Boost Your Virtual Presentation Skills: 3 Tips You Need Now

Zoom fatigue is real. How many meetings can a person attend in a day and stay sane?

But lucky you!
You have a sales presentation, lunch n’ learn to facilitate.

Here is a (very) crash course to be more successful : 3+ tips you may not have heard before:

1. Make your face talk.
F2F presentations are in 3-dimensions. Zoom is just in 2.
That means you have to:
•be a bit more enthusiastic (so you don’t look like the talking dead),
•use more slides (and make them fun, helpful and interesting) while you keep your thumbnail face showing.

2. Don’t be a bore.
It’s not just virtual presentations that put people to sleep.
Instead of beginning with your bio, blah, blah, blah, begin with a hook to grab their attention. It could be a:
•clever, quick summary of what the outcomes they can expect from the meeting (not a rehash of the agenda!)
•an interesting poll (interesting to them not just demographics for you)
•”small talk” – ice breaker questions (not “How are you and your family!”) before the webinar starts instead of keeping everyone isolated in the waiting room until the exact start time.

3. ABC – Always Be Checking in!
It’s too easy for participants to be distracted, and not because you aren’t doing a great job. Their kid/grandkid might be screaming in the background. They may be sharing the space with a partner they’ve been sick of looking at for at least two weeks. They may have teenagers trying to escape at that very moment.
Bring their attention back by doing a “temperature check” (a bit of covid humor ;-)).
Literally ask them to chat their answers (or if it’s a very small group, unmute them) to questions like:
Is this helpful?
What am I missing?
Is it going okay for you?
Pace good?

Read their comments and answer their questions in real time!

BONUS
4. Look the part.
You don’t need to be in your best suit but you’re still representing your brand. Iron the shirt/blouse. (Tip: Put it on and take it off just before and after so one ironing will last for a few meetings!)
Check your background. Sometimes we want them to see our I LOVE NY poster and sometimes we don’t.
Avoid fake backgrounds. As cool as they are, speaker movements are disjointed and weird. Your participants (if they’re even looking at you and not themselves!) will focus more on the weirdness than what you’re saying.
Get good light. A bright light facing you (natural light) or the cheap little round clip on lights Amazon sells will do wonders for wrinkles! Yes. Seriously. Something about no shadows.

5. Breathe and have fun!
Everyone is more forgiving these days. Just don’t give them too much to have to forgive.