How to smash a virtual presentation

From the beginning of the pandemic, we packed our things and moved into our homes to ensure we could keep working.

Home offices were set up, the wearing of pyjamas increased, and if anything, more work was being done because there were fewer interruptions and more time in the day to hustle.  

One thing that we weren’t prepared for was the number of meetings we’d begin to have.

Everyone wanted to meet and stay connected to ensure that our relationships weren’t lost.

But being on screen and presenting virtually was something that we weren’t familiar with.

Double chins, bad lighting, and a lot of “you’re on mute” were experienced.

So, I thought this episode and the accompanying checklist I’ve made may be helpful for those virtual presentations which we’re still doing.

1. The setup:

The first thing you’ll need to get right is the setup.

As you’ll be presenting virtually, you’ll need to make sure you’ve got a sturdy internet connection. Close up any unnecessary things on your computer, so you can make it as stable as possible.

Get rid of any distractions around you – close your door – put a sign on it telling everyone else in your home to not come in for a while. Nothing worse than hearing something in the background while you’re trying to speak to your audience.

Check your lighting. Make sure that there is a light source in front of you. When I first set up my home office, I had a light facing the right side of my face only. The left side of my face continued to have a shadow and it also caused me to look like I had a tooth missing.

The final thing to think about with your setup is to ensure that your computer is in a position where your face is in the centre, and your camera is at eye level. You don’t want to look down and have those double chins happening, or any other unpleasant angle.

2. The technology:

Next will be technology.

Have you tested and used your presentation platform before?

Do you know how Zoom works, or MS Teams, or Google Hangouts? Or WebX? Whichever one it is, it’ll be important to make sure you know how it works so you can be prepared for when you step into it.

How will you be doing audio? Do you have an external microphone or a headset? Make sure you know how it works, it’s connected properly and the tech platform which you’ll be presenting with is using that as the microphone.

3. Yourself:

Have you got yourself ready and feeling comfortable?

One thing to be aware of is whether are you wearing fine stripes. Really fine stripes look wild on camera – it turns you into almost liquid. Make sure you’re wearing a solid colour or thick stripes. If you know me, I usually wear a sweater with some horizontal strips, so I get it.

Do you have your notes ready if you need them? Printing them out is always handy but depending on your setup, you may also wish to have them on screen for yourself too.

4. Presentation:

We now have to also focus on the presentation itself

Have you made and are going to share some slides? Powerpoint slides can be really helpful for a presentation, especially a virtual one, as it provides some focus.

Of course, as the case may be for any PowerPoint presentation, we need to keep our slides basic. Use pictures, a few words, and maybe some videos too to keep the audience engaged.

Have you found ways you can personally engage the audience and involve them? Ask questions and see if you can get any responses in the chat section.

Have you prepared any other interactive elements? Maybe a poll or an activity to keep everyone engaged and learning.

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Virtual presentations are here to stay and that isn’t a bad thing.

I’ve had the joy of being able to connect with and work with audiences and events from around the world all from my home office. It can connect us and give us a platform to share our knowledge with others around the world

It provides us a platform to craft and deliver messages that matter, and I love that.