Effective Webinars: Presentation Skills for a Virtual Audience
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The document outlines best practices for delivering effective webinars, focusing on audience engagement and technical preparedness. Key points include knowing your audience, preparing your story, and handling technical difficulties, with a structured agenda covering presentation setup, delivery, and Q&A. The importance of preparation, timing, and clear communication throughout the virtual presentation experience is emphasized.
Effective Webinars: Presentation Skills for a Virtual Audience
- 1. NETSQUARE Effective Webinars Presentation Skills for a Virtual Audience Saumil Shah Net Square 26 March 2020
- 2. NETSQUARE Introduction and Agenda • Flight Plan - Your Story. • Pre-flight checks. • Take off. • During the flight. • Descent. • Landing. Saumil Shah @therealsaumil Li: saumilshah
- 3. NETSQUARE Key Learning Objectives • How to ENGAGE your audience. • The dynamics of an INVISIBLE audience. • Anticipate technical TURBULENCE during storytelling. • Loss of ENGAGEMENT. • Managing TIME. • Measure EFFECTIVENESS.
- 4. NETSQUARE Flight Plan Prepare Your Story
- 5. NETSQUARE Prepare Your Story • KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. • Anticipate their attention span. • Opening Slide. • Date and Time of Presentation. • Agenda. • Closing Summary / Take Aways. • Thank You and Q&A.
- 6. NETSQUARE Preparation Guidelines • Large Fonts. – Stand 8 feet away from your screen – Can you read? • Contrasting Colours. • Avoid Transitions and Animation Effects. – Screen refresh lag will destroy them. 1 Slide = 2 Minutes
- 7. NETSQUARE Pre-Flight Checks Tests and Dry Runs
- 8. NETSQUARE Tests and Dry Runs • Atleast 2 hours before the show. • Test AUDIO, RESOLUTION and SCREENSHARING. • Test your LIVE DEMOS! • Ask a friend to view and give feedback.
- 9. NETSQUARE Taxiing to the Runway Setup
- 10. NETSQUARE Setting Up Your Presentation • Connect 15 minutes ahead of time. • Set up a secondary VIEWER device. – you must see what the audience sees. • Mic and headphones are a MUST. • Shut out all ambient noise. • Stop all notifications and popups. START ON TIME
- 12. NETSQUARE Take Off: Initial Announcements • Mute the audience. • Title slide - ask if anyone is experiencing DIFFICULTIES in audio and video. • Send the same message via group CHAT. • Encourage feedback and responses on chat. • "During the talk, please feel free to queue up any questions on chat."
- 14. NETSQUARE During the Flight: Presentation • Talk to an INVISIBLE audience. – Tip: Rehearse with live friends. • Keep checking your VIEWER device. – wait for screen refresh before you begin talking. • PAUSE between slides. – Don't keep talking to FILL silence, just because there's no feedback. • Talk SLOWLY and CLEARLY.
- 16. NETSQUARE Halfway Mark • Pause when you're halfway. • Unmute the audience. • Take some questions from the chat. • READ the question ALOUD first, and then provide your answer. – Audience needs to hear the QUESTION and then the answer.
- 17. NETSQUARE Turbulence Problems that may arise
- 18. NETSQUARE Problems that may arise • Network JITTER and PACKET LOSS. – THROUGHPUT, not speed, matters. – Perform PING tests for 30 minutes. – Mobile hotspots make for STEADY presentations. • Loss of ENGAGEMENT. – Audiences will be easily DISTRACTED. – You will never know. Zero feedback. – Have a friend prompt you if quality is poor.
- 20. NETSQUARE How to ensure a smooth flow • Scrolling too fast causes DIZZINESS. – Keep your EXHIBITS ready, and gently switch to them. • Don't ALT-TAB back and forth rapidly. • Don't back-back-back-back, forward- forward-forward-forward. – Switch to thumbnail view, navigate to the slide you want and present. • Don't keep WOBBLING your mouse.
- 21. NETSQUARE How to ensure a smooth flow • Give the audience time to READ. • Don't narrate what is already written. – Audience will read your slides and listen to you independently. – Repetition will cause LOSS OF ENGAGEMENT. Your voice won't matter. • Circle, Box or Highlight areas you want to draw attention to.
- 22. NETSQUARE Helpful Hints and Tools • Selectively broadcast a single window. – Don't share your entire desktop if not needed. • Take your time to switch views. The audience will wait. • VM + VNC is your friend. – Broadcast the VNC window, and control through the VM view.
- 24. NETSQUARE Descent: Closing The Loop • RECAP the points you wanted to make. • Key TAKEAWAYS. – Max 3-4 takeaways. • Conclude your talk atleast 5 minutes before the end time. • Open up the floor for Q&A. – Present the chatroom on screen if possible.
- 26. NETSQUARE Landing: Questions and Answers • Again, read every question out ALOUD. – Only then provide your answer. • Take your time to answer. – when you read the question, your mind will be thinking about it. END ON TIME
- 27. NETSQUARE Key Takeaways • New Territories - the rules are different. • Preparation is PARAMOUNT. • TEST your presentation. • Pray to the DEMO gods - IN ADVANCE. • Stay ON TIME.
- 28. NETSQUARE What Questions Do You Have? THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION @therealsaumil