how to give a presentation virtually

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10 Tips For Giving Effective Virtual Presentations

What to know before you go live.

September 26, 2016

Presenting online? Try these suggestions to improve your results. | Illustration by Tricia Seibold

As audiences go global and you need to reach more people through technology (including webinars, conference calls and teleconference), you must consider the challenges to connecting with a virtual audience. Here I pinpoint 10 valuable best practices to ensure you communicate successfully.

1. Be Brief

Audiences begin to lose attention after roughly 10 minutes of hearing from the same presenter. If you have more than 10 minutes of content, use interactive activities to keep your audience engaged (for example, take a poll, give quizzes, or ask audience members for their opinions via chat).

2. Be Simple

Keep slides simple — avoid too many words, graphics and animation features. Less is definitely more!

Light yourself well | Illustration by Tricia Seibold

3. Be a TV Personality

Look straight into your camera, not the screen. Wear clothing that is neutral in color (no plaids or stripes). Light yourself well and from above. Be mindful of what appears behind you in the background. Invest in a good microphone.

4. Be Standing

Even though your audience cannot see you, stand when you present. This allows you to stay focused and use good presentation delivery skills such as belly breathing, vocal variety, and pausing.

5. Be Prepared

Practice delivering your presentation with your technology in advance of your talk. Make sure all of the features of the technology work. Record your practice using the recording feature of your tool. Watch and listen to learn what works and what you can improve.

6. Be Assisted

Have someone available to deal with technical issues and to field email/text questions. Also, if you have multiple remote audience members in one location, be sure to pick one of them to be your “eyes and ears.” Ask them to queue up questions and facilitate discussion on your behalf.

7. Be Specific

Ask pointed questions to avoid too many people answering at once. For example, rather than ask, “Are there any questions?” try “Who has a question about the solution I provided?” Set a ground rule that people state their names prior to speaking.

Imagine your audience | Illustration by Tricia Seibold

8. Be Synchronized

Transitions are critical. You must connect what you just said to what is coming next when you move from point to point. Transitions between topics and slides are good opportunities to get people reengaged to your talk.

9. Be Connected

Imagine your audience even though you can’t see them. You can place pictures of audience members behind your camera so you can look at people as you present.

10. Be Early

Encourage your audience to access your call or webinar in advance of the start time so you can iron out any technical issues in advance and get them familiar with the technology.

Matt Abrahams is a Stanford GSB organizational behavior lecturer, author, and communications coach.

For media inquiries, visit the Newsroom .

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14 Virtual Presentation Tips to Help You Prepare and Deliver

As society gradually shifts back to “normal” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic—with some segments of the population resuming in-office work—there’s still no question that remote work is going to be more prevalent than it was pre-pandemic, perhaps for many years to come.

With that in mind, you still may not always be in the same room as folks you’re having meetings with—which makes virtual presentations something you’ll really want to master. Whether it’s a recurring work meeting, a sales pitch, a webinar, or any other kind of online session, there are specific things to consider that don’t apply to in-person events. At the same time, there are also upsides to virtual events—if you know how to take advantage of them.

Let’s dive into some of the challenges—and opportunities—when it comes to virtual presentations, along with concrete, expert-sourced advice on how to prepare for your presentation, how to lead it successfully, and what to do afterward.

How Are Virtual Presentations Different?

As with anything, there are positive aspects as well as downsides when comparing virtual presentations to in-person ones.

Pros of Virtual Presentations

• They’re less intimidating. People who don’t feel comfortable presenting in person might be less daunted doing so remotely. Plus, on the other side of things, attendees can keep their cameras off and still participate in meaningful ways more easily.
• They’re accessible to people across geographical areas, which means you can address coworkers from different offices or bring in a diverse audience for a webinar.
• They give you an opportunity to dive deeper with the chat feature to read comments or answer questions that participants may not have felt comfortable asking in person—making them more inclusive.
• Features like polls and surveys are easy to administer during a virtual presentation, providing the opportunity for real-time feedback.

Cons of Virtual Presentations

• The lack of body language cues can make it hard to “read the room” or gauge people’s interest, engagement, confusion, and other reactions during your presentation.
• Quiet participants may be more easily overlooked or talked over, so you may not get all the input you’re looking for.
• It can be harder to generate organic conversations or connections.
• There’s always the risk of technical issues affecting the presentation.

With these pros and cons in mind, how do you successfully pull off a virtual presentation? Read on for 14 tips to help you before, during, and after your next virtual offering.

Before the Presentation

1. get clear on your purpose.

Clarity is always key, says  Stacey Edelstein , Cofounder and Design Director at the creative studio Raygun. She spends most of her current workdays running or supporting virtual presentations, from in-house presentations for her agency clients to group meetings she’s facilitating for local organizations.

Virtual events usually require you to work a little harder to maintain folks’ attention; if you’re disorganized or veer off track, people’s minds will wander and it will be harder to reengage them.

“ Zoom fatigue is real, so it’s important to be intentional around the purpose of the presentation first. What is the ‘why’ behind what you’re doing? Build your outline or script from there,” Edelstein says. “As a friend once told me, ‘Start with the headline.’” Edelstein keeps her talk centered on what she wants people to remember when they walk away. Anything beyond that can be included in a handout or perhaps a follow-up communication.

2. Ask Questions in Advance

For webinars and other online events,  Femily , a gender and inclusion advisor in Silicon Valley, likes to use the sign-up or registration page as a chance to get some insight into who is attending. You can ask a question or two as they register to learn if they have pressing questions about the topic, what they’re hoping to gain from the event, and more. You can even use the information you get from these questions to prepare your talk.

If you’re presenting to colleagues at work, you can take a similar approach by sending an email ahead of your presentation and asking folks to send you questions in advance.

3. Get Creative With Visual Content

Lean more on visuals and go easy on the text if you’re using a slide deck to accompany your talk, Edelstein says. A wall of text will take people away from what you’re saying. “At our San Diego Design Week event last year, we used a simple slide deck with big, bold type to complement the conversation without distracting from what was being said.”

But don’t be scared to get creative and try new things here. For instance, you can use relevant images like GIFs, memes, and other photos to connect with your audience and visually communicate your points, says Chris Zullo, Practice Director of Marketing at the cloud solutions provider AllCloud, who has extensive experience presenting both at work and at virtual conferences like London’s Calling and Virtual Dreamin.

Whether or not memes and GIFs feel like the right fit for your audience, you can still make your presentation visually enticing.  Marcia Dickerson , a management consultant and college professor who’s been teaching online classes and workshops to all different sizes and types of groups, likes to use color, graphics, and art to spruce up her slides, which she designs via Canva.

4. Remember Practice Makes Perfect

Ideally, you’ll gather your content and then start practicing with time to spare. “Before a virtual presentation, just like any other, you need to practice, practice, practice,” Dickerson says. In some ways, it’s even more important to do ahead of a virtual presentation. “If you’ve got your content down cold, you can pay more attention to the cues you get. I will often watch the chat function during webinars to see if a question comes in, and that’s not easy to do if you don’t know your content.”

You should also be sure to test any equipment you might be using or any features you aren’t familiar with—just as you would for an in-person event. “Many presentations are derailed due to avoidable technology issues,” Edelstein says. “Make sure to practice on your preferred platform to find your flow and get comfortable using tools like screen share, breakout rooms, etc.”

5. Consider Asking for Help

If you’re able to, it may be beneficial to enlist someone to help run your presentation. That way, if you have technical issues during your talk, you’ll have backup. “I had an experience in which my computer shut down right in the middle of a webinar,” Dickerson says. “I was able to log in on my phone and assign a friend to be the new host, and she told the group I’d be back. Now, I always get someone to attend as a cohost in case that happens again.”

You can also ask the cohost to monitor the chat or Q&A features while you speak, so you can stay focused. Edelstein says that at her company, they call their tech support attendees “chat cheerleaders” and ask them to cue slide decks and videos, manage breakout rooms, and, as the nickname suggests, help engage people in the chat while the speaker talks.

During the Presentation

6. optimize lighting and sound quality.

Proper setup really helps you come across clearly and professionally. Here are some tips to help you get it right:

• Make sure your lighting sources are coming from in front of you (not from behind). It prevents you from appearing as a shadowy silhouette and just plain looks better.
• If you can, invest in webcams and microphones to up your presentation quality; there’s no need to spend a ton of money, but do some research to see what options are available at your price point.
• Look around your space and try to anticipate any possible sound distractions and how you can minimize those.
• If possible, try to present in an area with limited hard surfaces—like a room with carpet—to boost your sound quality. Dickerson knows people who actually stuff comforters behind their computers in order to create a better sound experience while presenting.

7. Use Icebreakers and Music to Set the Mood

Make a great first impression on the group by starting things off in a fun way. “ Ask them something about themselves  or the topic. Play a video,” Femily says. “The first minute of people logging on is the most important to set the energetic tone for the session.”

Edelstein agrees; her preferred way to start a session is by playing music as people enter, right before the meeting starts. “It really helps with those awkward silences!”

Of course, you’ll need to adapt your kickoff to the situation. If you’re presenting to senior leadership at your company and you know this crowd tends to be buttoned up, you might opt for a serious question related to the topic at hand over loud dance music.

8. Remember You May Have to Bring More Energy Than Usual

You might have to be a bit larger than life when you’re presenting remotely—whether that means standing instead of sitting to keep yourself engaged; wearing a fun, bright color to pep yourself up; or using body language more than usual to show attendees you’re listening.

Dickerson likes to keep the self-view option on in a larger group. “It’s a check to be sure that my gestures and facial expressions are big,” she says. “I feel it helps me to try to be just as big and exuberant on a virtual presentation as I would in a large lecture hall.”

9. Consider Hiding Self-View

While there are times when it may be appropriate to keep self-view on, as Dickerson does with larger groups, in other cases, it may be best to turn it off. You don’t look into a mirror the whole time you have a conversation or teach a class, so why would you want to during an online presentation? Hiding self-view can make you feel less awkward, Dickerson says. Experiment to see what feels right for you in different scenarios.

10. Know When to Mute Yourself

If you’re doing any kind of event, meeting, or workshop where you aren’t speaking for a while, remember to use the mute button to cut down on background noise that could be distracting for attendees. For example, if you’ve delivered a prompt and are giving people 10 minutes to write their answers, this would be a perfect moment to use mute. Over time, toggling it on and off will become more natural, but it’s definitely something to be aware of if you’re newer to virtual presentations.

11. Encourage Participation

Because of the lack of body language and real-time input, you may have to take action to get feedback, Zullo says. Consider prompting the group with questions or polls if that works for your session. If you don’t have someone helping you out, you’ll also likely want to keep an eye on the chat yourself. You may decide to take a pause every so many minutes to read through any comments or questions that have come in, or you might keep an eye on it as you talk; whatever works for you is fine.

Outside of the chat window, you may need to give people more time than usual to speak up. “I’ve learned to pause a little longer for questions,” Dickerson says. “It takes people longer to unmute or be sure they aren’t talking over someone else. When someone does talk, I like to reply to them by name to make it more personal.”

If the platform you’re using has a breakout rooms feature, this can be a good way to get people into smaller groups and generate discussion. You can also have everyone go into breakout rooms and then come back to the main room to reconvene and discuss insights or discoveries together.

Dickerson also pairs her presentation with a worksheet that she emails out ahead of time when appropriate. Having a place to take notes or write down answers to questions you ask can help attendees remain engaged.

12. Be Yourself

At the end of the day, you may still be nervous even though the event isn’t in person. That’s OK! Femily encourages everyone to show up as they are, no matter who you are: “It’s vibrancy and bold statements that magnetize people. Be imperfect, wacky you!”

After the Presentation

13. don’t be scared to follow up.

After the presentation, you might need to email people for a number of reasons: to send out materials you mentioned during your talk, to recap takeaways and action items, to send them the recorded event, or to ask people to fill out a survey so you can get an idea of how the presentation went and what you could do better in the future.

If you’re speaking to a group of strangers, consider letting attendees know how they can get in touch with you. You might even have your last slide in the presentation display your contact info, so people have it in case they have questions or thoughts afterward. If you’re speaking to your coworkers, you can still encourage them to reach out to you (via email, on Slack, etc.) with additional questions and thoughts they may not have had time to share or may not have realized they had until later.

14. Reflect and Iterate for Next Time

Watch the recorded presentation and evaluate yourself, Edelstein says. This can help you get an idea of when people were most engaged during your talk and improve for your next presentation.

Brainstorm other ways you can get feedback to assess your performance. For example, if you did a webinar, the platform you used may have a way to track interactions and participation level. If you presented something at work, perhaps you can ask a colleague you trust for some insight on their experience as an attendee.

If for some reason you feel you fell short, don’t beat yourself up. Virtual presentations have the potential to create more distractions than usual, and that can affect your results, Zullo says. “You can put together an amazing presentation with all of the engagement, bells, and whistles, and still not see the quantifiable results,” he says. “Things can come up at home. People might have multiple screens and be multitasking. They may not be ‘present’ for whatever reason.”

Virtual presentations are likely here to stay. So you can always come back to this expert insight on how to prepare for, facilitate, and follow up after your presentation to help you become more comfortable leading and connecting online.

12 Tips to Give an Amazing Online Presentation

Whether you’re new to giving online presentations or a seasoned veteran, here are some tips that will launch your next presentation into the stratosphere!

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• Master Video Calls
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Do you have an online presentation coming up? I’ve given hundreds of virtual presentations, ranging from YouTube presentations to presentations for Microsoft. And from my experience, online presentations are a different ballgame than in-person ones.

In this article, I’ll share my top 12 tips and tricks to save you the trouble and ace your next presentation.

An online presentation is a prepared speech or talk in which a person or group provides information, pitches a new idea, or introduces a new product or service through a video call. Online presentations are given to an audience, usually in a business setting.

Ready to take a dive into the tips? Let’s go!

Start With Momentum

Virtual presentations are like taking a flight on an airplane. The beginning and ending are super important, but the middle’s kind of a blur. 

That’s why, if you’re going to prioritize any part of your presentation, you are better off spending the majority of your energy on the first and last minutes. Let’s focus on the first moments.

The beginning of your presentation is critical because it sets the tone—a good first impression makes you feel confident and your audience relaxed. This forward momentum will carry onto the middle part of your presentation where you’ll be presenting the bulk of your data/statistics/information—so if you don’t nail your first impression, you won’t gain that forward momentum you need for the rest of your presentation.

And believe me, people judge you almost instantly! Here’s what the science has to say about first impressions:

A 2017 University of Toronto study found that observers take as little as 5 seconds to determine whether a person is charismatic or not!

So when you’re delivering a presentation online, you should try to make your beginning as error-free and smooth as possible. This includes being prepared and removing potential roadblocks:

• Fix computer errors: ALWAYS double- or triple-check your equipment before giving a virtual presentation. Make sure your microphone, webcam, and internet is working. If you have to fumble around with technical details during the video call, your audience may have the impression that you are unreliable.
• Eliminate distractions: Silence your phone, turn off desktop notifications, get rid of loud fan noises, and make sure your room is kid/dog free. Keep in mind that your audience will likely be listening through their headphones, so even the tiniest of noises might be heard.
• Dress appropriately: Here’s an easy one that some people actually neglect. Have you ever been in a situation where you feel like you should have worn something a little nicer ? If you are giving a business presentation, dress in business appropriate attire (yes, even the pants, too!). It’s best to match your audience—and if in doubt, err on the side of professional! It’s also important to wear a color to stand out from your background, but not a color that’s too distracting.
• Be happy: Like it or not, we can’t hide our emotions. Research shows that people can hear your mood from your voice. So if you’re not in a good mood, try boosting it! Watch some funny YouTube videos or give yourself a small pep talk . Sounding confident and happy is the key to success, so make sure you are in the right mood before you go live.

Open With IISSAAQQ

What does this really bad spelling of Isaac stand for? IISSAAQQ stands for the best ways to start an online presentation:

• Icebreaker: One of the best ways to open up your audience is to give a virtual icebreaker. I always keep an icebreaker on hand that can be done over the computer before starting any online presentation—it’s one of the best ways to connect with your audience!
• Illustration: You can say to the audience “Remember when…” and provide a picture, or paint a scene by telling the audience to imagine a scene when xyzzy occurred.
• Short story: A short personal story or story about someone else can really grip people, but the key is to make it short and not drag on.
• Statistic or surprising fact: A really good statistic can get people thinking and challenge their perspective.
• Aphorism: An aphorism is a common phrase or saying, such as “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Add a twist to the aphorism for added effect (“an apple a day keeps the doctor away… except if you’re sitting with an apple computer for 8 hours a day.”
• Analogy or metaphor: Saying an analogy (“User interface is like peeling an onion”) can really break down complex terms into more simpler ones, making it more digestible for your audience.
• Question: Starting with an engaging question can add a great amount of audience engagement, or even asking a rhetorical question can get them thinking out-of-the-box.
• Quote: A great way to start your online presentation is with a quote–but it should be related to your presentation and from a credible source.

End With a Bang

The ending is the part where your audience is (hopefully) happy that the presentation is over, and they feel like they’ve learned something or feel inspired to change. If you’ve made it this far in your presentation, the LAST thing you want to do is crash and burn. So here are some tips to make an amazing presentation that will remain in your audience’s mind long after it has ended.

• Have an easy solution: The last few slides of your presentation should not be too information-heavy. Keep that for the middle. Your last slides should be both convincing and easy-to-understand.
• Have a clear ending: Avoid the awkward “So, does anyone have any questions?” moment by providing an end slide to your virtual presentation. It can be a simple recap of the presentation, or a call to action.
• Include a digital goodie: Include a digital goodie at the end! Everybody loves getting things, and it shouldn’t stop just because you are online. Digital goodies might include a downloadable PDF or document that includes more statistics/research or a list of relevant sources related to your presentation.
• Lead with a call to action: Calls to action are driven by emotion. And they work because we often respond to emotion over logic. If your business is proposing a new solution to an existing problem, try focusing on the emotional benefits vs. the statistics—happier customers vs. less product returns, cleaner world vs. smaller carbon footprint, etc. You can also try this double method: start with the negative, which amplifies the potential bad that might happen if your recommendation is not taken. Then, you can add in the positive, which highlights the good that can happen when your recommendation is taken.
• End with humor: One of the best ways to end a presentation is to use humor. If you do it right, you can leave a HUGE impression on your audience that will last for days, weeks, or months! There are a few ways to end with humor. First, you can introduce a question in the beginning or middle of your presentation and answer it in a funny, surprising way at the end. Second, you can end a story you started but stopped in the beginning or middle of the presentation. Some really good people to draw inspiration from are stand-up comedians. One great example of callback humor is in the movie, Airplane! In the beginning of a movie, a passenger enters a taxi. The driver tells the passenger to wait for a bit, but the driver never comes back as he ends up on an airplane instead. In the closing credits, this scene is played, which recalls the intro of the movie in a funny but memorable way:

Show Your Face

Did you know that faces are attractive to humans? A study by Richard Fantz demonstrated that infants stare twice as long at human faces! We are just inherently born with an attraction to faces. In short: we love human faces, and yours is no exception.

If you’re giving an online presentation or even getting on video call for the first time with your new online networking contact, a super-easy bump in your likability factor is to simply show your face. Many video call programs such as Zoom or Skype allow you to share your screen while also showing your face. Here’s an example of my face in a webinar I hosted on how to thrive in a digital workplace:

Pro tip: you can even take it up a notch by backing up your webcam. This allows you to show your body language better! In fact, one of the most important nonverbal cues for charisma is your hand gestures . In the Toronto study mentioned earlier, the observers didn’t even need to hear a presenter talking; all they needed to do was see their body language! That’s how powerful body language really is. So push back your computer or phone or camera so your hands and upper torso are showing!

When you use your hands, you can also benefit from the following:

• Showing your wave hello (I ALWAYS do this!)
• Your explanatory gestures while you are speaking
• Visible hands while you are listening

Want more tips on how to make a better video call? Here are our 15 Tips for a Better Video Call !

Stand, Don’t Sit

Sitting is great. Standing is even better! One big mistake a lot of virtual presenters make is sitting down instead of standing. 

When you stand, you can utilize the full range of your deep breathing, therefore increasing your vocal power . You’ll be able to project your voice louder and deeper, and have stronger vocal variance when you stand. Standing also helps you naturally convey a more powerful posture if your chest is up and your back is straight.

If you can, try to utilize a standing desk to your advantage! If you don’t have a standing desk, you can use your kitchen counter or another higher position to place your laptop. If you absolutely must sit, remember to keep your back straight throughout the presentation.

Does your online presentation contain a juicy tip, great piece of advice, or free goodie?

Consider giving it out in the first 5 minutes of your presentation rather than keeping it until the end. This will give your audience a little dopamine boost of motivation to continue listening to your presentation!

“Simply put, people are obliged to give back to others the form of a behavior, gift, or service that they have received first.“ – Robert Cialdini, author of Influence

Leverage Visuals to Your Advantage

Have you ever wondered what is the best way to use visuals in your online presentation? Visual aids are used to:

• engage the audience
• allow the audience to remember the information
• axplain complex ideas in easier-to-digest ways
• add variety to your slides

I try to use visuals in ALL of my online presentations! The thing is, it’s really hard to keep your audience engaged and distraction free, especially if they are online. So if you’re boring your audience by using long lists of words… your message won’t be getting across. According to John Medina, author of Brain Rules :

• If we only read text, we are only likely to remember 10% of the information 3 days later.
• If we add in a relevant image, we are likely to remember 65% of the information 3 days later!

So there’s no easier way to have your information remembered than to add visuals! Here are some examples of visuals you can use in your presentations:

• stock photos
• Youtube videos
• hand-drawn pictures

In my articles, I like to use hand-drawn stick figure comics. That’s because they’re both funny and engaging! They also help nail down important bits of information I want my readers to take away. 

For example, here’s a random fact that you may not have known:

Alligators don’t only eat meat; they eat fruit, too!

Interesting, right? Now here’s an image to really drive in that fact:

I know, it’s not the best picture ever (I blame my lack of art skills!). But see how adding a simple image can really solidify a piece of information? You’ll remember this fact a lot longer by seeing an image rather than just by reading or hearing it. 

Now take the power of visuals and use it to your advantage—if you’re giving a business presentation online, sprinkling in a few key visuals throughout your presentation can help you drive in those really important points. 

If you’re debating whether you should use a visual, here’s a quick checklist to ask yourself:

• Does my visual help the main point of the slide?
• Is my visual appropriate for the audience?
• Is my visual too distracting?
• Does my visual help the audience understand complex information better?
• If a video, is it too long or short?

If your visual doesn’t meet one of the above checklist items, it’s best to cut it. And here’s something important you can write down for each visual you add into your slide:

The purpose for this visual is to ___.

If the purpose is not clear enough, consider removing the visual. Remember: visuals should only ADD value to your slide, not take it away.                                                                           

Add Interaction

A major downside to online presentations is that it’s hard to engage your audience. Besides nicely-placed visuals, you can add an element of interaction to your virtual presentations to make your audience more interested. Here are some interactive presentation ideas:

A great way to increase audience engagement is to use physical props. 

How do you use props in an online presentation? Props should be used to explain a difficult concept, demonstrate a product, create humor, or be memorable. They should always support your presentation, and not distract from it. And the key to using online props is to first make sure that people can actually SEE your prop.

This means if you are in a video call, avoid using small objects that everyone can’t see. If you need to, you can momentarily stop screen sharing and turn to your live video feed so the audience can focus on your prop. 

Pro tip: Don’t show the prop until it is needed. A bad move is to give away the goods and immediately take them away, causing your audience to remain in suspense and be distracted throughout your presentation!

Host Quizzes and Polls

One cool thing you could do during your presentation is to include your audience’s opinions using surveys. If I’m giving a presentation, I can insert a little quiz with a list of possible answers which my audience can then vote on. It’s really interesting to see how many people pick the right (or wrong) answer!

If you want to know how to create awesome quizzes for your presentation, check out our software section below.

Live Q&A’s

One technique I love to use for better interaction is to simply ask questions!

For example, if you have an existing product you are discussing, you might want to ask your team, “What are some common customer complaints about this item?” Your team will then give their answers, pitching ideas of some common customer complaints.

Here’s where it gets good…

You can then go to the next slide that addresses these problems individually. Bam! You’ve done two things: 

• You added interaction, and 
• You provided a nice transition to the next slide. 

Niiiice, a two-for-one combo!                

Cut the Presentation Bologna

What happens when you talk about the same things over and over again in a presentation? One bored audience, that’s for sure. And a whole lotta bologna on the side.

Repeating the same stuff. Facts that don’t need to be there. Extra words that make your eyes tired or are difficult to read.

I call this stuff Presentation Bologna. And it’s NOT the good kind of bologna (is there even a good kind?). Presentation Bologna includes:

• bullet points not relevant to the slide’s topic
• statistics or facts that reinforce already-existing data
• visuals that take up space rather than contribute value
• “fluff” words, or extra words that can be cut from a sentence without changing the original sentence’s meaning

Your goal is to make your presentation slides as small as possible, while retaining the most essential information possible. You can even write down notes on notecards to help assist you in explaining the points you have in your presentation or memorize what you will say altogether.

Online presentations should be simple and straightforward, like live presentations. The biggest difference here is that your audience will likely be straining their eyes, trying to look at their (potentially tiny) computer screens while you are giving a presentation.

That’s why it’s essential to cut the bologna. I usually do this step after creating the bulk of my presentation, but before practicing my presentation. Speaking of practicing, let’s move on to the next step…

#Screen Record Yourself         

The great thing about giving online presentations is that you can practice everything in the comfort of your own home. You can practice in the same room you’ll present in, with the same lighting, with the same computer setup, and everything. When practicing, make use of the screen recording feature! Screen record is an absolute must, especially for virtual teams . Most newer Mac and Windows computers have a built-in screen record feature already. 

When going over your video recordings, take careful consideration of the following:

• Do I use too many/not enough hand gestures?
• Is my body language unnatural or distracting?
• Do I sound loud and confident enough?
• Do I have any technical issues?
• Am I under the time limit or going over?

You can even send your presentation over to a friend or family member for them to review at their convenience. Yay for technology!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Pick Your Presentation Tools

When giving an online presentation, you have to have the right tools for the job. There are a lot of presentation tools out there—tools exist for: 

• making your own animations
• creating Infographics
• planning conferences
• creating mind maps
• finding great images for your slides
• making your entire presentation

Depending on your needs, you’ll need to choose the right tools for your virtual presentation. I recommend choosing one tool to create your presentation and adding in visual tools along the way, based on your needs. Here are 5 of my favorite online presentation tools I use:

Pixabay is by far my most favorite image-finding tool. This site has over 1.7 million free, high-quality stock images and videos you can use to insert into your virtual presentation. Using a stock image is a great way to break up text, add a little emotion, and make your presentations a little more exciting.

When I use Canva, I feel like I’ve been given a magic design wand. That’s because there are a ton of free infographics, logos, pictures, posters, and even presentation templates you can use and customize to your heart’s content. And they’re surprisingly high quality for being free! Canva  even has a section for Zoom Virtual Backgrounds that you can add to your video call when giving your online presentation!

Did I mention it’s free? I use the Premium version, although the Free version is great, too!

• Poll Everywhere

Here’s one that I mentioned earlier in the article. This is a great software I use to create live polls and quizzes for my virtual presentations! Whether it’s a multiple choice quiz, true/false test, or just a general Q&A poll, users can participate on their computers, phones, or tablets! It’s super easy to use and integrates easily with Keynote as well. 

Want to eliminate distracting noises completely? Sometimes that’s not possible. But the closest thing I have found to help is Krisp. Krisp is a software that’s free to use (up to 120 minutes a week!) and works by blocking out all background noises so only your voice can be heard by other conference call members. You can download and install it, but I use the Chrome extension! It’s seriously worth giving a shot if you’ve got loud noise in the house.

Here’s the golden question: Should I make a Keynote online presentation, or a Microsoft PowerPoint one? Since I have a Mac, I use Keynote. It’s intuitive, easy-to-use, and it’s built into all Mac computers already. Keynote has a ton of presentation templates you can use, and you can even create tables and charts in the app itself! For me, Keynote is a must for my presentation-creating needs.

I compiled a list of the best tools my team uses. You can check them out here:

15 Best Remote Tools

Embrace The Fear

Have you ever been skydiving? Even if you haven’t, you can just imagine that pit-in-the-stomach feeling of jumping out of an airplane. And if you shy or a natural introvert , giving presentations is not so different than skydiving.

After giving hundreds of presentations—both in-person and online—my best piece of advice to those with presentation anxiety is to give up on trying to get rid of that fear. That’s because that fear will probably never go away . 

But here’s the silver lining: the fear does get better. The more you give presentations and get comfortable speaking in front of people, the less giving presentations suck . If you hate giving presentations like I once did, you might even turn to love them—once you learn how to walk with confidence and have the power to influence the way people think, you feel like you’re on top of the world! 

And that pit-in-the-stomach feeling? It changes to a good fear—the kind that makes you look forward to giving presentations! And the more presentations you give, the better you get.

Life is better when you build your social skills. As a recovering awkward person, I was terrible at socializing—I would often lock myself in the bathroom at parties just to avoid conversation! But now, I want to inspire people to take charge of social situations because I know that social skills are the key to a happier, more productive life. That’s why I gave all my secrets about how to be ridiculously likable in Chapter 5 of my book. Interested? Here’s a free gift for you today– click here for the free first chapter of Captivate !

Unlock the Secrets of Charisma

Control and leverage the tiny signals you’re sending – from your stance and facial expressions to your word choice and vocal tone – to improve your personal and professional relationships.

Succeed with People

Master the laws of human behavior. Get along with anyone, increasing your influence, impact, and income.

Bonus: Other Creative Presentation Tips

Congratulations, you have arrived at your destination!

As a thank you for taking this Science of People flight with me, I’d like to share with you some bonuses to take your presentation skills to the next level. 

Here are some techniques you may want to master:

All too often we end up using the same old social scripts and asking people the same questions over and over again. If you want to do a team icebreaker before, during, or after your presentation, use my list of conversation starters:

57 Killer Conversation Starters

People who don’t feel confident often believe that confidence is something we are born with. It’s not . Confidence is a skill that can be developed. If you are nervous about your presentation, try boosting your confidence with these scientific techniques:

11 Scientific Strategies For More Confidence

Not everyone can work from home. But if you find a way to do it properly, you can reap some pretty amazing benefits. Check out the 7 Deadly Problems of working at home and how to combat them:

How to Work from Home Successfully in 7 Steps

Finally, I put together a guide on how to manage remote teams. If you’re leading a team of remote workers, this is one guide you shouldn’t miss! Check it out here:

12 Reliable Tips to Manage Remote Employees

Popular Guides

24 thoughts on “12 tips to give an amazing online presentation”.

I’ve never seen such a detailed guide anywhere else! Excellent! In recent months, probably almost everyone who works or studies remotely had to make online presentations. I like that you emphasized humor and the different visualization techniques that can be used to diversify the monotony of the narrative. I also find some of the platforms that you mentioned very useful. Thank you! I am preparing for a big and important presentation and hope to perform at my best!

Thank you so much Vanessa!

Love your article. So much to learn from! I’m preparing a presentation in few months and you gave all I needed.

Thank a lot Vannesa. You provide me excellent information.

Fantastic resource! I couldn’t ask for more.

I usually give some advice to my engineering students for doing good presentations. This is a powerful resource. Thanks for sharing the tips.

Comments are closed.

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How to Give a Virtual Presentation: Tips, Challenges, and More

For many, virtual presentations are an acquired taste. But, with remote teams becoming increasingly popular—especially now due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic—virtual presentations are not only to be expected, but they are also rapidly becoming the norm in our day-to-day professional lives. In addition to helping colleagues stay aligned on major projects, virtual presentations are a useful sales tool that helps you improve your profit margins and are also a staple of customer or client engagements, whether in the form of quarterly business reviews, new feature introductions or providing regular reporting.

How Do Virtual Presentations Differ From Regular Presentations?

It’s tempting to think that the same rules that apply to in-person presentations would apply to virtual presentations as well. In reality, however, the two require different approaches to keep viewers engaged in the presentation. Here are two major differences between virtual and regular presentations:

Virtual presentations are competing with more distractions

Participants viewing a virtual presentation are far more easily distracted than a typical meeting participant would be when viewing the content in the same room as the presenter. With in-office presentations, participants are typically in the conference room, which is a controlled environment with fewer distractions  competing for attention, making it easier to tune into body language and what the speaker is saying. With virtual presentations, the context is very different.

Often, viewers are on mute (video or audio), making it much more difficult for presenters to understand who is engaging with the content. At any moment attendees may be answering a phone call, checking email, browsing social media or simply multitasking due to lack of interest, to all of which the presenter would be none the wiser.

Virtual presentations offer greater scalability

Virtual presentations allow you to present to more people at the same time, aided by group video conferencing services such as Lifesize, which allow for hundreds of participants per meeting . To participate, all that meeting attendees need is a device with an internet connection, greatly simplifying logistics when compared to a traditional in-office presentation, which often requires making travel plans, blocking a few days to travel and booking a conference room. Even then, you can’t be sure that everyone will show up on the agreed date and time until the meeting begins.

While virtual presentations are convenient, that doesn’t necessarily make them easier for you or your audience members. We’ve all experienced the pains of failed virtual presentations plagued by poor audio or video quality or presenters who don’t feel fully comfortable navigating controls to share content. Additionally, when you’re not physically presenting to an audience face to face, you have to work that much harder to establish a connection and sustain their attention. Here’s how to do it.

4 Virtual Presentation Tips for Your Next Meeting

Great content, preparation and practice speaking in public are key factors for every presentation, but if you can’t keep your audience engaged by getting rid of all distractions, your presentation is likely to flop. Here are four presentation tips that will help you minimize distractions next time you’re in the meeting spotlight.

1. Keep it short

When presenting virtually, your audience has a near-infinite supply of distractions at their fingertips, from email to instant messaging to social media feeds. So if you’re doing a virtual presentation, keep it concise and straightforward. Even if you’re committed to a longer presentation like a webinar , staying focused and not meandering is critical.

The average attention span when listening to a presenter is between 5 and 10 minutes. Even elite, experienced speakers struggle to hold an audience’s attention for longer than 20 minutes. In order to avoid listener fatigue and hold the attention of the (virtual) room, you want to pack a punch in your presentation, condensing content to no more than five key points along with a succinct summary of the action you want the audience to take after the presentation.

One way to do this is by starting with the end in mind. For example, if you’re giving a presentation on how to be productive working from home , your goal may be to have the audience put the advice into practice and provide feedback on their experience. Having identified this, you will know the amount of information you need to provide that will lead them to take that specific action you want them to take.

2. Close out windows you don’t need

Before you share your screen, make sure you have the content you want to present already prepared. The first few moments of your presentation are critical to establishing a connection with the audience, and no one enjoys watching a speaker scramble nervously to find their presentation on a cluttered desktop or, worse, inadvertently sharing sensitive or personal information that may be displayed from another application.

Additionally, if you’re using the same presentation for different audiences, make sure you evaluate every slide to ensure it’s relevant and tailored to the room. Distracting your viewer by having to go through a bunch of generic slides that haven’t been tailored to their organization, job function or priorities makes you seem unprepared, giving the audience the perfect excuse to tune out what you have to say. Whenever you do this, you break the flow of your presentation and their willingness to stick around till you’re done.

3. Ask the audience to commit to a distraction-free meeting

Many remote companies have an unspoken rule: mute your mic if you’re not presenting. It’s easy for an ambulance passing by to throw a presentation off track, so before you start, ask participants to mute their mics until you’re ready for Q&A. Luckily, many video conferencing platforms allow meeting hosts to mute participants’ mics to better control the meeting experience. As an additional benefit, muting helps presenters hold the attention of meeting participants by establishing when it will be their turn to speak.

For fully remote and distributed teams, it’s also common to ask meeting participants to avoid multitasking and mute phones for the duration of the meeting. This creates a meeting environment that more closely resembles an in-office meeting with minimal distractions competing with the speaker for attention.

4. Test your equipment beforehand

If you’re reading this, you’ve likely participated in an online meeting where someone presented for several minutes without knowing that their microphone was muted or that their content wasn’t showing on the screen. It’s an uncomfortable experience for both the presenter and the audience and, luckily, very easy to avoid.

Before your next virtual presentation, make sure to test your mic, screen sharing and camera 5-10 minutes before you go live. This helps you identify what’s working and what isn’t and rectify it. This is also a great opportunity to check your lighting to ensure your video feed is clear and ready for prime time.

Besides, knowing that your tools are in good condition boosts your confidence because you’re sure they won’t interrupt your presentation.

How to Virtually Present on Lifesize

Lifesize is a high-definition, secure video conferencing solution for online meetings that helps you hold uninterrupted presentations and deliver an exceptional experience for meeting participants across different devices. Here are a few steps to help you use Lifesize for your next virtual presentation:

1. Have your presentation ready

Compelling visuals and copy make any presentation better. Don’t worry if your design chops are lacking; use content from your company’s website, blog or social media feeds.

Great copy helps back up your slides and persuades your audience to take action. You want to talk about the benefits of taking action, overcome objections and provide irresistible calls to action to make it easy for your audience to get involved.

For your most critical presentations, consider hiring a copywriting service to help you create compelling slides that leave a lasting impression in the minds of your audience so that when you ask them to take action, they’ll be ready to do so. Interactive presentation development tools like Visme also simplify the process of building unique, immersive content that will show great during meetings. The company also regularly publishes presentation best practices  to help users avoid overly cluttered or text-heavy layouts.

2. Click “Present”

Once you’re ready with your presentation, join your Lifesize meeting from the desktop/web app, confirm that your attendees are present, then click on the “Share your screen” icon to start your presentation. You’ll then be prompted to select which display or application you want to share.

3. Share your slides or the entire screen

Once you’ve made your selection, click on the “Share” button to show your slides. Remember, you can’t share slides at the same time as another presenter, so make sure any other speakers have ended their presentation before you try to share your slides.

What to Do After the Presentation

Great news — you crushed the presentation. Now what do you do? The best presenters don’t stop once the meeting ends. After every presentation, take a few minutes to evaluate yourself, or ask colleagues for feedback, to see how well you did and whether you achieved your objective. In addition, here are a few ways to ensure the presentation translates to business impact.

1. Send out your recorded meeting link

Depending on the material, your audience might need to rewatch the meeting to help them get hold of crucial details in your presentation. Lifesize allows you to record and share your presentations so that once you’re done, all you need to do is share a link of the recording with your attendees for later reference. You can also use a video editor to stitch different videos together to use for added material in any future webinars, meetings or presentations.

2. Schedule a follow-up meeting if necessary

When is the appropriate time to reconvene and discuss progress? In a week? Two weeks? All great virtual meetings result in some type of action, so don’t wait to schedule and send a meeting invite for your next Lifesize call. Follow up meetings are great way to stay top of mind with customers, move projects forward or course correct if there is any misalignment concerning next steps.

Your next presentation won’t suck because of one thing: keeping your audience engaged. You’ve got excellent presentation skills and great content, but distractions are your biggest enemy.

By implementing the ideas we’ve discussed above, it’s possible to get rid of these distractions to help you focus on getting the most out of your presentations.

Virtual Presentation FAQ’s

How do you create a virtual presentation.

You’ll need some sort of visual medium to create a virtual presentation (such as PowerPoint) and a teleconferencing solution like Lifesize that allows you to share screens. With the visuals in place, you just have to come up with a speech or speaking plan to accompany your presentation.

How do you engage the audience in a virtual presentation?

To create an engaging virtual presentation, make sure that the presentation flows smoothly with no awkward pauses, and that you have a number of things to say for each slide or visual reference. From there, you have to speak in a lively and engaging manner, and ask the audience questions if possible to keep them engaged.

What are some of the challenges you need to consider when presenting in an online environment?

The wild card is technical difficulties: lag time, poor video/audio quality, or connectivity issues can ruin a presentation. If you have an integrated video conferencing solution in place, then the main challenge is keeping the audience’s attention (which can easily be lost).

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Improving the Video Conferencing Experience in the Era of Remote Work

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past six months, it’s clear that remote work and distributed teams are here to stay, even after the pandemic recedes. While some workers will gradually find their way back to in-person (office or otherwise) workplace settings, this is just the on-ramp to the highway of working from anywhere for many others.

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Tips for Virtual Presenting, with Video Examples

November 8, 2022 - Dom Barnard

There has been an unprecedented rise in  flexible working practices , with remote working becoming the norm for millions of people around the world. Businesses have adopted this approach to cater for not only the global workforce, but also staff who wish to maintain social distancing recommendations.

As online presentations become part of everyday working life, Zoom has established itself as the leading software, but other platforms have also seen  massive growth , such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Webex.

Presenting virtually is a very different experience to presenting in-person. This article explores tips to ensure you communicate effectively through these virtual presentations.

1. Dial-in before the meeting starts

Dial into your call ahead of time. You should have enough time to set everything up and be able to greet everyone in a relaxed manner as they dial-in. Beware that you may need a few extra minutes to set up your microphone or camera correctly.

If you are hosting the meeting, consider having the first slide of your presentation up on the screen with the topic visible, to reassure people that they have dialed into the correct meeting.

2. Prepare your technology

Ensure your laptop or computer is plugged in or fully charged – the last thing you want is to run out of power mid-way through your presentation (you wouldn’t be the first person this has happened to).

Test out your microphone and camera before you start to make sure they are working:

• Test your webcam and position
• Test your microphone

Raise your computer so that you are looking slightly up at your screen (you may have to put your computer on some books to get the right height). This is much more flattering than having the camera below you looking up at you.

3. Dress appropriately

This is one that people often overlook – just because you are home doesn’t mean you are not at work. Dress as you would in the office, not only will this create a good impression, but you’ll feel more confident as well. If in doubt, err on the side of the professional – you want people to focus on your message, not your clothes.

For additional information, visit these links:

• What to wear for video conferences
• What to wear for a presentation: 10 tips
• What to wear (and avoid) when presenting on camera

4. Professional surroundings and background

Eliminate any distractions – turn off any devices that could interpret you, such as alarms on your phone, and tell anyone else in the house that you are about to start a video meeting.

Examples of good and bad setups for video-based presentations. Compare the lighting, audio quality, video quality, what people are wearing, and surroundings across the clips.

Which setups look the most professional to you? Do they have anything in common?

Good lighting will make a huge difference to your appearance and make you look much more professional:

“Shadows, dark patches, and uneven lighting obscure facial expression. In the absence of body language, people on video calls rely on facial expressions for complete meaning. Lighting can make or mar your message.” –  How to look good with better lighting .

Check what is in the background of your camera shot, ideally keep things pain and neutral. Another option is to use a virtual background. These can usually be set up using your video conferencing software.

• How to use Zoom backgrounds
• Custom backgrounds in Microsoft Teams
• Virtual background for Google Meet / Hangouts
• 4 tips for choosing the best virtual backgrounds

Practice Online Presentations

Perfect your virtual presentation skills by practicing them in a realistic online exercise that mimics Zoom, Webex, and Microsoft Teams. Learn More

5. Manage your audience

If it’s your presentation, decide how you would like to manage the participants / audience. For example, are you happy to take questions as you go along, or would you rather wait and have a Q&A session at the end? How will you field questions? Via a chat feature or verbally?

Practice muting and unmuting participant microphones. Set out the ground rules at the beginning so that everyone is clear.

6. Eye contact with the camera

This is a simple tip that can make all the difference to how you are perceived by the audience. Make sure that throughout your presentation you periodically look at the camera. Try to relax your face and smile. This gives the impression that you are looking into the eyes of the participants and helps to keep them engaged during the virtual presentation.

It can be difficult to actually maintain eye contact this way – this article discusses why it can feel uncomfortable:  I Feel So Uncomfortable Making Eye Contact in Work Video Calls

This video demonstrates how important eye contact is during a virtual or video based presentation. Watch the different executives (including CEO Reed Hastings) talk and think about which one comes across the best on camera and why.

7. Know your slides

Most presentations include some visuals to complement what you are talking about. Traditionally Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides and Apple Keynote have been the go-to tools. Whatever software you decide to use, make sure you know how to use the features on it.

Software to help you create presentation visuals:

• Envato Elements

Prepare yourself, so you know how to navigate through your slides and share your screen. Generally, try to keep your slides light on text, as you don’t want to overload people with information. It’s usually better to expand and elaborate on the slides verbally.

8. Practice your virtual presentation

Practice your presentation with a virtual presentation simulator, so that you’re better prepared.

The VirtualSpeech  virtual presentation simulator .

9. Keep everyone engaged

Before you start, try to find out who will be on the call. During your virtual presentation you can then ask them specific questions,  addressing individuals by name .

There are also other tools that you can use, such as giving control of the screen to a participant, so that they can share a document with the group, if necessary. Beyond this, you can use videos, infographics and even host quizzes, polls or surveys.

• 18 Ways to Make Your Presentation More Interactive
• How to run a Zoom quiz: Tips for quizzing success
• Start a Poll in Cisco Webex Meetings
• Create a poll in Microsoft Teams

10. Be enthusiastic

Remember that sounding confident and happy to be there is the key to success. Your participants will note your mood from your voice, so get into the right frame of mind before you start. As you speak, try to alter the speed and tone of your voice so that you avoid sounding monotonous.

Here are some more ideas to  add enthusiasm to your presentation .

This short video shows two examples of enthusiastic speakers. Notice how they use their eye contact, hand gestures and vocal range to appear enthusiastic over video.

11. Body language

Body language helps keep participants engaged. Move your camera away from you a little so that everyone can see your hand gestures.

Many regular tips about body language can be applied to the virtual environment. For example, eye contact can be achieved by looking into the camera (see tip 5). Try pausing and adding a small, subtle nod after you finish making a point. This will add emphasis to what you are saying. This article covers more on how to  project leadership presence .

If you are standing up, do not lock your knees as this can look very rigid. You can lightly clasp your hands when you are not making hand gestures, this will help to not distract your audience.

Time your presentation beforehand, so you know roughly how long it will take you. Make sure you have just the right amount of content for your time slot and factor in time for any questions. You don’t want to run out of things to say or stay on the call too long either.

Less is more – try not to include too much information, as it is better to stick to a few key messages. The beginning and end of your presentation need to be strong as that is what people will remember the most. You should be clear on your aims at the start and recap everything at the end.

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How to Give an Engaging Virtual Presentation

Written by: John Yarbrough

Virtual presentations are not a new concept, but we’ve never before experienced them as frequently as we are in the current moment. 

With improved collaborative solutions and enhanced audio and video quality, virtual meetings are more effective and important than ever, helping millions of remote workers stay productive and connected during the global health crisis.

When you match your message to the medium, master optics and online tools and make room for interactive elements, you can captivate your audience and deliver a compelling, highly engaging presentation in the process.

The Rise of Virtual Presentations in a Post-COVID World

With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to impact our global population, the vast majority of in-person conferences and live events are on hold for the foreseeable future. 

But this doesn’t mean daily operations have stopped altogether; rather, there has been a significant rise in remote work across the country and around the world in these last few months. 

In conjunction with more teams working remotely, virtual meetings and presentations are increasingly a part of our daily lives as companies are recognizing the value and increased productivity associated with working in an online space.

In fact, a recent study by Citrix found that nearly 70% of employees believe they work at least the same, or more, hours from home as they do when working from the office.

With more employees working remotely and a larger percentage of time being spent in virtual meetings, the ability to craft and deliver compelling virtual presentations has never been more important.

7 Virtual Presentation Tips for Your Next Meeting

While many practices are applicable for both in-person and virtual presentations, the best presenters know how to adjust their approach to fit within an online platform. 

The most polished virtual presentations capture (and hold) the interest of all attendees, despite the possibility of diminished attention spans, additional distractions and conflicting priorities. 

By incorporating these tips into your next meeting, you can anticipate stronger results, as well as greater satisfaction among your team.

1. Minimize Distractions

Any windows you have open that don’t relate to the presentation should be closed prior to the start of every meeting. Failing to close non-essential tabs and apps or forgetting to mute notifications can disrupt even the most polished presenters. 

Additionally, having these windows in view may result in being tempted to complete other work, read headlines or send a quick email while your meeting is still happening. 

Remember, your colleagues or clients are likely able to tell when you’re looking at something else, rather than focusing on the topic at hand. 

If you do need to pull up an email or similar document as a reference, be sure to communicate that to everyone on the call, so there’s no confusion about whether you’re distracted or actively engaged.

One great way to stay on task throughout your presentation is to take advantage of presentation notes so you always know what to expect next and what your main talking points are.

2. Ask Listeners to Mute

While video conferencing has become the primary method of online collaboration for millions of remote workers , the most common technical issue that causes virtual presentations to fail remains poor audio quality.

For better or worse, the microphones on our computers and mobile devices tend to pick up a lot of background noise. 

That’s why it’s important for listeners to mute their side of the call when they’re not speaking. If you’re leading the presentation, make sure all participants know how to use the mute function before you dig into any meeting details. 

Since more and more teams are now working from home or other remote locations, there may be any number of sounds going on behind the scenes. 

To avoid unnecessary interruptions and ensure you stick to the schedule, non-speakers should be muted for the duration of the meeting.

You can also include a slide in your virtual presentation asking viewers to mute by creating one using a presentation template like the one below.

3. Test Your Equipment Beforehand

If you want to be well-prepared for a virtual presentation , it’s imperative you test out your equipment beforehand – nothing kills a presentation faster than pausing to resolve a technical issue . 

Time permitting, a dry run of your presentation may be helpful in avoiding mechanical hiccups, as you can anticipate potential problems and feel more confident using the platform’s features. 

In the same way, encourage other participants to test out their own equipment, as well, so they can come to the meeting as prepared as possible.

Whether you’re giving your presentation via Zoom , GoToMeeting or another software, make sure you know where all the controls are, how to share your screen and more.

4. Perfect Your Presentation Setup

As a presenter, all eyes will be on you, which means you’ll want to be intentional in how you set up your virtual meeting space. 

Make sure to have ample front light (so your face is clearly visible), and a neutral backdrop that won’t take away from your talking points. 

The camera should be positioned to frame your face, neck and shoulders; it’s important to be close enough to feel connected to the participants, but not so close your head takes up the entire screen. 

If possible, use a standing desk or set your computer where it can meet you at eye level. Standing up during a meeting boosts your energy and gives your posture a more professional look, a true win-win.

5. Make the Most of Online Tools

In recent years, modern meeting solutions have added a number of helpful features to further enhance the virtual presentation experience .

From screen sharing to integrated chat to interactive features like real-time polling, there are now plenty of ways to supplement prepared content in order to hold attendees’ attention and communicate your message in a more creative way. 

These same resources will also appeal to the different skill sets and learning styles of your participants, so everyone will feel included and new concepts will be easily understood by all.

Using a tool like Visme can help you create a stunning presentation with a template like the one below and present online seamlessly.

6. Use Interactive Elements

Whenever possible, it’s always a good idea to share presentation outlines or agendas ahead of time, so participants have clear expectations and can follow along during the meeting itself.

In addition to utilizing online tools, you can strengthen engagement by limiting your talk time to no more than ten minutes before inviting audience interaction .

Use the participant list to interact with everyone by name, and open up for a round of feedback, a brainstorming session, a quick Q&A or whatever makes the most sense for your particular meeting.

Participants who’d like to contribute can raise their hand, so you (as the presenter) are able to unmute that individual when it’s their turn to speak.

You can also embed videos, create popups within your slides and put together a non-linear presentation easily with Visme.

7. Abide by Virtual Etiquette

When asked to lead a virtual presentation, you’re being given the reins to influence the mood and flow of the whole meeting. 

With this responsibility, it’s necessary to take stock of your tone, your delivery and the manner in which you engage meeting participants.

When speaking to large groups, beware of humor that may not translate well in an online environment. 

As a general rule of thumb, you should also avoid interjections to show you’re listening (e.g. “I see” or “I get your point”) as commonly used in face-to-face conversations. 

Instead, listen fully and only respond once you’re sure the other person has finished their thought. 

You may also find that you need to speak slower than you would in-person, and be more intentional in enunciating so no one is left wondering what was said.

3 Best Virtual Presentation Tools

The latest in virtual presentation tools have made it simpler than ever to format slides and create professional-looking visuals with ease, even if you have little to no experience doing so. 

The following resources are sure to upgrade your next presentation beyond the traditional slideshow template, and will help keep your audience interested and actively listening.

Ready to create your own presentation in minutes?

• Add your own text, images and more
• Customize colors, fonts and everything else
• Choose from hundreds of slide designs and templates
• Add interactive buttons and animations

Engaging Virtual Presentation Visuals: Visme

Visme is an incredibly powerful and flexible content creation tool, empowering brands and individuals to tell compelling stories in the form of engaging presentations , infographics, documents, videos and so much more. 

Visme marries intuitive design tools with powerful presentation features to help you generate stunning visuals for your virtual meetings in minutes, not hours.

With a wide selection of pre-set slides, templates, photos, icons and everything in between, Visme’s software has everything you need to create a highly effective and interactive presentation that’s sure to impress.

Presentation Templates

Ecommerce Webinar Presentation

Buyer Presentation

PixelGo Marketing Plan Presentation

Product Training Interactive Presentation

Company Ethics Presentation

Work+Biz Pitch Deck - Presentation

Create your presentation View more templates

Video Conferencing for Virtual Presentations: Lifesize

Unlike consumer-grade video conferencing platforms, Lifesize facilitates connection, communication and collaboration for teams and companies worldwide. 

At its core, Lifesize is a purpose-built, end-to-end video conferencing solution for business, offering a multitude of meeting room solutions and a secure, intuitive cloud platform for video meetings, enhancing productivity and making remote communication and collaboration a breeze. 

Customized Animation: VideoScribe

VideoScribe is an intuitive tool for creating captivating whiteboard animations and explainer videos that look as though they’re being drawn by hand.

The easy-to-use features of VideoScribe’s software don’t require any animation knowledge or prior experience, making this platform accessible to just about anyone. 

Brands or businesses looking to customize their virtual presentations can use VideoScribe to meet their exact needs, as every drawing can be tailored to a specific purpose or message. 

Give an Amazing Virtual Presentation

Not only can virtual presentations keep teams safe in times of crisis, but they are an amazing way to drive home results and see goals achieved. 

Delivering a meaningful, high-caliber presentation is no easy feat, but with the right amount of preparation and a bit of practice, you can certainly make it happen. 

Remember, presentations are essentially performances, so honor that time and your participants by giving the best performance you can. 

Partnering with Visme on virtual presentations can help you create connection, engagement and value for a meeting that’s not simply informative, but incredibly memorable , as well.

Create beautiful presentations faster with Visme.

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About the Author

John Yarbrough is the Senior Director of Marketing at Lifesize , where he helps deliver the idea of customer obsession and creating a high-quality virtual meeting experience for high-powered meetings and everyday communications.

The Ultimate Guide to Giving Virtual Presentations on Zoom

An irreverent and shockingly-actionable companion for anyone who wants to communicate to invisible audiences through a laptop screen.

I read a lot of “ultimate guides to X.” Most are not ultimate. Most aren’t even very readable. This is different. Oli Gardner has put together an extraordinary resource for both newcomers and experienced speakers. If you apply the tactics in this guide, I promise you’ll be among the best presenters online (or off) at your next engagement.

— Rand Fishkin. Co-founder & CEO, SparkToro.

What’s in the guide?

17 Chapters

29,584 words

84 Screenshots

Roughly speaking—and by that I mean super specific—the Ultimate Guide to Giving Virtual Presentations on Zoom contains six thematic parts, seventeen chapters, 29,584 words, eighty four precision-crafted interface screenshots to show you how to do cool things, high-production instructional videos full of fun, insights, marvellous techniques to marvel at, and did I mention that it’s twenty nine thousand, five hundred and eighty four words long?

Wait. If I add this paragraph to the number it’s actually 29,656. So, roughly speaking, it’s awesome.

This guide is actually free . I’m not asking for an email address. Helping you be a better presenter is my goal.

My only ask is that you consider sharing it with others, if you like the guide.

A few highlights from the guide

18 Zoom Features

Cool Zoom Features You Should Know About

Learn how to use the lesser-known features of Zoom for a more dynamic presentation.

7 Bad Techniques

Things to Avoid Doing in a Virtual Presentation

Learn the most common mistake in a virtual presentation and how to avoid making them.

13 Good Techniques

Definitely Do These Things When Presenting

With a few simple techniques you can drastically improve your chances of pulling off a successful virtual presentation on Zoom. And no, I don’t expect you to build an actual stage like I did, but you can at least put a plant in the background.

Your Talk’s Purpose

Create Experience Moments

A key trait of successful speakers is that they understand their personal brand. They know what they represent, how they want to be perceived, and what success looks for them. This leads directly into how we should be designing our talk experiences.

Presentation Structure, Story, & Flow

Learn how to craft a story arc by reducing your big idea to it’s simplest form and chunking it into structured elements.

40 Slide Design Tips

Slide Design Tips for Virtual Presentations

Take a deep dive into the art of presentation design in this incredibly actionable chapter that will elevate your skills overnight. And yes, there are forty tips in this chapter alone.

Real People

Virtual Audience Engagement

They may be invisible, but they’re still there, and they’re still real people who want to have a good time. Learn techniques for audience participation and five simple tricks to help maintain eye contact while presenting virtually.

Audio & Video

Create Professional Recordings of Your Talks

Learn the six elements of a great presentation recording. Plus techniques, tools, and lists of equipment you need to record professional high-resolution videos of your talks. It also covers editing in post-production, and how to add closed captions for enhanced accessibility.

6 Whoopsies

What to Do When Things Go Wrong

There are many things that can go wrong in a virtual presentation, most of them technical in nature. This chapter covers six serious issues, and offers creative solutions to turn a catastrophic and embarrassing moment, into a calm, collected, professional delivery.

5 Advanced Tips

Advanced & Creative Virtual Presentation Tips

Proxy hosts, shortlinks, customized meeting rooms, landing pages, and clickers, oh my. Enhance your expertise with these technical tips, and the best virtual speaking strategy of all—standing up.

23 Settings

Zoom Settings to Turn On or Off for a Successful Presentation

Zoom has a grand total of 301 settings—I counted them with my finger and brain—which can make it really hard to find a critical feature when it’s crunch time. This chapter breaks down the essentials and is your game-day checklist for success.

Intro Introduction to Virtual Presentations on Zoom

Chapter 1 18 Cool Zoom Features You Should Know About

Chapter 2 12 Things You Should Do in Your Zoom Presentation

Chapter 3 8 Things You Shouldn’t Do in Your Zoom Presentation

Chapter 4 Defining Your Presentation’s Purpose

Chapter 5 How to Define Your Talk’s Structure, Story, & Flow

Chapter 6 41 Slide Design Tips for Virtual Presentations

Chapter 7 6 Ways to Make Eye Contact With an Invisible Audience

Chapter 8 How to do Audience Participation in a Virtual Presentation

Chapter 9 How to Share Content during a Zoom Presentation

Chapter 10 How to Create a Stunning Video and Audio Recording

Chapter 11 Using Post-Production to Add Value to Your Zoom Recording

Chapter 12 How to Use Your Phone as a Beautiful Webcam

Chapter 13 What to Do When Things go Wrong in Your Presentation

Chapter 14 How to Ground Yourself and Get Ready to Present

Chapter 15 Advanced & Creative Zoom Presentation Techniques

Chapter 16 The Difference Between Zoom Meetings and Zoom Webinars

Chapter 17 23 Zoom Settings to Enable or Disable for a Smooth Presentation

How To Ace Your Virtual Presentation: Our Top 10 Tips

Table of contents, what is a virtual presentation.

A virtual presentation is a demonstration, lecture, informational session or speech meant to inform, persuade, motivate, build goodwill , or present a new concept through a digital medium such as a web video conferencing software where the host, presenter and attendees are convening remotely.

Virtual presentations have gained popularity over the last decade due to the advancement of video web conferencing software such as Zoom and Google Meets as well as the convenience virtual presentations have afforded us. Virtual presentations have also helped break down challenges experienced in different fields of work and study.

How Are Virtual Presentations Different From Regular Presentations?

On the surface, it might seem that the only difference between a virtual, online presentation and an in-person presentation is the method in which it is delivered.

In reality, however, the two require different approaches to keep viewers engaged in the presentation. Here are two major differences between virtual and regular, in-person presentations you should consider when deciding if your next meeting should be held online or in-person:

Audience Members – Is The Audience Engaged?

Participants viewing a virtual presentation are far more easily distracted than a typical meeting participant would be when viewing the content in the same room as the presenter. With in-office presentations, participants are typically in the conference room, which is a controlled environment with fewer distractions competing for attention, making it easier to pay attention to what the speaker is saying.

Self-surveillance is also less prominent in a virtual meeting rather than in a physical meeting. When you’re in a room with other individuals, you subconsciously start to self-regulate your behaviour thinking others are watching you. For example, you will not find yourself looking at your phone and you will maintain eye contact with the speaker.

With virtual presentations, on the other hand, the attendee has the ability to turn off their video and microphone allowing them to easily switch their attention to other distractions like their phone or carry on side conversation without anyone else ever knowing.

Scalability & Flexibility

Unlike an in-person presentation where the host, presenter and attendees are physically present at a singular location in the real world, virtual presentations allow for greater scalability which is not bound by the physical environment they are held in.

An in-person meeting would have you bound to the limitations of the room or venue space and the flexibility of other people to attend the presentation at a singular location. On the other hand, a virtual presentation allows you to present to more people at the same time, aided by group video conferencing services, which allows for hundreds of participants per meeting. With a virtual presentation, you are not restricted to the physical capacity of a venue space or the challenge of traveling distances for people.

Either virtual or in person you need a visual presentation that captures the attention of your audience before you tell your story.

Here's One We Did For SalesForce

When the most dynamic CRM sales tool in the industry reaches out for help, we couldn’t resist joining forces. We worked with their team to develop a concept that aligned with their branding and allowed their “Sales Force” to share their value proposition with potential customers in an engaging way.

Why Are Virtual Presentations Important?

Virtual presentations are important because they help break down barriers when it comes to bridging time zones, connecting remote regions and keeping one another safe as we have recently seen with COVID-19.

Remote teams working in space or up north in remote regions are able to share their research and findings far more quickly and easily by being able to connect with other researchers around the world and discuss in real-time. Although it may seem like this could have been done with phone calls, fax machines or even videos, virtual presentations allow for a consolidated, streamlined process that allows for spur-of-the-moment conversations with multiple people in a live presentation format.

As globalization continues to impact our everyday lives, virtual presentations are another way we are connecting with one another around the world. With remote work on the rise , learning about virtual presentations and the nuances that come with them is an important skill to know as more companies, government agencies and cultures adopt virtual presentations and communication.

How Do You Create A Virtual Presentation?

With any other project you decide to take on, to make it excellent, knowing where to start and setting up a good foundation is key to its success. The same applies to virtual presentations. If you don’t have a solid plan in place or create a solid foundation on which to build your presentation upon, your presentation won’t be as successful as it could be.

We’ve put together our top four virtual presentation tips to bring your virtual presentation to life.

1) Start with your content

First, you need to start with your content and understand what message you want to share with your audience. You need to fully understand the topic and content at hand so you’re confident in your delivery.

Start by asking yourself some questions.

• What are the key takeaways you want everyone to leave with?
• What is the purpose of sharing this content?
• Is this content relevant?
• What questions might the audience have and do I know the answer to those questions

It might help to create a story around your topic with a beginning, middle and end to help guide you and your audience through the content.

2) Think about your slides

You want your slides to be engaging. Without engaging slides, you’ll lose the interest of your audience. Remember to keep slides colorful. Use an image or a graphic to help tell the story of the slide. Don’t go overboard though. Keep it simple and follow a 1:1 ratio. One image per slide.

3) Focus on your audience

Throughout your career, you’ll be presenting material to different audiences. Not every audience is the same. For younger audiences, you’ll want to use more visuals and use more vocal energy to keep the audience’s attention. For an older demographic, you might want to keep things more succinct, to the point and talk at a slower pace. It’s one thing to know the content and create a great presentation but it’s useless if you’re not sympathetic to how your audience gathers information.

4) Be dynamic

Keep the attention of your audience by being dynamic and not static. If you’re able to present with a webcam, then do so. Take advantage of as many tools and features as the video web conferencing software you decide to use will allow. For example, some software allows you to have the audience interact with your screen and slides. Depending on the content you’re delivering, you can even have the attendees break out into smaller groups. This will keep the presentation lively, unique and encourage audience participation. Ultimately, you want to keep it fun.

Get inspired with slide ideas from our portfolio

Our Top 10 Best Virtual Presentation Tips

Before you deliver your next virtual presentation , be sure to review these ten tips to help you prepare.

1) Proper Webcam & Lighting

First, check your webcam and lighting. Before you present, turn on your webcam and make sure you’re visible. Even if you think you have sufficient lighting, it’s always best to double-check as some webcams aren’t calibrated correctly. If you’re using a ring light, it may appear like a harsh, blue light is being used. Use this time to also check your microphone and audio source. You’ll be able to check the sound quality and ensure the audio pick-up levels are correct.

2) Familiarize Yourself With The Technology

If you’re not used to presenting virtually or you’re using new software, try practicing your delivery with the technology you’ll be using. If you run into any technical issues, you’ll be able to resolve them beforehand.

3) Check Internet Connection

This is absolutely critical . A virtual meeting or presentation is only possible with an internet connection. If you don’t have a proper internet connection, you won’t have a presentation. It’s also a good idea to practice presenting with all the technology you’ll be using as more software usage requires more internet bandwidth. If you plan on presenting with your webcam on, test your internet connection with your webcam on so you have an accurate measurement.

4) Talk To The Camera

When you’re delivering your message, make sure you keep eye contact with the camera . This will allow the audience who is watching your presentation to feel more connected and engaged. If you’re simply reading from a screen, it makes the presentation feel inauthentic, unpolished and it makes it seem like you’re not confident in the content you’re presenting.

5) Present As You Would In-Person

If you have the ability to stand up while presenting, you should . Standing is beneficial because it allows your airways to be fully open. While you’re sitting, your core is typically tight and you might find yourself hunched over. This will restrict your diaphragm from moving to its fullest potential. If you stand, you’ll have a much clearer voice when speaking.

6) Use Body Language

Keep your presentation dynamic. Your body is a communication tool. Use hand motions to emphasize key points. Use facial expressions to deliver emotion . The combination of body language with your words will help connect the audience to your message on a much deeper level.

7) Engage Your Audience Members

Keep your audience engaged and allow them to participate. Some ways you can keep your audience engaged is by using polling software to ask the audience questions. You can host a Q&A at the end of your meeting , or you can have them play games like Kahoot! to win prizes.

8) Have A Moderator

Having a moderator helps you stay focused. A moderator can help monitor the chat and gauge audience engagement. If you’re conducting a Q&A session, depending on the software you use, a moderator can help filter questions that might be inappropriate. They will screen questions before they are made public to the rest of your audience.

9) Use Evaluation Tools & Learn

This is a tip not many presenters take advantage of that will help you stand out amongst the rest and will make your next presentation even better. At the end of your presentation, consider sending out a poll. Ask for feedback from your audience to see how well you did . You might want to ask their opinion on the visuals, see what information they retained or see how you presented as a whole. If done correctly, for your next virtual presentation, you’ll know if you need to slow down if you’re a fast talker or if you need to add more visuals.

10) Be Yourself

The most important tip of them all is to be yourself . When you’re yourself, you’ll have fun. Presenting and everything will appear natural.

Are You In Need Of A Custom Presentation? We Can Help

Now it’s about you! Are you in need of a fresh, engaging presentation that captures your audiences attention? Whether you need a clean up, a re-design or a completely custom build we have you covered. You can find our presentation packages and pricing options here . Want to speak to a geek, click the button below.

Author:  Ryan

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Home Blog Presentation Ideas A Guide to Mastering Virtual Presentations

A Guide to Mastering Virtual Presentations

Virtual presentations are becoming a standard. With over 30+ billion presentations being created every day, traditional in-person presentations, which used to be the commonality, are more and more being adapted to a more frequent online presentation scenario. 

Through the recent pandemic, the video conferencing platform, Zoom, had a participant increase of 2900% with a daily meeting participant figure of 350 million people in December 2020 alone. Yet, either triggered by the lack of human interaction or technological barriers, the truth is that online presentations can still and easily feel daunting.

That doesn’t need to be the case, however! With online presentation templates for a solid base and specific tactics to keep remote audiences engaged, presenters can easily connect with people in a virtual setting for great presentation success. 

This guide to virtual presentations provides a definition of virtual presentations, common examples, and instructions on how to best present online. 

What’s a virtual presentation?

A virtual presentation is an event whereby a presenter or a group of people face an audience online to go over virtual material of common interest. In the best of scenarios, a great rendition of an online presentation is clear, meeting a specific purpose that is of its audience’s interest. 

Examples of virtual presentations

At SlideModel, each of our PowerPoint templates sets a valuable example of the kind of virtual presentation that works best for very particular settings. These go over topics in business, strategy, marketing, and SWOT Analysis templates , to name a few. There are also different themes to these on diverse virtual presentation templates; the latest to suit numerous needs. 

As further examples of great online presentations, here’s a Notion at Work webinar titled Manage Your Contacts and Sales Funnel. It’s highly recommended by webinar software company LiveWebinar. This presentation’s style and setup might be of special interest to business presenters as it follows regular industry standards. 

How virtual presentations happen

Virtual presentations most commonly take place via web and/or video conferencing platforms . Though numerous tools exist to allow a presenter to meet an audience exclusively online, the most famous for this purpose are currently Zoom, as we described above, as much as Google Meet, and Skype. Other virtual presentations can take advantage of video presentations , where the presenter records the presentation, save it as a video, and then stream it to the target audience using a video presentation platform.

In general, these platforms include a screen-sharing ability to let presenters display online presentation decks . And they’ve become a great go-to resource with an augmented work-from-home (WFH) model worldwide. 

Presentation types

Internal virtual presentations (between colleagues).

We give these kinds of presentations to people within our organization. Whether it’s for the same department or team as ours or another stakeholder within our company, college, or any sort of official body with which we interact, internal presentations serve people whose interests and needs we can access first-hand via a common ground. 

Events (conferences, discussion panels, TED talks)

More public than the first item, virtual presentations can also be part of large events, whether these are public or private. Take all sorts of online conferences or talks into account. We can go online to meet worldwide communities of diverse sorts and be invited to speak at a discussion panel or conference, for example, making our presence visible to multiple computer users or over a single live broadcast on a large screen in an auditorium, for instance. 

Sales presentations with prospects

At times, pitches need to happen on-screen with potential prospects who give us a certain allotted timeframe in their schedules for us to touch base on our product or offer. Virtual sales pitch is another method to use.

Training/educational presentations

Other virtual presentations can be delivered for training purposes. Those can happen for internal and even external teams or as part of an educational program at different institutions. When we’re seeking to build talent up with new skills, our presentations require a lot of clarity with specific instructions, workflows, examples, charts, videos, and as many interactive or information-specific tools as possible. 

But how do we present online events like the above? 

How to Prepare for Virtual Presentations

Here are a few tips on how to best prepare for virtual presentations. We’ve made sure to include these steps as being well-prepared for an online meeting can significantly improve your road to success.

As usual, do your research before putting a single slide together. Reading up on what you will talk about to an audience can set an enormous difference between the knowledge you bring to a presentation and that of anyone else in the same room with you. Chances are that people listening to you as a presenter are very invested in your topic. As such, they can come from diverse backgrounds, and truly have a natural interest in what you have to say. Be valuable to your audience with high-quality content. For that, seek what interests them, how they respond to similar material, and the best ways in which you can engage them. 

Putting material together

Then, work at designing great PowerPoint slides . Keep a balance between design and content, tailoring what you present with your branding or voice in competitive, slick design that also clearly exposes your expertise. 

Consider your audience’s attention spans here. For that, spread content throughout several slides, if possible. Instead of packing each slide full of text or images, fill them with catchy titles, relevant sub-titles, meaningful text, and attention-grabbing visuals. Doing so will add dynamism and generate a more frequent visual change viewers are bound to appreciate. 

Add the above visual flow especially if your audience will need to spend a long time on-screen to follow you. Quicker online presentations can, on the contrary, afford concise and to-the-point material over the shortest amount of slides you can muster.  

Preparing your script

You may have all the know-how in the world on a given topic, company, subject of study, a product, or whatever is getting you to a virtual presentation need. Yet, an outline of ideas, a sequence of thoughts, and the most important areas of your presentation are all valuable tools to ensure success as you present. 

Write your thoughts out. Think of the sentences you’re verbalizing, how you’re phrasing your communications, and the order in which these will be presented. Slides don’t make up for your verbal communication. That vocal area needs preparation, too. 

Write an outline, jot down pointers, and even prepare an essay, if you must. However you feel most comfortable, a script in any form is necessary for a clear rendition of your ideas in front of an audience, whether that happens virtually or in person. 

While you’re at it, include attention-grabbers as you prepare what you’ll say. These can be as easy as saying: “Look over to our graph at the bottom right”, for example, inviting people to actually connect to what you’re presenting. These tricks are especially needed during a virtual presentation given the potential audiences have to be distracted via so many other means that are available on their computer, tablet, or cellphone. 

Practicing in front of an audience

Quite succinctly, peer feedback can do wonders for your virtual presentations. Gather whoever will connect with you to get their valuable insight on what’s coming through from your efforts. 

Sit back without judgment to listen to what business partners, friends, and even family have to say about your work.

Recording a demo

Tied to above, record that session. You can use it as your demo. 

Pushing you to be fully ready for a practice run will ensure you have thought about everything that matters for your final presentation. It will also add a level of security that can give you a more successful edge in the end. 

This practice might sound tedious, but it can also help your team, for example, if you bring people on board to your demo before you launch a product, face a client, present before a different department, face your teacher, and so much more!

Checking your online tools

Because online presentations essentially depend on technological tools, much more so than in any other kind of presentation setting, take the time to check everything works before you get started. 

Check your invitation links, log in to your meeting platform, open up relevant files, click on the presentation sharing icon, and make sure you’ve got all the privileges you need to perform any action you intend on making. Test your audio, try your mic and speakers, and hit the record button as a trial…do it all!

A demo, practice, and even setting 30 minutes ahead of your presentation can be golden for you to troubleshoot any unexpected technological failures. Go through your required steps one by one to make sure everything works!

Presenters are muted quite commonly and cannot get their volume to function, their cameras have stopped working, or they simply can’t share their screen. While no one will generally count that against anyone if the delays aren’t meaningful, this kind of setback can easily signal a lack of preparation. Because many issues can get in the way of a successful and timely virtual meeting, prepare for those challenges ahead of time. 

Concentration

Once your checklist up to here is done, remember to take some time for yourself. Seek your focus. However you concentrate best, find that mental spot where you can truly be attuned to your thoughts and the way you speak. Release any heavy emotions, such as anger, fear, anxiety, or stress. And seek to be balanced within your own self. Even three deep breaths can do the trick if time is pressing, but never forget to start presenting until you’re at your best concentration level. 

Putting yourself out there

Then go for it! Hit that record or live button, let people in your waiting room into your meeting area, say hi to anyone present, or let people know if you’re expecting anyone or waiting for someone for a few minutes. Become the host and take over as a leader, which is ultimately what presentations are about; for a specific period, all attention will be on you. Take your space, put yourself out there, and do your best. 

Establishing conversation

Virtual presentations don’t end when you’re done presenting your slides. Whenever possible, open up the space for the audience to give you feedback, ask questions, and engage in conversation with you. You can include a question and answer (Q&A) session or display frequently asked questions as a means of addressing commonly unclear areas. Also, leave room to address whatever comments come up via chat. 

By the way, just as a pointer to get your next presentation rolling, set the stage at the beginning of your online presentation in terms of when and how you’d like your audience to ask questions. Will everyone be able to stop you as you’re presenting to clear any items that come up? Or would you rather leave all questions for last? 

Commonly, addressing questions via chat or at the end of the session keeps your attendees’ focus under better control. Remember you’re directing people’s attention every time you present. This works just like a maestro would command an orchestra. Make the best of your expertise and knowledge to wow your audience with a unique presentation that gets people talking. 

Conclusions

Virtual meetings aren’t going anywhere. If anything, the use of online tools to group on a given topic is more and more common. As work-from-home leniency becomes widespread after COVID-19, especially, we can heavily rely on virtual presentations being here to stay. 

Consider using templates to help your slide quality. Templates are a great base for design as much as content. With industry or topic-specific material, templates are a great guide that can also accelerate how you create and share content in a high-paced environment. 

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Business PowerPoint Templates, Business Presentations, Communication Skills, Presentation Skills, Presentations, Verbal Communication, Virtual Presentations Filed under Presentation Ideas

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12 virtual presentation tips to get your audience’s attention

Delivering an effective virtual presentation is no easy task. 

Whether it’s for pitching to potential clients or discussing project goals with your team, you’ll have to compete for your audience’s attention and ensure your message gets through.  

In this article, we’ll cover the top 12 virtual presentation tips and best practices for your next virtual meeting. We’ll also look at some of the key benefits of virtual presentations.

This article contains: 

(Click on the links below to jump to a specific section)

• Research your Audience Well in Advance
• Be Vigilant with Technical Checks
• Embrace the Use of Technology and Visual Aid Tools
• Start with an Agenda in Mind
• Reduce and Eliminate Distractions
• Stick to Short, Punchy Sentences
• Interact with your Audience
• Pace Yourself and Plan for Delays
• Incorporate Back-Up Systems
• Allot some time for Q&A Sessions
• Know When to Stop
• Reach Out for Feedback and Reflect
• 3 Useful Benefits of Virtual Presentations

Let’s begin! 

12 practical tips for your next virtual presentation 

Virtual presentations can be intimidating for someone just starting out with them. 

But don’t worry. 

Here are some practical tips and best practices to ace your next virtual presentation. 

1. Research your audience well in advance

With virtual presentations, you need to do a little more research than you’d usually do. It’s best to know your audience and their expectations from the presentation. 

For a webinar or similar events, you can create a registration page or an electronic submission form a week in advance. 

Collect general information about who’s attending the event; ask questions about what they expect to gain from the meeting, or if they have any pressing questions. 

If you’re giving an office presentation, you can set an agenda for the concepts you’ll be covering. For example, think about what your keynote will be.  

Seek input from team members about your presentation structure and prioritize the action items that need to be addressed. If possible, send your meeting agenda in advance and have your managers/seniors glance through the key points. 

2. Be vigilant with technical checks

You cannot control an unexpected power-cut or internet connectivity issue no matter how much you prepare. So, your best bet is to be super precise with technical checks. 

Here are some things you should consider: 

• Is your camera working? Can the audience see you clearly?
• Do you have a proper mic and speaker installed? 
• Are you well-versed with the tools you’ll be using? For example, can you switch between google slides or enable screen sharing? 

These are some questions you should ponder over.

Most importantly, make sure you have solutions for any last-minute technical glitches. Prepare to have a backup or appoint someone who can handle the IT. 

3. Embrace the use of technology and visual aid tools 

The entire concept of a virtual presentation is based on the premise of technology. So naturally, you want to make good use of as many tools as possible.

You can use Canva to create a Canva QR code , Microsoft Powerpoint, Google slides, etc., to create an interactive presentation . 

You can also integrate your virtual meeting software with various tools for better audience engagement during the presentation. For example:

• Tools like Zoom , WebinarNinja, etc, let you conduct virtual polls and quizzes during video conferencing.
• You can also use a tool like Poll Everywhere to create word clouds in real-time. 
• Online game tools like Kahoot are great for creating group quizzes.
• Zoom or ClickMeeting can be useful as a whiteboard tool .

Another advantage of being well-equipped with the right tools is having better control over your audience. Virtual presenter tools can help with audience engagement. You can also monitor any distractions and eliminate them. 

For example, virtual presenters can mute an audience member due to disturbances or pin an important comment for everyone to see.

4. Start with an agenda in mind

In virtual meetings, if you do not start out with an agenda in mind, you’re setting yourself up for distractions. 

A good rule of thumb is to prepare a chronological list of things to be achieved during the presentation. What’s the most important concept you need to cover? Take notes, and make sure that all your other points transition back to your main concept and flow with the structure. 

Next, try to simplify your data points. Use visual imagery, gifs, videos, or animations to attract attention to the key points. 

Define the outcomes of your presentation, and set a time limit for each goal. For example, if the schedule has four points in total, don’t spend more than 30 minutes on each. 

5. Reduce and eliminate distractions

A remote audience is always multitasking between work, so there are bound to be some distractions. 

You can brief your audience about these best practices to minimize distractions: 

• Everyone stays on mute while the presenter is speaking.
• Instead of directly interrupting the host, people can ‘raise’ their hand on the virtual platform if they wish to speak.
• Request your audience members to limit any distraction on their end. This could be due to background noise, kids, pets, social media, or another family member.

Apart from this, make sure that you run technical checks and prepare for any possible problems. For example, close down all unnecessary tabs if you’ll be using screen sharing features. 

On your part, your chats will probably be filled with queries, doubts, or suggestions while you’re interacting with the audience. Instead of getting side-tracked by these chats, it’s a good idea to let a colleague or co-host moderate them for you.

6. Stick to short, punchy sentences 

When explaining concepts to a remote audience, you should always stick to shorter, more humorous sentences. That’s because most audiences often tune out after 10 minutes . 

Especially in a remote work environment, you have to capture and re-capture your audience’s attention while talking. Shorter sentences are easier to understand. But if it’s your first time being a virtual presenter, you can try these tips: 

• Maintain eye contact with the audience (through the webcam).
• Use appropriate hand gestures , facial expressions, and body language. 
• If possible, the person presenting should stand up. Set up your webcam accordingly.
• Ensure that your lighting is bright and lively. Make use of natural light for a better virtual background.

Moreover, keep your content prompt and precise. Avoid repetition of points, and do not over-evaluate any concepts. Ideally, do not speak for more than 10 minutes without some form of audience engagement (a story, quiz, or question).

7. Interact with your audience

According to a 2019 Duarte survey , over 68% of people believe that an engaging virtual presentation is more memorable than traditional one-way presentations. 

That’s because virtual users have a very limited attention span. It’s fairly easy for them to get distracted, especially if they have to sit through a presentation without any form of interaction. 

Interacting with the audience also makes you more ‘human’ in their eyes; you become more relatable. You can also plan your interaction activities in advance. 

For example, you can host a quiz or poll or use a whiteboard session every 10 minutes to encourage virtual participation. You can also encourage the use of breakout rooms for audience discussions. 

8. Pace yourself and plan for delays

There are little to no social cues to rely on from your audience in a virtual environment. You’ll need to practice and maintain a good pace to not speed through your presentation. 

Ideally, rehearse with someone virtually. Take notes of any delay in response you may experience or points that come across as confusing to the attendees. 

A remote audience often takes more time to respond. This could be due to technical issues, network delays, or unfamiliarity with the tool. But on your part, you can pace yourself according to your audience. 

For example, you’ll need to incorporate longer pauses after questions or slow down your talking speed for better clarity. These changes can be observed during your practice run so that you’re better prepared for your live presentation. 

9. Incorporate back-up systems

It’s important to plan for a worst-case scenario while presenting virtually, i.e., if you lose access to the meeting or content. In this case, it’s handy to share your presentation material with a co-host or a moderator. 

If you’re giving a video presentation, your co-host can have access rights to the meeting if you accidentally go offline. They can interact with the audience or present the video slides while you go back online. 

It’s also a good idea to be well-versed with your content. If you ever face a delay or glitch in your tools, you can always continue presenting the points with the help of a whiteboard. 

10. Allot some time for Q&A sessions

When conducting a virtual presentation, it’s good to allot a specific time slot for all the doubts and queries. You can do this before or during the event. 

In addition to having your own set of potential questions, inform your audience that you’ll be solving all the queries towards the end of the session. 

This serves two purposes:

• Your attendees can pay full attention to the presentation, knowing that their doubts will be cleared towards the end. 
• You do not get distracted by stopping and answering questions after every concept. 

A Q&A platform like Tribe or BoostHQ can be useful for noting down everyone’s questions. Participants can even ask anonymous questions. This way, all your queries are stored in a single database, and you can run a more organized, distraction-free Q&A session. 

11. Know when to stop 

Knowing when and how to close a presentation is one of the most important virtual presentation skills you could pick up. 

In a virtual event, you are bound to get distracted or carried away, so much so that you may lose track of your points. In that case, you should be precise with how much time you spend on each topic and when you should stop. 

Towards the end of the presentation, it’s more productive to be brief and to-the-point and conclude with an informative synopsis. You should properly summarize the conference proceedings, highlight key points, and create a lasting impression on your virtual audience. 

Here’s how you can do that:

• Prepare a clear and concise closing statement.
• Include a summary of your main agenda.
• Include a call to action.
• Include a powerful quote/message.
• Allow your audience to stay in touch with you. Consider adding a QR Code linked to your business card to your presentation.

12. Reach out for feedback and reflect

When you’re done with your presentation, a great practice is to reach out to the participants or attendees for any feedback. 

If you’re presenting to your office colleagues, you can ask for feedback on your talk. Note down how you can improve, including your content, speech, engagement, or presentation structure.

You can also provide post-presentation support. This could include: 

• Extra materials/data to support the topic you covered.
• A brief recap or summary of your presentation.
• Recordings of the online presentation.
• A link to a survey to note the material you could cover in the next presentations, ways you could improve, etc. 

Now, let’s take a look at some of the advantages of virtual presentations.

3 useful benefits of virtual presentations

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual presentations have been the norm for most organizations and companies. They’re more accessible and can accommodate a larger audience. 

Here’s how you can benefit from an effective virtual presentation. 

1. Higher inclusivity 

Virtual presentations offer more room for individuals to collaborate and learn. 

In a traditional presentation, most of the audience is limited by their geographical location. Only people who can access the location, and manage the time, can attend. 

In contrast, a virtual presentation has no bounds. 

People from all over the world can join in at the same time. It’s also highly accessible for people who otherwise wouldn’t attend physically due to health, childcare, or disabilities. 

2. More flexibility

Virtual presenters often offer recordings of the event for those who can’t attend. Moreover, you can also choose to keep your camera off while still attending. 

This makes it easier to participate in meetings. You also save more time by hosting shorter, more effective presentations. 

3. More economical 

When you’re virtually connecting with an audience, you use fewer resources than regular presentations. Organizers incur fewer electricity/venue costs, while participants have no travel costs at all. 

Virtual presentations also lower the company’s carbon footprint by lowering the number of unnecessary travel trips. They’re a great way to practice sustainable business practices.

Final thoughts

Virtual meetings and webinars often test your public speaking and presentation skills. 

You need to plan your presentation design and slide structure, manage distractions, and effectively deliver the content to the audience. You can also make good use of online presentation software to engage your audience better.

Use the tips and tools we covered here to understand how you can deliver effective virtual presentations today.

View a free demo of Time Doctor

Liam Martin is a co-founder of Time Doctor which is software to improve productivity and help keep track and know what your team is working on, even when working from home.

Hiring flexible staff: Everything you need to know

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The ULTIMATE guide to virtual presentations

• Written by: Hannah Harper
• Categories: Presentation technology , Industry insights
• Comments: 4

For many organizations, the days of giving face-to-face presentations for every meeting are over. Though face-to-face meetings are still a powerful communications tool, conference organizers, marketing teams, and B2B sales people can attest that virtual presentations are here to stay. However, attempting to simply give the same presentation online as you would offline is likely to result in a disappointing presentation that neither engages nor impresses your audience.

Throughout this article we’re going to look at some practical ways your teams can make an impact in an online era. If you want even more detail, we’ve compiled this, and more, in a report you can download for free:

Click here to download the report

What makes online presenting different?

How to eliminate distraction, how to create compelling content, how to run an effective sales meeting online, how to run a successful online conference, how to run hybrid presentations.

These days web conferencing platforms are widely available, affordable, and really pretty good. But what effort is involved in making your in-person content online-ready? Sadly, we’re not talking about a lift and shift here, and to understand how content needs to change, we need to understand the differences between in-person and online presentations.

All of this means that both the presenter and the slides must work much harder if they’re to keep audiences engaged, and that means the content you have for your face-to-face audiences has to change if it’s to be effective in an online setting.

In a sense all presentations can be thought of as the struggle of compelling content against distraction. Take a presentation online and it’s both harder to make the content compelling – because the presenter and slides aren’t in the room but just showing on a small screen –  and  harder to avoid distraction – because the audience are much freer to go off and do other things. So all we need to do is eliminate distraction and make our content compelling!

Your audience is in high demand: there are people wanting urgent responses to emails, friends trying to decide where to go for pizza that evening, the dog chewing the blinds – again. That means you, as a presenter, need to be on your a-game if you’re going to capture and hold the attention of your audience for the duration of your online session. For that you need a great set-up so you can present confidently without fear of interruption, but also so that your audience doesn’t have to work too hard to hear you or see you, and so that they can’t get distracted by trying to figure out what laundry you have hanging up behind you.

Best practices for an online set-up

We all remember the viral clip of Professor Robert Kelly being interrupted by his delightful children . Whether you’re presenting from a home office or from the office, ensuring you have the right set-up to host and attend meetings is a must. It’s not just about locking the door and throwing a smart jumper over your pyjamas, your online meeting set-up needs a little more thought. Here are some of the main things you should consider:

What meeting platform is right for you?

There are lots of online meeting platforms out there. Different platforms suit different organisations, but if you’re in a hurry to find the right one for you, we have  a handy comparison table on page 6 of our report  that you can use to review your options. It’s worth noting that Microsoft Teams is making a big push to help with slower connections (although it may not be a problem in a corporate office setting) by allowing you to share a PowerPoint file directly from OneDrive or SharePoint. That reduces the bandwidth requirements compared to full screensharing, which makes things much clearer and smoother for your audience.

The other side to running successful online sessions is to create compelling content. Even if the presenter is doing all they can to engage their audience, it still won’t be enough if their slides are a bit boring and plain. This means your slides need to be designed well and be animated.

How to design compelling slides

When it comes to design as a starting point, it’s easy enough to work out what we shouldn’t do: dull text-heavy slides that stay on screen for minutes at a time with nothing moving or changing. All you need is a monotonous voice in the background, and you’ve got a first-class remedy for insomnia. But, when you open PowerPoint and see the ‘click to add text’ prompt tempting you into a deep mire of PowerPoint hell, it can be really difficult to know what to do instead.

We have a wealth of presentation inspiration for everyone, from the entry levellers dipping their toes into PowerPoint, to those with real design know-how looking to get the golden ratio involved.

Presentation design resources

Three easy design hacks to make your presentations more professional

Presentation design principles for better PowerPoint design

Stunning presentation design using PowerPoint morph

Advanced PowerPoint grids and guides

How to animate compelling slides

Presentation slides should always be visual, otherwise you just have a presenter giving a speech with a rubbish backdrop. But even if you have beautiful slides, if they aren’t dynamic, don’t have movement then you’re still asking your presenter (remember, the tiny person in the small window in the corner of a screen) to carry the energy of your session alone. If something is changing frequently on screen, audiences are likely to keep paying attention. Leave things static for too long and they’ll drift off. We think every 20 seconds is about the right frequency for something to change on screen, certainly no more than 30 seconds. These changes could be a major build, or a new slide. It seems like a lot of animation, but it really doesn’t feel like it for the audience. If animation seems scary, or worse cheesy, try to put those preconceptions aside. Animation doesn’t need to be a mystery and your audiences will be endlessly grateful that you put in the time to figure it out. We’ve got some great tips and hacks you can learn in a matter of minutes that will transform your static slides into dynamic content with just a few clicks!

Presentation animation resources

How to be a PowerPoint animation ninja

Stunning presentation transitions using PowerPoint morph

How to take your PowerPoint animation to the next level

Webcam etiquette

With online meetings it’s worth adding a note about webcam etiquette. Throughout this paper, we’re assuming you’ll use webcam, but we can be a bit more nuanced than that.

• Use video, but not where this distracts from your slides.
• Use your webcam for introductions, for conversation, and to answer questions, but think about turning your camera off when presenting slides.
• If you have access to a greenscreen or can videocast yourself presenting in front of your slides, consider that as an option – but please practice first!
• In a much smaller meeting – like a sales meeting – turning on your webcam creates a social pressure for the audience to do the same, so as a courtesy make it clear that you are planning a video meeting when setting up the call.
• On some online platforms you can set a picture as a background image – so you could set a static slide as your background. But hacking this function to display your slide show is high risk because of the set-up and rehearsal needed to make it as slick as possible. It  can  work well, however, if you use the background to bring up a key visual or stat during a Q&A session.
• More recently Zoom has added the ability to incorporate a PowerPoint deck as your background, so you can superimpose yourself on the slides. It’s great, but remember, you don’t want to cover up key content, so you’ll probably need to design slides to specifically leave space for your video. Also, the slides are static with no animation, but you can split content over several slides to achieve ‘build’ effects.
• Microsoft Teams has the same idea, but takes it a step further to incorporate animated PowerPoint presentations as your video background, along with different layouts you can choose from.

Presentation skills for online meetings

Online presenters need to avoid monotony. We used to think that for some presenters the best way to do that was to work hard to develop and refine a natural-sounding script. If you aren’t using video while you present slides, then there’s no risk of being seen reading. But very few people can deliver even the best script in a convincingly natural way. So, our advice is to:

• Speak from notes, not a full script
• Practice beforehand
• Don’t read verbatim

To break up monotony further, consider playing around with the way you structure your content, and the format you use to present it.

• Break up your material every five to eight minutes, so that attention levels don’t sag too much. A non-stop 30-minute presentation might make sense face-to-face, but it’s not going to work online.
• Intersperse chunks of material with clean breaks in the content, use a change of speaker, or even an interview format – introducing content in response to pre-planned questions – to keep your audience engaged.
• If you’re selling to a small group, show a few minutes of content at a time, and select this content in response to questions and the direction of the conversation. Create a visual conversation.

Even with the best presentations, virtual events aren’t the same as their in-person equivalents: sales meetings can, however, come much closer. Online sales meetings can still feel quite intimate, people can jump in when they have a question or comment and, if you’re using webcams, you’ll probably be able to see the other people too.

But you still have to modify your approach…

The problem:  in a sales meeting, your prospects are visible on webcam; because they’re observed it makes them less likely to be distracted, but that level of focus required much more energy. If you overwhelm them with too much information at once, they’re going to tune out and disengage from the content, no matter how visual it is.

The solution:  Split your whole presentation into 3-4-slide sections and present based on what topics the prospect is most interested in, or where you see you can add most value. This keeps the pace and the energy of the meeting high, and you’re communicating to the prospect that you’re first and foremost concerned with their needs.

You can create a ‘visual conversation’ by presenting sections of slides then exiting the presentation and finding the next relevant section. Or you could create a menu slide and use hyperlinks so you can easily navigate around your presentation without having to exit show mode to find the slides you want.

If you want the low-down on how hyperlinks work, then  check out this video tutorial .

Compared to sales meetings, events are much harder to move online without some people feeling they are missing out. This is partly because conferences aren’t just about the presentations and talks. People attend events for swag, networking, and the chance to learn from other delegates.

You also no longer have everyone’s undivided attention. Calendars fill back up again. Out-of-office messages get switched off. So what do you do? Here are three practical ways make your online sessions as effective as possible:

• Schedule small discussion groups around certain topics, with cameras on so that delegates can still network and socialise.
• Shorten your sessions. Give your audience breaks from their screen, and condense the content you have into shorter, more impactful sessions.
• Make the most of your platform’s interactive features to make your session more engaging. You might want to do a quick orientation at the beginning of your session – point out what interactivity options there are and where to find them.

How to deliver hybrid presentations

Hybrid events aren’t new, but audience expectations have changed. Typically, people dialling in were somewhat ignored, but what was tolerated then won’t be tolerated now! The way to create compelling content is the same as when you’re presenting remotely: meaningful visuals, animation to impart meaning and keep things moving, interactions to help with pacing. It’s your set-up that needs some serious thought.

That said, how can you improve the hybrid presentation experience?

Make sure your audience can hear and be heard: Sound for hybrid presentations can be tricky because usually room conference phones are not great and having multiple mics open in the room at once can cause feedback. A Bluetooth mic can work well but only if you can manage muting and unmuting the room conference phone and your own mic when your audience want to ask questions. Don’t just assume that people joining remotely can hear – run a soundcheck beforehand.

Make sure your audience can see and be seen : Not only should your audience be able to see you, they should also be able to see other audience members and be seen themselves. With a single display room, use the display to show slides and (in a small view) the online audience. You might need to extend the presenter’s screen. If possible, use a webcam to make those in the room visible to those who aren’t. If you’re using two cameras one should show the presenter and the other show people in the room. Microsoft Teams is really trying to push this, with new views and layouts that allow remote audience members to be on the screen next to the main slides.

Leave the meeting chat on and use it : It’s important that your audience can ask questions and provide feedback. Have someone monitor the chat, field questions for the presenter, respond etc. Only encourage people in the room to join in if it doesn’t distract the presenter.

Consider having multiple presenters : Having one presenter in the room and one remote can ensure you’re not ignoring online audience members. The remote presenter can monitor the chat, respond to some points, advocate for the remote audience and present some of their own content to make it clear that remote participants are equal.

We’ve covered a lot in there, but to summarise, here are some key takeaways to remember:

• Don’t just take what you would do face-to-face and try to do the exact same thing online. It makes a huge difference to attention levels and energy levels not being in the room with the presenter.
• Slides presented online need to be visual, and they need to change onscreen frequently. We think every 20 seconds to keep things compelling.
• Use natural breaks in content, or speaker changes, or interactivity, to keep sections short. This makes it easier for the audience to stay engaged.
• Use video, but not necessarily while you are sharing slides. If you will want your audience to use video too, do them the courtesy of letting them know in advance.
• If you move an event online, consider condensing some sessions, introduce breaks, and insert sessions specifically to make up for the lack of networking opportunities.
• Think seriously about your set-up and make sure all audience members can see and be seen and hear and be heard.

Hannah Harper

Principal consultant, related articles, why powerpoint crashes and how to prevent it.

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Hi Hannah, The article references a comparison table of different online platforms for online meetings but I can’t see it, or a link to it.

Please could you point me towards the table?

Many thanks.

Hi Deanna – you can see the table on page six of this report – https://www.brightcarbon.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Moving-Presentations-Online-3-13.pdf .

I suspect it’s going out of date by the hour, but it gives a good starting point at least.

The text in that graphic of what to consider is too small to read (ironic?) on my 13″ laptop. Is there a larger version you can add that users can click on? Thanks. Connie

Hi Connie – thanks for reading, and for the feedback. That image is now clickable, taking you to a full size version.

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Blog Marketing How to Adapt Your In-Person Presentation Into a Virtual Presentation

How to Adapt Your In-Person Presentation Into a Virtual Presentation

Written by: Lisa Schneider Dec 16, 2020

In May 2020, I gave my first formal talk on Zoom. I do a fair amount of public speaking, and generally I move about the stage quite a bit: it’s an expression of energy, serves as punctuation to what I’m saying, and supports an intentional effort to make sure I look at and connect with as many people in the audience as possible. 

So when it came time for this remote talk, I figured that standing while I delivered it might feel more “normal” and akin to my regular modus operandi. 

About halfway through, I realized that since I couldn’t pace in my normal fashion I was…swaying back and forth.

Fortunately this was an internal presentation for our new interns at Merriam-Webster, and while they are absolutely important, it wasn’t quite as bad as doing it in front of hundreds or thousands of strangers. 

Two months later, I was indeed slated to give a remote talk to hundreds of attendees; this one pre-recorded followed by live Q&A. Mindful of my earlier gaffe, I walked through my talk several times thinking about how it might play differently on a screen than in person.

While the content of an in-person presentation versus an online presentation may be the same, there are some fundamental differences between how you deliver the presentation and in your presentation design . 

Here are some practical virtual presentation tips I learned from this experience:

Replace your physical energy with vocal energy, replace physical cues with visual cues.

• Vary your slide layout
• Don’t count on reading the room
• Don’t count on audience interaction

Do use interactive virtual presentation tools

Think about your ending, prepare for your q&a.

Skilled speakers , of course, bring both to the stage. But when you’re limited to the video equivalent of a head shot, it’s even more important to vary the pace, volume, and intensity of your delivery throughout the virtual presentation.

Pause early, pause often. 

This is a great tip for all speakers, especially if you’re a fast talker like I am. The best training I got was not to alter my natural cadence, but to pause more often to let what I’ve said settle, and allow people to catch up. 

You can reinforce that pacing in your slides, by focusing on a single point per slide. This prompts you to pause as the speaker, and lets the point sink in for your audience.

In person, a pause is also a good opportunity to catch someone’s eye, smile, and make personal contact. When you don’t have the audience in front of you, the temptation is great to just run through at full tilt. Resist that temptation and remember: without a room to look around, pauses might feel awkward to you—but they’ll still read as natural flow to the audience. 

Your physical cues add a layer of meaning to your presentation. When a presentation is given virtually, certain physical cues can be lost in translation. 

That’s where adding visual cues to your presentation slides can come in handy. You can use icons, apply arrows and lines, use contrasting colors, or add shapes to grab and direct your audience’s attention. Here are a few examples of visual cues in action.

This slide design uses icons to reinforce content. The use of icons helps your audience not only make sense of the information you’ve shared, but process it and hold onto it for longer. 

Arrows are simple ways to visualize a process . This slide design organizes information into a logical flow with the use of arrows. It helps your audience to organize and understand your content. 

High-contrasting colors help to emphasize information. This slide is obviously tackling a problem. Other slides can be differentiated the same way when you describe a solution, next steps, and so on.

Shapes are also great ways to emphasize information or visualize data .  In this slide, circles are used to convey the magnitude (and significance) of the statistics shared. Even without the numbers, you’d guess the circle on the left has the highest value. 

In some instances, you may need to use PowerPoint to host your slides. But that doesn’t mean your creativity should be stifled by boring PowerPoint presentations templates . With Venngage, design your entire deck in the editor and then export it as a PowerPoint file. 

Use short, punchy text on your presentation slides

Keep in mind, the opening of your presentation impacts how excited and engaged people are throughout. A strong opening statement brings energy to your virtual presentation, and helps you start off strong. 

Combine an impactful title with an image that reinforces the message to hook your audience:

Punchy sentences are a trademark element of a persuasive presentation . For a speaker, it adds emphasis and weight to your statements as you present. A presentation slide isn’t the place for fluff—stick to short sentences or even just phrases to really drive the point home. 

Learning to effectively summarize information for your slides is an important skill. It enables you to repurpose blog content, present detailed reports, discuss research findings, and so much more in ways that are organized and clear. 

Vary your slide layouts

Naturally, you can’t just rely on your title slide to do the heavy lifting. The slides that follow need to be equally as engaging and effective. 

A rule of thumb is to vary your slide layouts. Different layouts will help offer something new for your audience to latch on to. In a virtual presentation, the same repeating layout can put them to sleep.  Here’s a presentation example that uses different slide layouts to keep the information fresh:

Need more presentation ideas? This blog has all the presentation examples you need.

Don’t count on reading the room

This was a big one for me. I’m a natural-born storyteller , so I use a lot of anecdotes to illustrate my points, and am often more conversational than presentational. But all of that requires reading the room and pacing myself according to the audience reaction in real time. When you’re behind a screen running a virtual presentation, you don’t get any of that feedback. Your talk can still incorporate those elements, but it has to be very tightly scripted and balanced.

Usually when I’m sharing personal anecdotes I have a single, simple background slide. The focus is on my delivery of the story and how it connects with the audience. As you tighten that storytelling for a virtual presentation, think about amping up the infographics or illustrations on your slides for balance.

For example, the icons and illustrations on this presentation are bold, meaningful, and engaging and really help underscore the information and make it memorable.

Don’t count on audience interaction

Last year, I gave a talk at a Women in Publishing conference. One of my slides was a GIF of an epic eye roll—in context, it got the (mostly female) audience responding with an eye roll and enthusiastic head nod in response. It was a group bonding, amirite?! moment. 

In another presentation, I reference learning on the playground “the longest word in the dictionary.” Usually at this point I pause, look around, and audience members will spontaneously call out what they think the word is that I’m referring to.

These moments of group comity can’t really be replicated on a recorded talk or virtual presentation, and I adjusted my slides and my script accordingly.

If you’re on the right platforms, of course, you can engage the audience with polls, chat boxes, and the like. But as with all platform changes, don’t lift-and-shift your exact interaction: what works in person might not translate as compellingly to a poll widget. 

If you’re doing this, be sure to practice how integrating these tools changes the flow of your talk, and what you might do if the interaction or response are not what you expect. 

Tools like Demio and Zoom , GoToWebinar , WebinarNinja and others let you conduct live surveys/polls, but the process can vary. With a tool like Poll Everywhere , you can create word clouds in real time. Online games like Kahoot are great for creating online real-time quizzes (ideal for smaller groups). 

You can also use whiteboards to create diagrams as you’re explaining a process, which involves the audience’s attention as they follow along. Zoom, ClickMeeting and other platforms have a whiteboard feature. 

How do you usually close your talk? Are there physical cues, such as moving to center stage and quieting your body language? Have you rehearsed with the moderator when they will come back on stage? Absent these cues, you’ll want to make especially sure you have a powerful and clear closing statement , ideally one that will resonate in people’s minds for a moment as the platform switches to the moderator or next speaker.

To close your virtual presentation, consider a strong call-to-action or next step for your audience. Asking people for what you want them to do is always powerful. You can also leave them with something worth thinking about, to help your engagement extend longer than the duration of the talk.

A simple thank-you also is a great way to sign off. It’s clear, concise, and reminds audiences that you appreciate their time. Plus, it’s the easiest slide you can design.

I gave the same talk, for the same conference, at two different locations (opposite ends of the country, different audiences). 

At one, there were so many questions we ran out of time. 

At the other, there were so few questions that the moderator (bless you, Rob!) filled the space with questions of his own. 

For some virtual presentations you will still have a moderator who plays this role and is prepared to step in, but for others you may be tasked with checking the Q&A or chat box on your own. If the latter, be sure that you have some questions prepared so that you’re not fumbling if the audience is a bit quieter. 

It’s fun and exciting to share something you’re passionate about and to connect with people as you do it. For a lot of us, pre-recording our talk or presenting from behind a laptop can throw us off our game. If public speaking was already a little tough for you, losing the in-person presence may be an even harder adjustment.

As you prepare for a virtual presentation, walk though your presentation with an eye to where you rely on that audience connection and adjust accordingly:

• Tighten the spots that are more interactive
• Think about using platform tools like upvotes and polls
• Practice a delivery that is more vocal than physical (and remember to pause and breathe!)
• Replace some of your physical cues with more illustrative and impactful slide design
• Prep your close and Q&A

You got this!

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9 Important Virtual Presentation Tips For You

Peter Khoury

public speaking

Demand for virtual presentations is on the rise. Team meetings, webinars, client meetings and even some conferences are being held virtually or at least in a hybrid format.

And most likely you will be doing a virtual presentation soon.

At work, you probably use software like Zoom and GoToMeeting , and there is no way out of that anytime soon.

In fact, as technology evolves the medium of presentations will keep evolving too. I can’t wait for the time when we use a full on Virtual Reality set like Oculus (It will be amazing, and we are getting ready for it at Magnetic Speaking !!).

The good news is that despite the ever-changing medium of presentation delivery , there are constant fundamentals that will never change. This article will help you learn the fundamentals.

The acronym I use to help be ready for Virtual Presentations is PACES:

P- Plan A- Audience C- Content E- Engagement S- Socialization

Plan – for your virtual presentation

The key to an excellent presentation is a solid plan. You have to plan the time, the location, software to use and back up plans.

I once attended a presentation where the speaker showed up 5 minutes late. The worst part was his excuse; he said that it took “him a while to download the software needed.” That reason is not sufficient even for the attendees let alone the speaker.

The best thing to do is think ahead of all the things you need before the presentation and execute. If your planning is done the right way, your virtual presentation should be seamless.

A lot of people fear virtual presentations even more than regular presentations. The reason: in real presentations at least you see who you are talking with, in virtual presentations a lot of times you don’t see them. As a result, you end up speaking into a void with no feedback. When your brain does not get the feedback it needs, it creates all sorts of scary scenarios. You don’t want that.

To avoid the scary scenarios, you have to set an image of a person to talk with mentally. I learned this technique from Oprah Winfrey . She once said in an interview that she imagines her best friend when she looks into the camera. Now I do the same thing; I imagine the ideal person for the presentation I am giving.

For example, if I am doing a virtual presentation for TechWomen’s constituents, I would imagine Dalia (A woman that fits the target audience of TechWomen).

Content is king in the virtual landscape. In the live presentations, you keep people’s attention with your eye contact, with your body language, with your movement onstage. You can’t do any of that in a virtual environment. Therefore, you should consider using a wide variety of media types to keep and attract attention. These include, but are not limited to:

– Links – Images – Screen sharing – Videos – Slides Carefully designing your content is the key to keeping your virtual presentation interesting. To keep your information clear, concise and visually appealing, try to simplify your data point, use compelling imagery, and avoid overloading text. I have experienced slide hypnosis, and I’m certain I’m not alone. It happens when the presenter uses one slide for every explanation or data point and the audience zones out.

A dynamic presentation is an impressive presentation, so use a variety of media, images, and graphics to keep your audience’s attention. Also, information overload and endless slides are a sure way to lose your audience, so be sure to stay on point and have a clear focus.

Engagement will captivate your audience. Take advantage of your virtual presentations to make your audience feel like they are right there – sitting next to you – every time you present. Use live Q&As, surveys, polling and chats (among other engagement technologies) and your audience will be far more involved in your presentation.

However, don’t do engagement for the sake of engagement. I hate it when presenters use silly questions just for the sake of having people interact. Only use interactivity and engagement when it adds value to the audience.

Socialization (very important especially for virtual presentations)

We human beings are social creatures. We like to be individuals, and we like to be part of groups. It is easy to lose this socialization affect when you are communicating with the camera on your laptop. The camera becomes a barrier between you and the audience. To minimize this anti-socialization effect, you have to utilize your language more efficiently to create a more intimate dialogue. It’s simpler than you think – don’t freak out.

To create an individualized intimate sense, use the word YOU as if you are speaking to one person. Instead of saying “Can everyone out there here me” implying disconnected, lost masses, use, “Can you hear me.” it’s a subtle difference, but the effect is significant. If you suggest through your language that you are speaking to a group of fragmented people, then your effect of reaching the individual gets diminished.

If you are talking to your team virtually, make sure you use the word “we” as much as you can. Remember, we as humans like to be individuals, and we also like to be part of a group. Using you, taps into the individual need, and using we taps into the group need.

—–

There is more to giving a virtual presentation than meets the eye. The message you deliver must resonate well with the audience whom you are presenting the content. Therefore, it’s helpful to follow the PACES concept when preparing your presentation. So long as you know how to keep your virtual audience engaged, you can be sure that your presentation will be well received.

Following are five additional ideas that can work well with the concept of PACES while going beyond that established backbone in some very dynamic ways.

More virtual presentation tips

People build trust through eye contact and body language, and this is still true even when you are presenting remotely. Even though you may not be able to see your audience, they may be able to see you if you are using a camera. You can create a connection with your virtual audience by doing the following: – Look into the camera directly and fight the temptation to look down at your notes. – Simulate your intended audience with topic-driven photos of real people. – If you can, stand up and deliver your message as if you are giving the presentation to a live room.

2. Keep it Interesting

Virtual presentations may or may not include a camera.If you happen to be doing a presentation without a camera, your slides and voice are the only tools that you have available. Provide clear slides that are easy to digest without an overabundance of details and information on any one slide.

If you are using a camera, it is best to stand while speaking. Use body language, such as hand movements, and vary the volume, speed, and pitch of your voice.

One great way to grab the interest of your audience is to have a guest speaker, either pre-announced or as a surprise. Sometimes I bring one other Magnetic Speaking trainer to my virtual presentations. I cover one topic, and they cover another; this ensures variety and spontaneity. In addition to doing our designated sections of the presentation, we also interact with each other during the presentation. This keeps it fun and interactive.

3. Eliminate Distractions

Most of the people attending your virtual presentation will be listening to it through headphones, so every noise they hear will be noticeable. To ensure that you do not distract yourself or your audience, use the following guidelines: – Remove rustling papers, email pop-ups, and your mobile devices. – Ask a moderator to field incoming questions from your attendees. – Log into the meeting at least half an hour early. Most importantly plan well. One time I was doing a virtual meeting in my home office while my brother and his kids were visiting. The kids were making lots of noise in the other room, and my audience could hear everything. I could have done better planning on my part because kids will always be kids 🙂

4. Have Fun

Over and above everything else, remember to have fun. If your virtual presentation gives you and your audience the opportunity to laugh,  smile and connect, it will be a rewarding experience for everyone. Happy people retain information better and longer than bored or disinterested ones.

Use the tips and tricks discussed above, and you will have no problem creating high-impact virtual presentations. Go through these ideas every time you have a presentation to make, and you will soon find your peers and associates turning to you for assistance when it comes to creating a virtual presentation.

Peter Khoury: Founder @ MagneticSpeaking X-Pharmaceutical Engineer, turned author, national speaker and executive presentation coach.

In addition to Public Speaking training, Peter is a regular speaker on the topics of Negotiations, Conflict Management and Leadership. He is the author of the book “ Self-Leadership Guide. ”

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How to make your presentation sound more like a conversation.

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The main difference between strong, confident speakers and speakers who seem nervous in front of the room is in how relaxed and conversational they appear. Here are some basic pointers that will help you create a conversational tone when speaking, regardless of the size of your audience.

1. Avoid using the word, “presentation.” Every time you say, “I’m here to give you a presentation on X,” or, “In this presentation, you’ll see…,” you are emphasizing the formal, structured, sometimes artificial nature of the interaction. No one wants to be “presented” to. Instead, use language that emphasizes a natural, conversational exchange. “We’re here today to talk about X,” or “Today I’ll be sharing some ideas regarding Y.” You can even go so far as to say, “I’m glad we have time together today to discuss Z.” Even if your talk is not going to truly be a dialogue, you can use language that suggests engagement with the audience.

2. If you are using PowerPoint, avoid using the word “slide.” Instead of talking about the medium, talk about the concepts. Swap out, “This slide shows you…,” for, “Here we see….” Instead of saying, “On that slide I showed you a moment ago,” say, “A moment ago we were discussing X. Here’s how that issue will impact Y and Z.” Casual conversations don’t usually involve slide decks. Just because your complicated presentation on tax exposure, supply chain issues, or new health care regulations requires you to use slides, doesn’t mean you have to draw attention to that fact that the setting is formal and structured.

3. For many large-group events, speakers are provided with what’s called a “confidence monitor,” a computer screen that sits on the floor at the speaker’s feet showing the slide that appears on the large screen above the speaker’s head. Avoid using confidence monitors. Our natural inclination when using a confidence monitor is to gesture at the bullet point we’re discussing at the moment. However, we are pointing to a bullet point on the screen at our feet, which the audience can’t see, so it creates a disconnect between us and the audience. Instead, stand to the side of the large screen and gesture at the bullet point you’re talking about so that the audience knows which point you are discussing at the moment.

4. Don’t tell your audience, “I want this to be interactive.” It’s your job to make it interactive. If you are delivering the type of presentation where your audience size allows you to create true engagement with your listeners, create that connecting in stages to “warm up” the audience. Stage One engagement is to ask the audience a question relevant to your topic that you know most of the audience members can respond to affirmatively. “Who here has ever bought a new car?” or, “How many of you have ever waited more than 5 minutes on hold on a customer service line?” Raise your hand as you ask the question to indicate to the audience how to respond. Whoever has raised their hand has now participated in the discussion. They have indicated a willingness to engage. Stage Two engagement is calling on one of the people who raised their hand and asking a specific, perfunctory question. Again, it needs to be a question they can answer easily. If your first questions is, “Who here has bought a new car?” you can then call on someone and ask, “How long ago,” or “What kind of car did you buy most recently?” If your first question was, “Have you ever waited on hold for more than 5 minutes,” you can’t ask, “What company were you calling at the time?” The people who raised their hands weren’t thinking of a specific instance; they were just thinking broadly about that type of experience. You could, however, call on someone and ask, “Do you prefer when they play music or ads for the company’s products?” Anyone can answer that question. At that point, you are in an actual dialogue with that person. Stage Three engagement is asking them a question where they need to reveal something more personal. “How does that make you feel when you hear those ads?” You’ve warmed up your audience and drawn them in with baby steps. Now you have actual, meaningful audience participation.

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5. Use gestures. When we’re speaking in an informal setting, we all use hand gestures; some people use more than others, but we all use them. When we try to rein in our gestures, two things happen that diminish our speaking style. First, we look stiff and unnatural. We look like we are presenting a guarded or cautious version of ourselves; we look less genuine. Second, hand gestures burn up the nervous energy we all have when speaking in front of a large group. That’s good. When we try to minimize our hand gestures, we tie up that nervous energy and it starts to leak out on odd ways, where we start to tap our foot, fidget with our notes or microphone, or tilt our head side to side to emphasize key points. Just let the gestures fly. It’s unlikely they will be too large or distracting. I have coached people on their presentation skills for 26 years. In that time, I have met three people who gestured too much. Everyone else would benefit from using their gestures more freely.

The impact we have as communicators is based on the cumulative effect of many different elements of our delivery. These suggestions alone won’t make you a terrific presenter. They will, however, add to the overall package your present of yourself when speaking to large audiences.

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Presentations > Six tips for recording a presentation

Six tips for recording a presentation

Your latest presentation is filled with crucial information and key concepts your colleagues need to remember. Record and archive it for easy reference and absorption.

How to record your presentation

Whether you’re recording a presentation for work, a webinar or school, both you and your colleagues will greatly appreciate having it available to reference. You can absorb information at your pace, ensuring that you retain pertinent information, without having to rely solely on your notes. While the method of recording depends on the virtual meeting platform or whether its in person, here are some guidelines on how to record you presentation:

Tell your story with captivating presentations

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1. Choose the right equipment

High-quality recording equipment is essential for producing professional-looking and sounding presentations. Laptops are equipped with microphone and a high-resolution webcam, but it’s always a good idea to consider investing in higher quality recording equipment.

2. Test Your equipment

Before starting your presentation, it’s crucial to test your recording equipment to ensure everything is working properly. Check the audio levels, video quality, and any additional accessories you may be using, such as lighting or a green screen. Conducting a test run will help identify any technical issues that need to be addressed. Review the virtual meeting platform you are using to ensure that the recording feature is enabled, so you won’t have to search for it when the presentation time rolls around.

3. Optimize your environment

Choose a quiet, well-lit environment for recording your presentation. Minimize background noise and distractions to ensure clear audio and video quality. Consider using a neutral background or a virtual background to maintain a professional appearance. Natural lighting is ideal, but if that’s not possible, invest in good quality lighting equipment to ensure your face is well-lit and visible.

4. Organize your presentation contents

Organize your presentation materials in a logical order to facilitate smooth delivery. Create an outline or script to guide your presentation, making sure to include key points, transitions, and visual aids. Practice your presentation multiple times to become familiar with the contents and ensure a confident delivery. If you have multiple presenters, solidify the speaking order and designate one person to facilitate the presentation.

5. Engage with Your Audience

Even though you’re recording your presentation, it’s essential to engage with your audience as if they were present in the room with you. Encourage interaction by asking questions, prompting viewers to think critically, and inviting them to share their thoughts or experiences in the comments section. Respond to comments and questions promptly to foster a sense of community and connection with your audience.

6. Monitor Your Time

Keep track of time during your presentation to ensure that you stay within the allotted timeframe. Plan your presentation carefully, allocating sufficient time to cover each topic or section. If you find yourself running out of time, prioritize the most critical points and consider saving less crucial information for a follow-up or supplementary material.

For more ways to improve presentation skills, like calming presentation anxiety and connecting with a virtual audience , learn more presentation tips .

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