The 5 Mistakes (almost) Every Virtual Presenter Is Making
Picture this: You’re about to deliver a remote presentation to your boss, the CFO and the CTO. You’ll be pitching a new service that you feel could radically change your company’s path. You log onto Zoom an hour ahead, turn on your camera, check your mic, share your slides, and walk through your entire presentation out loud. Everything is working, and you feel confident. The recordings from the practice sessions you did yesterday were rough, so you made a few good changes, practiced again, and now you feel ready...
Sound familiar? Probably not. That’s because, though everyone’s presenting virtually these days, most of us aren’t doing a great job at it.
Being a global leader in presentation and communication skills, we wanted to share with you some of the biggest mistakes people are making in their virtual presentations—and how you can avoid them. So here we go with...
THE FIVE MISTAKES (almost) Every Virtual Presenter Is Making
1. PEOPLE DON’T TALK TO THE CAMERA
This is by far the biggest and most common mistake. We’re wired to look at faces and eyes, not little black dots. And yet, that’s exactly what we must do. That camera is your portal to the world. This is about connecting with your customers, colleagues & clients.
2. SPEAKERS AREN’T SET UP FOR SUCCESS
One of the most important things you can do has nothing to do with your presentation. But it has everything to do with how successful you’ll be. Take the time to set up your home or work office with these three key components:
– Great lighting.
Think “Lights-Camera-Action!” That means light (preferably diffused, natural light) in front of you, then your camera, then you. And if you can’t find good natural light, buy a ring light or two.
– Eye-level camera.
Elevate your laptop with a stand, box, or some big books so you are looking “eye-to-eye” with the camera. It’ll also save your neck.
– Appropriate, non-distracting backgrounds.
Virtual or real are both fine. Just make sure your audience isn’t wondering what was on that plate behind you or why you don’t clean your room more often.
3. BAD FRAMING
Big face. Small head. No gestures. These are all symptoms of people who have bad framing. Framing is what people in the TV world describe how you show up on-screen, and it drives how effective your visual communication is. Here are three guidelines for proper framing:
– Scoot your chair back
– Frame your head in the top 1/3 of the screen; your eyes 2/3 from the bottom – Keep your gestures visible
4. SPEAKERS DON’T ENGAGE
This is the biggest complaint we hear from executives regarding virtual presentations. It’s harder than ever to keep your audience with you, given short attention, universal multi-tasking and bad presentations. To counter these elements, we suggest that you:
– Have everyone’s video on if possible
– Interact early and often: questions, polls, quizzes and asking for input are a must
– Let your audience know how to interact (raise hands, speak up, chat...)
– Read the screen, and call on people. Look for reactions, micro-expressions and people who want to talk.
5. PEOPLE DON’T PRACTICE
Have you ever learned a new skill without practicing? Well, this is a new-ish skill, which means we have to practice to get good at it. It means walking through your presentation, out loud, multiple times before the final final. It means practicing on the platform (Zoom, Webex, Teams...) in which you’ll present. If you’re going to show slides, practice sharing and talking about them. Record yourself and watch. Then make changes and do it again. Nothing will help your confidence, and final product, like practice.
So there you have the 5 biggest mistakes people are making in their virtual presentations. Learn more about how to master this important skill in our virtual presentation training.