Tips to make your Virtual Presentation picture-perfect!

Whether we love it or loathe it, the concept of Working from Home is here to stay as part of the new normal. As part of this concept, everything is going virtual, including the way we present to our team. As such, we must learn newer techniques to engage with our team to make our virtual presentations as effective as offline presentations. In this article, we will be going over 10 tips shared by Ms. Nazifa Qarina, Digital Services Manager at Banglalink, that will help you to add a spark to your next virtual presentation.

1.   Make sure your devices are working perfectly: Unlike offline presentations, virtual presentations are device dependent. So, before beginning a presentation, ensure that your camera, microphone and speakers are running smoothly. Check your device’s output at least 15 minutes before the start of any presentation. Most video calling software have built-in microphone and speaker checkers which you can use to check how the audience might hear your voice. When it comes to sound, it’s best to use headphones to avoid echoing or noise spillover.

2.   Check how you look in the video: Before going live for a virtual presentation, you must check how both you and your surroundings look. Just like in any other presentation, you should definitely wear proper attire. However, this time, you must also make sure that your background is clear of any visible mess. If for some reason that is not possible, it’s best to use a good built-in virtual background. That being said, choose one that does not steal the focus from you with its outrageous designs. Another important thing to note is the camera angle. You must always place the webcam of your desktop/laptop at eye level as it gives a more conversational look to the presentation.

3.   Prepare your talking points beforehand: As we say a lot of things while delivering our presentation, it is possible that we might forget to mention some things during our speech. In order to mitigate this risk, it’s best to have a list of talking points that you are going to cover. These talking points will act like verbal cues for you, so that you don’t forget what you are supposed to present.

4.   Follow the 10-20-30 rule: The 10-20-30 rule by Guy Kawasaki is devised to make sure your presentations don’t end up being too long, too boring or too unreadable. The basic concept is that your presentation should have 10 slides, you should present no more than 20 mins and your font size should be no less than 30 pts. Too many slides can end up distracting your team. It’s better to present with fewer slides because slides are not the main attraction of the presentation, your ideas are. On top of that, presenting more than 20 minutes can end up making your audience lose interest in the topic. So, keep your presentation short and crisp. The reason for using big fonts in your presentation is to ensure that you don’t write too much in your slides, rather the most important points.

5.   Start with a hook: While presenting virtually, it’s not easy to grab the attention of your team right from the onset. Most people multi-task while listening to a presentation. So, to make people listen to you, you must start your presentation with something interesting a.k.a a “hook” that will reel in your audience. For example, you may wish to start off by telling a joke or a story or even make a provocative statement about your product that will catch the audience’s attention. Keep in mind that hooks are not easy to execute, so, practice your hook beforehand.

6.   Gesticulate: Our body language is responsible for most of the communication that we make. This is true even for virtual presentations. Just like we do in offline presentations, we must use gestures during virtual presentations as well. Hand and facial gestures are the only way we can show off body language during a virtual presentation. So, it’s imperative that we use these gestures because they will make our speech seem more compelling and trustworthy.

7.   Interact with your audience: As virtual presentations are delivered and received from behind a screen, the presenter can’t really see the audience or judge their moods. So, to make the presentation livelier and check how interested the audience is on the topic, the presenter can opt for interacting with the audience. Right now, most of our interactions end at someone asking if the presentation can be seen or heard and the others replying in the affirmative. Instead you can ask the audience about their thoughts on a certain idea you proposed. That will show you how well your audience is coping with the ideas you’re presenting.

8.   Don’t forget to smile: As stated above, body language is an integral communication tool, especially during presentations. This applies to virtual presentations as well. Since facial expressions are one of the only ways that we can use body language to our advantage during a virtual presentation, it is essential to keep a smiling face. Smiling not only helps boost your confidence but also helps to gain the audience’s trust as it gives them the idea that you appreciate their presence. So, don’t forget to smile during your presentation!

9.   Ask for questions: Asking the audience for questions is a great way of interacting with the audience at the end of the session. It makes it look like you are open to helping them out with any of their confusions. On top of that, questions can act as an indirect feedback as well. If a few people have the same question, you can consider it as feedback that you might have to make your explanation of that topic simpler for the audience.

10.  Rephrase the question: Whenever you are asked a question, the best way to approach it is to rephrase the question and ask the inquisitor if you’ve understood their question properly. For example, if someone asks, “what do you mean when you say that idea A is better for our company?”, you should rephrase the question and say something along the lines of, “If I got your question right, you’re asking me how the idea A is better for our company, compared to other ideas, yes?”. This simple rephrasing will help out in two ways. Firstly, by rephrasing the question, you’re ensuring that you understood the question correctly. If you didn’t, the inquisitor will correct your understanding of the question regardless. Secondly, the rephrasing buys you time to mentally prepare an answer to the question. In both cases, you’re getting an advantage.

Bonus Tip: Since you’ve read this far, as a present, there is a bonus tip for you. To give a solid presentation, it’s essential to have proper preparation. That means you must practice beforehand to execute the right hook, make the perfect gestures and ask the best interactive questions. So, it’s best to record your practice sessions. Recording will give you the chance to see your presentation from the audience’s point of view and make the required changes accordingly.