Amid the Covid-19 crisis, the digital sector noticed unprecedented growth that has been underway for decades. Numerous businesses embraced digital business models and operated remotely with employees working from home. During this time, businesses turned towards virtual presentation, which has now become a new normal.
From raising awareness about a new product or service to conducting a training session, everything seems smooth through a virtual presentation. However, communicating in front of a screen comes with its own set of challenges.
Virtual presentation settings are more stressful than in-person meetings. The lack of direct eye contact makes the presenter more anxious and unnerving. Though virtual presentations are undoubtedly convenient to conduct, they require a lot more effort and preparation. The inability to “gauge the audience’s response” makes it harder for a presenter to establish a connection with the audience.
Also, most of the time, virtual attendees are on mute. For a presenter, it feels like speaking in front of a black hole. Maybe, someone is checking emails, answering a phone call, or browsing social media. In a nutshell, there are so many distractions associated with virtual presentations.
If you’re planning to present virtually for your next project, this article can help!
Let’s discover some benefits of virtual presentation:
- Virtual presentation is a powerful and cost-effective tool to reach and engage a global audience. It is easy to access. You just need a laptop/computer or a smart device with a stable internet connection to join the meeting.
- It is a total-time savior. Isn’t it easier to give a presentation from the comfort of your home rather than traveling to another place for a face-to-face presentation?
- A presenter can record the meeting and share it with the team (in case they miss out on some important points).
The three key elements that majorly decide the success of your virtual presentation:
- How do you structure your presentation?
- How well do you know your audience and their pain points?
- How do you deliver the information?
Effective Ways to Structure Your Virtual Presentation
1. Grab the Attention with Creative Slides
The major drawback of virtual presentations is low audience engagement.
So, what will you do to maintain the audience’s focus till the last minute?
Well-created slides can help!
Here are the key points to follow while designing slides for your next online presentation.
- When you’re presenting online, multiple images and huge chunks of text on a slide are a BIG NO. Therefore, each slide must present one specific idea that can be discussed easily within a minute. You can increase the slide count.
- Something that might seem uncluttered for a laptop or desktop may not read well on a mobile screen. Hence, you must consider the scale and readability of content/images while designing slides.
You can also include pre-designed PowerPoint Templates or Google Slides Themes in your presentations for a consistent, professional, and engaging look.
2. Using Slide Builds to Convey Complex Information
As per the research, people remember information better when introduced progressively. Revealing information step by step and showing only one element at a time in a slide can be done using builds. It starts with the main bullet point. As the presentation proceeds, you have the option of hiding/dimming previous points. This way, you can simplify complex information on slides and increase the attention span of viewers.
3. Pick the Right Font
Readability is one factor that leads to lesser distractions. Hence, you need to choose an easy-to-read font and also avoid those font types that look decorative, as they can be difficult to read on smaller screens.
Pick a font type that is more familiar and try to keep it consistent across all of your slides. Serif and sans serif have shown better results across a range of screen sizes and resolutions.
Some fonts go well with a large screen, but it may be harder to read the same on a small screen. Testing your presentation on multiple devices can be a savior.
4. Create a Visual Hierarchy
Do you know why we highlight any data/content? To emphasize its importance more than the rest. Right?
In a presentation, all the information does not hold equal importance. Using varying sizes can help the audience understand the hierarchy of information. You can use bold letters and different font sizes to strategically organize the information.
The attention span of the virtual audience is very low, and that, too, can be pulled out easily. Henceforth, strategic arrangement of information can help deliver the most important information in one go.
5. Steal the Show with Animated Visuals
As per psychology, adding movement to the objects quickly catches the attention of viewers.
Animation is a powerful way of creating visually interactive content. It adds special effects to make the information more appealing to the audience. You can enhance the slides with moving text, shapes, and images which creates focus on specific items.
It is suggested to use fairly simple animation effects like Appear, Fade, Float, Zoom, Dissolve, and Wipe (as adding multiple effects will distract the audience from the actual message).
Final Thoughts
There is no denying that virtual presentations are a totally different ballgame than in-person ones. They can challenge even your most basic presentation skills. Inspiring people and keeping their engagement high in a virtual setting is a hard endeavor. Be enthusiastic and follow the above-mentioned ways to maximize engagement in your next virtual presentation.
