3 Tips to Make Virtual Presentations Better
by Amber MacArthur on June 18, 2020
I presented two virtual keynotes yesterday (60 minutes and 30 minutes) in our AmberMac Media studio. I wanted to share three things that I’m learning can make remote talks even better.
1. Distributed Q&A
1. Distributed Q&AIn one of my sessions, after each of my 4 emerging technology trends accelerating in the age of COVID-19, I took a short break to check in with the moderator/host. There are a couple of reasons I like this. First of all, it breaks up my presentation to acknowledge the real-time comments and questions. Second of all, I often present to a wide range of industries, so it gives the moderator/host a chance to weave in some industry messaging.
2. Presentation Pacing
Virtual presentations are rooted in monotony. There is a lot we can learn from TV production to improve pacing. A variety of shots is always pleasing to the eye. While we have a sophisticated set-up, this can be achieved with a single camera and dynamic slides: in short, build in some short video clips to break up your talk.
3. Standing Tall
I have more energy when I’m standing. You can achieve this set-up on your own. For starters, use a USB slide advancer so you don’t need to be close to your computer. You can also invest in a USB lav mic, just make sure your eye line is level with your computer webcam.
I am also keen to start experimenting with additional ways to share a second stream of resources, links that people can check out while I’m presenting. Plus, I’m keen to see more accessibility tools built in to online platforms so we could turn on live captioning, as one example.
