6 tips for presenting during video conferences

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With our tips, we want to encourage you to better understand the specifics of online presentations and prepare for your next online presence in a targeted manner.

Tip 1: Be sure to watch your wording when presenting online

With online presentations, you basically only have your PowerPoint slides and your voice to relay your information to the participants. If you’re already a practiced speaker of live audiences, you’ll need to consider the changing environment of online events. I charming smile, your facial expressions and gestures will not be seen at all or very limited in online presentations. All those helpful communication amplifiers you might have scored with in large event spaces with screens aren’t available to you. You usually can’t mesmerize your audience with grand gestures, props or flip chart sketches. In the online realm, however, you are left with the power of words. Therefore, when choosing words, be very careful that the words have a positive, reinforcing effect for the participants. Therefore, when choosing words, be very careful that the words have a positive, reinforcing effect for the participants. Even when speaking in front of experts, clear, powerful words make it easier to get your message across.

• Choose the words according to the level of knowledge of the audience
• Better avoid a complicated choice of words and sprawling technical jargon
• Depending on the presentation goal, you can choose an emotional or a factual language
• Use understandable metaphors
• Try to create a picture in the participants’ minds with your words

Tip 2: Use the sound of your voice as an amplifier of your messages

While your body language and facial expressions cannot be captured in an online presentation, your voice comes more to the fore. You can direct the attention of your audience with the right use of your voice. Think of the famous actor and director Orson Welles, whose radio radio play “War of the Worlds” depicted an alien invasion so grippingly that many listeners actually believed that UFOs had landed. You can fascinate your online participants with the help of your voice. The right balance between words and voice can become a crowd-pleaser.

• Use your volume as an attention booster. Speak softly when discussing a sensitive topic and louder when talking about a crucial message.
• Pay attention to the tempo of your voice. Even if you can talk fast without slurring your words, you’d better not. Speak clearly and rather slowly to get your message across clearly as well.
• Pause before or after an important piece of information to give your words more weight.

Tip 3: Use exciting image motifs for your PowerPoint slides

Our brain can grasp images much better than texts. It only needs 13 milliseconds to process a complete image. This clearly demonstrates the importance of image selection for your online presentation. Images not only provide a good eye-catcher, they also help to better grasp complex information through explanatory images.

• Look for strong imagery that strengthens your audience’s attention.
• Try to find original images that have not been used so often in presentations (e.g., no “shaking hands” but “elbow salute”).
• Which image motifs fit your theme and are spectacular at the same time?
• Use images to create the emotions you want.
• Pay attention to copyright protection

Tip 4: Careful preparation is also important for online presentations and video conferences

Just as you should prepare well for a presentation in front of a large live audience, careful preparation of video conferences and online presentations is enormously important.

• Find a good video conferencing tools or software for smooth collaboration. For example, take a close look at “Zoom”, “GoToMeeting”, “FastViewer”, etc. and decide which solution is suitable for you.
• Make sure that your Internet connection is stable.
• Although you may be holding the meeting from home, be mindful of your attire. Your house clothes may be comfortable, but you should wear what you normally wear when interacting with clients or colleagues.
• Invitation deadlines and the specification of an agenda also apply to an online meeting. Your participants should be able to properly prepare for the meeting.
• Make sure the atmosphere is quiet and free of disturbances. Choose the background carefully or use a background image. Some video conferencing tools offer virtual background images.

Tip 5: Your online presentation should be entertaining for the participants

The pursuit of perfection is an effort that will more or less fail. But being interesting is something that most engaged people can achieve. There are certainly areas where exact data is important. But you can prepare for this and have the appropriate figures ready. But the majority of online presentation participants want you to present your topic in a varied and interesting way.

Tip 6: Improve your online presentations with the help of a presentation agency

If you want to make great strides quickly in improving your presentation skills, presentation professionals are available upon request to help you reach your goal in short order. Presentation training can help you target specific skills and take your overall external presentation to a whole new level. A few hours are often enough for this.

Schlussfolgerung:

The current challenges related to Corona, have greatly accelerated the use of modern technology for video conferencing in companies. Now companies have and organizations have many ways to ensure team collaboration and communication with customers across virtually any physical distance. With more and more companies from all industries turning to video conferencing, professional handling of the technology is now of great importance. Prepare for this by learning how to use these media and quickly eliminating weak points. If you want to move forward quickly and successfully in this area, professionals in presentation agencies will help you.