Two Pieces of Practical Advice for Virtual Presenters
In this age of remote working, business processes have accelerated at an unprecedented rate.
Almost overnight, the working world turned virtual, with companies forced to adopt new practices to achieve key business goals. One business area forced to adopt a new means of delivery is presenting.
In this article, we explain why preparation is key to effective virtual presentations and give some practical advice you can start using when looking to engage a virtual audience.
Related article: Three Tips to Help you Deliver an Engaging Virtual Presentation
Know Your Subject and Audience
When preparing your presentation, the first step is simple: always play to your strengths.
This means knowing your subject matter inside out so you can be credible and authoritative both when you are presenting and when you are answering questions from your audience.
This may mean you focus on a small niche you are confident in delivering a presentation on, if you truly have expertize and you share it with people, there will be many who are grateful for that and who will benefit in turn. Knowing your subject is important and being an expert in something is a gift to other people. Share your knowledge and experience with them.
However, a word of warning, do not play around with knowing your subject!
Examples of this are often found online through instructional videos. Many who publish online content will parade their knowledge using the phrase:
“now, most people do not know this, but…”
As a result, by using that phrase, the presenter is putting their expertize on a pedestal.
Many will find this kind of comment demeaning. While you should know your subject well (and celebrate it) do not feel like you must show it off.
Allied to knowing your subject matter, you also need to know your audience.
Obviously, you can not know them individually if you are delivering a presentation to one hundred and fifty people. However, when looking into the camera, you should understand who it is on the other side of that screen.
Know the answers to questions such as:
- What is that person looking for?
- Why have they signed up for this?
- What do they hope to gain for it from it?
By knowing the answers to these questions, you can flesh out a three-dimensional picture of that person. This makes it easier to understand and connect with the person in your audience, giving strength to your presentation and boosting your confidence.
Tailor Your Content
By knowing your subject matter and your audience, you can high quality, engaging content.
For example, in this article, the content has been tailored to be both relevant and practical.
In terms of the relevancy of this article, given the current global situation, writing on the topic of virtual presenting will resonate with many who have been forced to deliver presentations/will be delivering presentations virtually going forward.
From a practical standpoint, and to add further value to the article, each section presents information in such a way that it can be taken away and practically applied.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the first step to developing an effective virtual presentation is preparation.
By knowing your subject matter and audience, you can start to develop high quality content you know your audience will love.
The next step requires tailoring this content in such a way that it resonates strongly with those on the other side of the screen.
