How to be powerful when going virtual
- Less is more
- Less time – People have less patience for long presentations. Schedule shorter sessions, up to 90 mins per session. Give more breaks to refresh.
- Less content – Don’t squeeze as much content as possible into any given time frame. Focus on one main idea every time.
- Fewer people – Smaller meetings allow for more engagement, intimacy, and openness.
- Set the best settings
- Check your frame: Camera at eye-level, show your hands and keep gestures inside the frame. What’s showing in your background? Is it promoting the image you want?
- Check your lighting – Make sure you don’t have a strong light behind you, otherwise you’ll appear as a silhouette. Have a light source in front of you so you can be seen clearly.
- Check your audio – Be sure to use a high-quality microphone and speakers.
- Use visual aids
- When we present face-to-face, it’s easier to capture the audience’s attention. But looking at a screen for a long period of time is difficult. Change slides frequently, use animation, and when you can, stop sharing your screen. When things on the screen are constantly changing, it’s more interesting, and the audience doesn’t want to miss out (FOMO – fear of missing out).
- More enthusiastic body language
When we sit and talk on a computer screen, there is a tendency to be quieter and more monotonous. That’s the fastest way to lose your audience.
Amplify your energy levels when presenting online: Speak directly to the camera to give your audience the feeling that you “see them.” Use facial expressions and hand gestures to reinforce your message. When you are passionate, you pass-ions… (electric particles). It’s contagious.
