with confidence, you have to work on getting rid of filler words.?

A public speaking trick Lorraine shared to get rid of filler words is to speak a little bit more loudly than you are comfortable with. When you’re speaking at least 25% more loudly, it becomes a lot harder to have filler words sneak in and it makes you sound more confident.?

Trust is key.

Included in the agenda of the conversation was to discuss how to build rapport with the audience when speaking in virtual meetings. To do this, trust is important and is a key ingredient to get anything done, especially in a remote office. For Lorraine, deadlines helped her build trust with her people in meetings as she takes them very seriously.?

On the presentation front, I shared another angle when looking at how to build trust and rapport with the audience. Number one thing to consider is to always be authentic and relatable. Exert effort in connecting with the audience by being more conversational. Furthermore, part of building rapport is showcasing that you are a credible speaker and knowledgeable in the subject matter.?

You matter. Own your greatness?

with confidence to shine.

TAKE OUR LINKEDIN LEARNING COURSES!

Working from home isn't going anywhere—and neither are meetings. With organizations convening every now and then, making your virtual and hybrid meetings more engaging and collaborative while delivering presentations with confidence become the top priorities.

Visit Lorraine Lee's LinkedIn Nano Learning Course to learn about Virtual and Hybrid Meeting Essentials to maximize productivity during meetings.

Take Diana YK Chan's LinkedIn Nano Learning Course to learn how to deliver messages clearly by Presenting with Confidence.

REPLAYS

If you want to watch the recap of the How to Present Confidently in Virtual Meetings with Lorraine Lee, feel free to check out this replay on my YouTube channel. Timestamps are available for easier maneuvering.

Follow Lorraine K. Lee on LinkedIn and Connect with her by visiting her website at lorraineklee.com/learn?

ABOUT ME

I am a dynamic professional Speaker, Trainer, and Executive Career Coach at My Marketability. I am a personal branding, communications and networking expert, where I'm known for differentiating your personal brand, building strong relationships, and communicating with confidence. My mission is to empower you to own your greatness with confidence to shine and thrive in your career.

If you have an important and big presentation coming up and want to wow your audience, DM me and we can chat on how we can improve your presentation and public speaking skills!