what is a virtual presentation

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A Guide to Mastering Virtual Presentations

Virtual presentations are a new standard. With over 30+ billion presentations being created every day, traditional in-person presentations, which used to be the commonality, are more and more being adapted to a more frequent online presentation scenario. 

Through the pandemic in 2020, the video conferencing platform Zoom had a participant increase of 2900% with a daily meeting participant figure of 350 million people in December of that year. Yet, either triggered by the lack of human interaction or technological barriers, the truth is that online presentations can still and easily feel daunting.

That doesn’t need to be the case, however! With online presentation templates for a solid base and specific tactics to keep remote audiences engaged, presenters can easily connect with people in a virtual setting for great presentation success. 

This guide to virtual presentations provides a definition of virtual presentations, common examples, and instructions on how to best present online. 

What’s a virtual presentation?

A virtual presentation is an event whereby a presenter or a group of people face an audience online to go over virtual material of common interest. In the best of scenarios, a great rendition of an online presentation is clear, meeting a specific purpose that is of its audience’s interest. 

Examples of virtual presentations

At SlideModel, each of our presentation templates sets a valuable example of the kind of virtual presentation that works best for very particular settings. These go over topics in business, strategy presentations , marketing, and SWOT Analysis templates , to name a few. There are also different presentation themes to these on diverse virtual presentation templates; the latest to suit numerous needs. 

How virtual presentations happen

Virtual presentations most commonly take place via web or video conferencing platforms. Though many tools exist to allow a presenter to meet an audience exclusively online, the most famous for this purpose are currently Zoom, as we described above, as much as Microsoft Teams , Google Meet, and Skype. Other virtual presentations can take advantage of video presentations , where the presenter records the presentation , save it as a video, and then stream it to the target audience using a video presentation platform.

In general, these platforms include a screen-sharing ability to let presenters display online presentation decks . And they’ve become a great go-to resource with an augmented work-from-home (WFH) model worldwide. 

Different Types of Online Presentations

Internal virtual presentations (between colleagues).

We give these kinds of presentations to people within our organization. Whether it’s for the same department or team as ours or another stakeholder within our company, college, or any sort of official body with which we interact, internal presentations serve people whose interests and needs we can access first-hand via a common ground. 

Events (conferences, discussion panels, TED talks)

More public than the first item, virtual presentations can also be part of large events, whether these are public or private. Take all sorts of online conferences or talks into account. We can go online to meet worldwide communities of diverse sorts and be invited to speak at a discussion panel or conference, for example, making our presence visible to multiple computer users or over a single live broadcast on a large screen in an auditorium, for instance. 

Sales presentations with prospects

At times, pitches need to happen on-screen with potential prospects who give us a certain allotted timeframe in their schedules for us to touch base on our product or offer. Virtual sales pitch is another method to use.

Training or educational online presentations

Another type of online presentations can be delivered for training presentations . Those can happen for internal and even external teams or as part of an educational program at different institutions.

When we’re seeking to build talent up with new skills, our presentations require a lot of clarity with specific instructions, workflows, examples, charts, videos, and as many interactive or information-specific tools as possible. 

But how do we present online events like the above? 

How to Prepare for Virtual Presentations

Here are a few tips on how to best prepare for virtual presentations. We’ve made sure to include these steps as being well-prepared for an online meeting can significantly improve your road to success.

As usual, do your research before putting a single slide together. Reading up on what you will talk about to an audience can set an enormous difference between the knowledge you bring to a presentation and that of anyone else in the same room with you. Chances are that people listening to you as a presenter are very invested in your topic. As such, they can come from diverse backgrounds, and truly have a natural interest in what you have to say. Be valuable to your audience with high-quality content. For that, seek what interests them, how they respond to similar material, and the best ways in which you can engage them. 

Putting material together

Then, work at designing great PowerPoint slides . Keep a balance between design and content, tailoring what you present with your branding or voice in competitive, slick design that also clearly exposes your expertise. 

Consider your audience’s attention spans here. For that, spread content throughout several slides, if possible. Instead of packing each slide full of text or images, fill them with catchy titles, relevant sub-titles, meaningful text, and attention-grabbing visuals. Doing so will add dynamism and generate a more frequent visual change viewers are bound to appreciate. 

Add the above visual flow especially if your audience will need to spend a long time on-screen to follow you. Quicker online presentations can, on the contrary, afford concise and to-the-point material over the shortest amount of slides you can muster.  

Preparing your script

You may have all the know-how in the world on a given topic, company, subject of study, a product, or whatever is getting you to a virtual presentation need. Yet, an outline of ideas, a sequence of thoughts, and the most important areas of your presentation are all valuable tools to ensure success as you present. 

Write your thoughts out. Think of the sentences you’re verbalizing, how you’re phrasing your communications, and the order in which these will be presented. Slides don’t make up for your verbal communication. That vocal area needs preparation, too. 

Write an outline, jot down pointers, and even prepare an essay, if you must. However you feel most comfortable, a script in any form is necessary for a clear rendition of your ideas in front of an audience, whether that happens virtually or in person. 

While you’re at it, include attention-grabbers as you prepare what you’ll say. These can be as easy as saying: “Look over to our graph at the bottom right”, for example, inviting people to actually connect to what you’re presenting. These tricks are especially needed during an online presentation given the potential audiences have to be distracted via so many other means that are available on their computer, tablet, or cellphone. 

Practicing in front of an audience

Quite succinctly, peer feedback can do wonders for your virtual presentations. Gather whoever will connect with you to get their valuable insight on what’s coming through from your efforts. 

Sit back without judgment to listen to what business partners, friends, and even family have to say about your work.

Recording a demo

Tied to above, record that session. You can use it as your demo. 

Pushing you to be fully ready for a practice run will ensure you have thought about everything that matters for your final presentation. It will also add a level of security that can give you a more successful edge in the end. 

This practice might sound tedious, but it can also help your team, for example, if you bring people on board to your demo before you launch a product, face a client, present before a different department, face your teacher, and so much more!

Checking your online tools

Because online presentations essentially depend on technological tools, much more so than in any other kind of presentation setting, take the time to check everything works before you get started. 

Check your invitation links, log in to your meeting platform, open up relevant files, click on the presentation sharing icon, and make sure you’ve got all the privileges you need to perform any action you intend on making. Test your audio, try your mic and speakers, and hit the record button as a trial…do it all!

A demo, practice, and even setting 30 minutes ahead of your presentation can be golden for you to troubleshoot any unexpected technological failures. Go through your required steps one by one to make sure everything works!

Presenters are muted quite commonly and cannot get their volume to function, their cameras have stopped working, or they simply can’t share their screen. While no one will generally count that against anyone if the delays aren’t meaningful, this kind of setback can easily signal a lack of preparation. Because many issues can get in the way of a successful and timely virtual meeting, prepare for those challenges ahead of time. 

Concentration

Once your checklist up to here is done, remember to take some time for yourself. Seek your focus. However you concentrate best, find that mental spot where you can truly be attuned to your thoughts and the way you speak. Release any heavy emotions, such as anger, fear, anxiety, or stress. And seek to be balanced within your own self. Even three deep breaths can do the trick if time is pressing, but never forget to start presenting until you’re at your best concentration level. 

Putting yourself out there

Then go for it! Hit that record or live button, let people in your waiting room into your meeting area, say hi to anyone present, or let people know if you’re expecting anyone or waiting for someone for a few minutes. Become the host and take over as a leader, which is ultimately what presentations are about; for a specific period, all attention will be on you. Take your space, put yourself out there, and do your best. 

Establishing conversation

Virtual presentations don’t end when you’re done presenting your slides. Whenever possible, open up the space for the audience to give you feedback, ask questions, and engage in conversation with you. You can include a question and answer (Q&A) session or display frequently asked questions as a means of addressing commonly unclear areas. Also, leave room to address whatever comments come up via chat. 

By the way, just as a pointer to get your next presentation rolling, set the stage at the beginning of your online presentation in terms of when and how you’d like your audience to ask questions. Will everyone be able to stop you as you’re presenting to clear any items that come up? Or would you rather leave all questions for last? 

Commonly, addressing questions via chat or at the end of the session keeps your attendees’ focus under better control. Remember you’re directing people’s attention every time you present. This works just like a maestro would command an orchestra. Make the best of your expertise and knowledge to wow your audience with a unique presentation that gets people talking. 

Conclusions

Virtual meetings aren’t going anywhere. If anything, the use of online tools to group on a given topic is more and more common. As work-from-home leniency becomes widespread after COVID-19, especially, we can heavily rely on virtual presentations being here to stay. 

Consider using slide deck templates to help your slide quality. Templates are a great base for design as much as content. With industry or topic-specific material, templates are a great guide that can also accelerate how you create and share content in a high-paced environment. 

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Business PowerPoint Templates, Business Presentations, Communication Skills, Presentation Skills, Presentations, Verbal Communication, Virtual Presentations Filed under Presentation Ideas

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10 Tips For Giving Effective Virtual Presentations

What to know before you go live.

September 26, 2016

Presenting online? Try these suggestions to improve your results. | Illustration by Tricia Seibold

As audiences go global and you need to reach more people through technology (including webinars, conference calls and teleconference), you must consider the challenges to connecting with a virtual audience. Here I pinpoint 10 valuable best practices to ensure you communicate successfully.

1. Be Brief

Audiences begin to lose attention after roughly 10 minutes of hearing from the same presenter. If you have more than 10 minutes of content, use interactive activities to keep your audience engaged (for example, take a poll, give quizzes, or ask audience members for their opinions via chat).

2. Be Simple

Keep slides simple — avoid too many words, graphics and animation features. Less is definitely more!

Light yourself well | Illustration by Tricia Seibold

3. Be a TV Personality

Look straight into your camera, not the screen. Wear clothing that is neutral in color (no plaids or stripes). Light yourself well and from above. Be mindful of what appears behind you in the background. Invest in a good microphone.

4. Be Standing

Even though your audience cannot see you, stand when you present. This allows you to stay focused and use good presentation delivery skills such as belly breathing, vocal variety, and pausing.

5. Be Prepared

Practice delivering your presentation with your technology in advance of your talk. Make sure all of the features of the technology work. Record your practice using the recording feature of your tool. Watch and listen to learn what works and what you can improve.

6. Be Assisted

Have someone available to deal with technical issues and to field email/text questions. Also, if you have multiple remote audience members in one location, be sure to pick one of them to be your “eyes and ears.” Ask them to queue up questions and facilitate discussion on your behalf.

7. Be Specific

Ask pointed questions to avoid too many people answering at once. For example, rather than ask, “Are there any questions?” try “Who has a question about the solution I provided?” Set a ground rule that people state their names prior to speaking.

Imagine your audience | Illustration by Tricia Seibold

8. Be Synchronized

Transitions are critical. You must connect what you just said to what is coming next when you move from point to point. Transitions between topics and slides are good opportunities to get people reengaged to your talk.

9. Be Connected

Imagine your audience even though you can’t see them. You can place pictures of audience members behind your camera so you can look at people as you present.

10. Be Early

Encourage your audience to access your call or webinar in advance of the start time so you can iron out any technical issues in advance and get them familiar with the technology.

Matt Abrahams is a Stanford GSB organizational behavior lecturer, author, and communications coach.

For media inquiries, visit the Newsroom .

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Crush Your Next Virtual Presentation

by Gia Storms

Summary .   

While virtual communication platforms help keep remote teams connected, they’re not always the ideal venue for delivering engaging presentations. It’s difficult (or impossible) to read your audience’s nonverbal cues over video and audio — if you’ve lost them, you might not even realize it. You’re also up against the many distractions inherent to working from home. Delivering effective presentations over video requires a little extra preparation. Ask a few people you trust to help you out before and after the meeting by being ready to participate when called on and by giving you actionable feedback afterward. Learn about your audience in advance and build in a short, relevant personal story that will make them feel included. Above all, be concise and clear.

My coaching client, an engineer named Carlos, is a magnificent in-person storyteller. He talks with his hands and tells lengthy, animated stories replete with humorous metaphors and plot twists. His wit and warmth used to be received positively.

Partner Center

How To Ace Your Virtual Presentation: Our Top 10 Tips

Table of contents, what is a virtual presentation.

A virtual presentation is a demonstration, lecture, informational session or speech meant to inform, persuade, motivate, build goodwill , or present a new concept through a digital medium such as a web video conferencing software where the host, presenter and attendees are convening remotely.

Virtual presentations have gained popularity over the last decade due to the advancement of video web conferencing software such as Zoom and Google Meets as well as the convenience virtual presentations have afforded us. Virtual presentations have also helped break down challenges experienced in different fields of work and study.

How Are Virtual Presentations Different From Regular Presentations?

On the surface, it might seem that the only difference between a virtual, online presentation and an in-person presentation is the method in which it is delivered.

In reality, however, the two require different approaches to keep viewers engaged in the presentation. Here are two major differences between virtual and regular, in-person presentations you should consider when deciding if your next meeting should be held online or in-person:

Audience Members – Is The Audience Engaged?

Participants viewing a virtual presentation are far more easily distracted than a typical meeting participant would be when viewing the content in the same room as the presenter. With in-office presentations, participants are typically in the conference room, which is a controlled environment with fewer distractions competing for attention, making it easier to pay attention to what the speaker is saying.

Self-surveillance is also less prominent in a virtual meeting rather than in a physical meeting. When you’re in a room with other individuals, you subconsciously start to self-regulate your behaviour thinking others are watching you. For example, you will not find yourself looking at your phone and you will maintain eye contact with the speaker.

With virtual presentations, on the other hand, the attendee has the ability to turn off their video and microphone allowing them to easily switch their attention to other distractions like their phone or carry on side conversation without anyone else ever knowing.

Scalability & Flexibility

Unlike an in-person presentation where the host, presenter and attendees are physically present at a singular location in the real world, virtual presentations allow for greater scalability which is not bound by the physical environment they are held in.

An in-person meeting would have you bound to the limitations of the room or venue space and the flexibility of other people to attend the presentation at a singular location. On the other hand, a virtual presentation allows you to present to more people at the same time, aided by group video conferencing services, which allows for hundreds of participants per meeting. With a virtual presentation, you are not restricted to the physical capacity of a venue space or the challenge of traveling distances for people.

Either virtual or in person you need a visual presentation that captures the attention of your audience before you tell your story.

Here's One We Did For SalesForce

When the most dynamic CRM sales tool in the industry reaches out for help, we couldn’t resist joining forces. We worked with their team to develop a concept that aligned with their branding and allowed their “Sales Force” to share their value proposition with potential customers in an engaging way.

Why Are Virtual Presentations Important?

Virtual presentations are important because they help break down barriers when it comes to bridging time zones, connecting remote regions and keeping one another safe as we have recently seen with COVID-19.

Remote teams working in space or up north in remote regions are able to share their research and findings far more quickly and easily by being able to connect with other researchers around the world and discuss in real-time. Although it may seem like this could have been done with phone calls, fax machines or even videos, virtual presentations allow for a consolidated, streamlined process that allows for spur-of-the-moment conversations with multiple people in a live presentation format.

As globalization continues to impact our everyday lives, virtual presentations are another way we are connecting with one another around the world. With remote work on the rise , learning about virtual presentations and the nuances that come with them is an important skill to know as more companies, government agencies and cultures adopt virtual presentations and communication.

How Do You Create A Virtual Presentation?

With any other project you decide to take on, to make it excellent, knowing where to start and setting up a good foundation is key to its success. The same applies to virtual presentations. If you don’t have a solid plan in place or create a solid foundation on which to build your presentation upon, your presentation won’t be as successful as it could be.

We’ve put together our top four virtual presentation tips to bring your virtual presentation to life.

1) Start with your content

First, you need to start with your content and understand what message you want to share with your audience. You need to fully understand the topic and content at hand so you’re confident in your delivery.

Start by asking yourself some questions.

• What are the key takeaways you want everyone to leave with?
• What is the purpose of sharing this content?
• Is this content relevant?
• What questions might the audience have and do I know the answer to those questions

It might help to create a story around your topic with a beginning, middle and end to help guide you and your audience through the content.

2) Think about your slides

You want your slides to be engaging. Without engaging slides, you’ll lose the interest of your audience. Remember to keep slides colorful. Use an image or a graphic to help tell the story of the slide. Don’t go overboard though. Keep it simple and follow a 1:1 ratio. One image per slide.

3) Focus on your audience

Throughout your career, you’ll be presenting material to different audiences. Not every audience is the same. For younger audiences, you’ll want to use more visuals and use more vocal energy to keep the audience’s attention. For an older demographic, you might want to keep things more succinct, to the point and talk at a slower pace. It’s one thing to know the content and create a great presentation but it’s useless if you’re not sympathetic to how your audience gathers information.

4) Be dynamic

Keep the attention of your audience by being dynamic and not static. If you’re able to present with a webcam, then do so. Take advantage of as many tools and features as the video web conferencing software you decide to use will allow. For example, some software allows you to have the audience interact with your screen and slides. Depending on the content you’re delivering, you can even have the attendees break out into smaller groups. This will keep the presentation lively, unique and encourage audience participation. Ultimately, you want to keep it fun.

Get inspired with slide ideas from our portfolio

Our Top 10 Best Virtual Presentation Tips

Before you deliver your next virtual presentation , be sure to review these ten tips to help you prepare.

1) Proper Webcam & Lighting

First, check your webcam and lighting. Before you present, turn on your webcam and make sure you’re visible. Even if you think you have sufficient lighting, it’s always best to double-check as some webcams aren’t calibrated correctly. If you’re using a ring light, it may appear like a harsh, blue light is being used. Use this time to also check your microphone and audio source. You’ll be able to check the sound quality and ensure the audio pick-up levels are correct.

2) Familiarize Yourself With The Technology

If you’re not used to presenting virtually or you’re using new software, try practicing your delivery with the technology you’ll be using. If you run into any technical issues, you’ll be able to resolve them beforehand.

3) Check Internet Connection

This is absolutely critical . A virtual meeting or presentation is only possible with an internet connection. If you don’t have a proper internet connection, you won’t have a presentation. It’s also a good idea to practice presenting with all the technology you’ll be using as more software usage requires more internet bandwidth. If you plan on presenting with your webcam on, test your internet connection with your webcam on so you have an accurate measurement.

4) Talk To The Camera

When you’re delivering your message, make sure you keep eye contact with the camera . This will allow the audience who is watching your presentation to feel more connected and engaged. If you’re simply reading from a screen, it makes the presentation feel inauthentic, unpolished and it makes it seem like you’re not confident in the content you’re presenting.

5) Present As You Would In-Person

If you have the ability to stand up while presenting, you should . Standing is beneficial because it allows your airways to be fully open. While you’re sitting, your core is typically tight and you might find yourself hunched over. This will restrict your diaphragm from moving to its fullest potential. If you stand, you’ll have a much clearer voice when speaking.

6) Use Body Language

Keep your presentation dynamic. Your body is a communication tool. Use hand motions to emphasize key points. Use facial expressions to deliver emotion . The combination of body language with your words will help connect the audience to your message on a much deeper level.

7) Engage Your Audience Members

Keep your audience engaged and allow them to participate. Some ways you can keep your audience engaged is by using polling software to ask the audience questions. You can host a Q&A at the end of your meeting , or you can have them play games like Kahoot! to win prizes.

8) Have A Moderator

Having a moderator helps you stay focused. A moderator can help monitor the chat and gauge audience engagement. If you’re conducting a Q&A session, depending on the software you use, a moderator can help filter questions that might be inappropriate. They will screen questions before they are made public to the rest of your audience.

9) Use Evaluation Tools & Learn

This is a tip not many presenters take advantage of that will help you stand out amongst the rest and will make your next presentation even better. At the end of your presentation, consider sending out a poll. Ask for feedback from your audience to see how well you did . You might want to ask their opinion on the visuals, see what information they retained or see how you presented as a whole. If done correctly, for your next virtual presentation, you’ll know if you need to slow down if you’re a fast talker or if you need to add more visuals.

10) Be Yourself

The most important tip of them all is to be yourself . When you’re yourself, you’ll have fun. Presenting and everything will appear natural.

Are You In Need Of A Custom Presentation? We Can Help

Now it’s about you! Are you in need of a fresh, engaging presentation that captures your audiences attention? Whether you need a clean up, a re-design or a completely custom build we have you covered. You can find our presentation packages and pricing options here . Want to speak to a geek, click the button below.

Author:  Ryan

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14 Virtual Presentation Tips to Help You Prepare and Deliver

As society gradually shifts back to “normal” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic—with some segments of the population resuming in-office work—there’s still no question that remote work is going to be more prevalent than it was pre-pandemic, perhaps for many years to come.

With that in mind, you still may not always be in the same room as folks you’re having meetings with—which makes virtual presentations something you’ll really want to master. Whether it’s a recurring work meeting, a sales pitch, a webinar, or any other kind of online session, there are specific things to consider that don’t apply to in-person events. At the same time, there are also upsides to virtual events—if you know how to take advantage of them.

Let’s dive into some of the challenges—and opportunities—when it comes to virtual presentations, along with concrete, expert-sourced advice on how to prepare for your presentation, how to lead it successfully, and what to do afterward.

How Are Virtual Presentations Different?

As with anything, there are positive aspects as well as downsides when comparing virtual presentations to in-person ones.

Pros of Virtual Presentations

• They’re less intimidating. People who don’t feel comfortable presenting in person might be less daunted doing so remotely. Plus, on the other side of things, attendees can keep their cameras off and still participate in meaningful ways more easily.
• They’re accessible to people across geographical areas, which means you can address coworkers from different offices or bring in a diverse audience for a webinar.
• They give you an opportunity to dive deeper with the chat feature to read comments or answer questions that participants may not have felt comfortable asking in person—making them more inclusive.
• Features like polls and surveys are easy to administer during a virtual presentation, providing the opportunity for real-time feedback.

Cons of Virtual Presentations

• The lack of body language cues can make it hard to “read the room” or gauge people’s interest, engagement, confusion, and other reactions during your presentation.
• Quiet participants may be more easily overlooked or talked over, so you may not get all the input you’re looking for.
• It can be harder to generate organic conversations or connections.
• There’s always the risk of technical issues affecting the presentation.

With these pros and cons in mind, how do you successfully pull off a virtual presentation? Read on for 14 tips to help you before, during, and after your next virtual offering.

Before the Presentation

1. get clear on your purpose.

Clarity is always key, says  Stacey Edelstein , Cofounder and Design Director at the creative studio Raygun. She spends most of her current workdays running or supporting virtual presentations, from in-house presentations for her agency clients to group meetings she’s facilitating for local organizations.

Virtual events usually require you to work a little harder to maintain folks’ attention; if you’re disorganized or veer off track, people’s minds will wander and it will be harder to reengage them.

“ Zoom fatigue is real, so it’s important to be intentional around the purpose of the presentation first. What is the ‘why’ behind what you’re doing? Build your outline or script from there,” Edelstein says. “As a friend once told me, ‘Start with the headline.’” Edelstein keeps her talk centered on what she wants people to remember when they walk away. Anything beyond that can be included in a handout or perhaps a follow-up communication.

2. Ask Questions in Advance

For webinars and other online events,  Femily , a gender and inclusion advisor in Silicon Valley, likes to use the sign-up or registration page as a chance to get some insight into who is attending. You can ask a question or two as they register to learn if they have pressing questions about the topic, what they’re hoping to gain from the event, and more. You can even use the information you get from these questions to prepare your talk.

If you’re presenting to colleagues at work, you can take a similar approach by sending an email ahead of your presentation and asking folks to send you questions in advance.

3. Get Creative With Visual Content

Lean more on visuals and go easy on the text if you’re using a slide deck to accompany your talk, Edelstein says. A wall of text will take people away from what you’re saying. “At our San Diego Design Week event last year, we used a simple slide deck with big, bold type to complement the conversation without distracting from what was being said.”

But don’t be scared to get creative and try new things here. For instance, you can use relevant images like GIFs, memes, and other photos to connect with your audience and visually communicate your points, says Chris Zullo, Practice Director of Marketing at the cloud solutions provider AllCloud, who has extensive experience presenting both at work and at virtual conferences like London’s Calling and Virtual Dreamin.

Whether or not memes and GIFs feel like the right fit for your audience, you can still make your presentation visually enticing.  Marcia Dickerson , a management consultant and college professor who’s been teaching online classes and workshops to all different sizes and types of groups, likes to use color, graphics, and art to spruce up her slides, which she designs via Canva.

4. Remember Practice Makes Perfect

Ideally, you’ll gather your content and then start practicing with time to spare. “Before a virtual presentation, just like any other, you need to practice, practice, practice,” Dickerson says. In some ways, it’s even more important to do ahead of a virtual presentation. “If you’ve got your content down cold, you can pay more attention to the cues you get. I will often watch the chat function during webinars to see if a question comes in, and that’s not easy to do if you don’t know your content.”

You should also be sure to test any equipment you might be using or any features you aren’t familiar with—just as you would for an in-person event. “Many presentations are derailed due to avoidable technology issues,” Edelstein says. “Make sure to practice on your preferred platform to find your flow and get comfortable using tools like screen share, breakout rooms, etc.”

5. Consider Asking for Help

If you’re able to, it may be beneficial to enlist someone to help run your presentation. That way, if you have technical issues during your talk, you’ll have backup. “I had an experience in which my computer shut down right in the middle of a webinar,” Dickerson says. “I was able to log in on my phone and assign a friend to be the new host, and she told the group I’d be back. Now, I always get someone to attend as a cohost in case that happens again.”

You can also ask the cohost to monitor the chat or Q&A features while you speak, so you can stay focused. Edelstein says that at her company, they call their tech support attendees “chat cheerleaders” and ask them to cue slide decks and videos, manage breakout rooms, and, as the nickname suggests, help engage people in the chat while the speaker talks.

During the Presentation

6. optimize lighting and sound quality.

Proper setup really helps you come across clearly and professionally. Here are some tips to help you get it right:

• Make sure your lighting sources are coming from in front of you (not from behind). It prevents you from appearing as a shadowy silhouette and just plain looks better.
• If you can, invest in webcams and microphones to up your presentation quality; there’s no need to spend a ton of money, but do some research to see what options are available at your price point.
• Look around your space and try to anticipate any possible sound distractions and how you can minimize those.
• If possible, try to present in an area with limited hard surfaces—like a room with carpet—to boost your sound quality. Dickerson knows people who actually stuff comforters behind their computers in order to create a better sound experience while presenting.

7. Use Icebreakers and Music to Set the Mood

Make a great first impression on the group by starting things off in a fun way. “ Ask them something about themselves  or the topic. Play a video,” Femily says. “The first minute of people logging on is the most important to set the energetic tone for the session.”

Edelstein agrees; her preferred way to start a session is by playing music as people enter, right before the meeting starts. “It really helps with those awkward silences!”

Of course, you’ll need to adapt your kickoff to the situation. If you’re presenting to senior leadership at your company and you know this crowd tends to be buttoned up, you might opt for a serious question related to the topic at hand over loud dance music.

8. Remember You May Have to Bring More Energy Than Usual

You might have to be a bit larger than life when you’re presenting remotely—whether that means standing instead of sitting to keep yourself engaged; wearing a fun, bright color to pep yourself up; or using body language more than usual to show attendees you’re listening.

Dickerson likes to keep the self-view option on in a larger group. “It’s a check to be sure that my gestures and facial expressions are big,” she says. “I feel it helps me to try to be just as big and exuberant on a virtual presentation as I would in a large lecture hall.”

9. Consider Hiding Self-View

While there are times when it may be appropriate to keep self-view on, as Dickerson does with larger groups, in other cases, it may be best to turn it off. You don’t look into a mirror the whole time you have a conversation or teach a class, so why would you want to during an online presentation? Hiding self-view can make you feel less awkward, Dickerson says. Experiment to see what feels right for you in different scenarios.

10. Know When to Mute Yourself

If you’re doing any kind of event, meeting, or workshop where you aren’t speaking for a while, remember to use the mute button to cut down on background noise that could be distracting for attendees. For example, if you’ve delivered a prompt and are giving people 10 minutes to write their answers, this would be a perfect moment to use mute. Over time, toggling it on and off will become more natural, but it’s definitely something to be aware of if you’re newer to virtual presentations.

11. Encourage Participation

Because of the lack of body language and real-time input, you may have to take action to get feedback, Zullo says. Consider prompting the group with questions or polls if that works for your session. If you don’t have someone helping you out, you’ll also likely want to keep an eye on the chat yourself. You may decide to take a pause every so many minutes to read through any comments or questions that have come in, or you might keep an eye on it as you talk; whatever works for you is fine.

Outside of the chat window, you may need to give people more time than usual to speak up. “I’ve learned to pause a little longer for questions,” Dickerson says. “It takes people longer to unmute or be sure they aren’t talking over someone else. When someone does talk, I like to reply to them by name to make it more personal.”

If the platform you’re using has a breakout rooms feature, this can be a good way to get people into smaller groups and generate discussion. You can also have everyone go into breakout rooms and then come back to the main room to reconvene and discuss insights or discoveries together.

Dickerson also pairs her presentation with a worksheet that she emails out ahead of time when appropriate. Having a place to take notes or write down answers to questions you ask can help attendees remain engaged.

12. Be Yourself

At the end of the day, you may still be nervous even though the event isn’t in person. That’s OK! Femily encourages everyone to show up as they are, no matter who you are: “It’s vibrancy and bold statements that magnetize people. Be imperfect, wacky you!”

After the Presentation

13. don’t be scared to follow up.

After the presentation, you might need to email people for a number of reasons: to send out materials you mentioned during your talk, to recap takeaways and action items, to send them the recorded event, or to ask people to fill out a survey so you can get an idea of how the presentation went and what you could do better in the future.

If you’re speaking to a group of strangers, consider letting attendees know how they can get in touch with you. You might even have your last slide in the presentation display your contact info, so people have it in case they have questions or thoughts afterward. If you’re speaking to your coworkers, you can still encourage them to reach out to you (via email, on Slack, etc.) with additional questions and thoughts they may not have had time to share or may not have realized they had until later.

14. Reflect and Iterate for Next Time

Watch the recorded presentation and evaluate yourself, Edelstein says. This can help you get an idea of when people were most engaged during your talk and improve for your next presentation.

Brainstorm other ways you can get feedback to assess your performance. For example, if you did a webinar, the platform you used may have a way to track interactions and participation level. If you presented something at work, perhaps you can ask a colleague you trust for some insight on their experience as an attendee.

If for some reason you feel you fell short, don’t beat yourself up. Virtual presentations have the potential to create more distractions than usual, and that can affect your results, Zullo says. “You can put together an amazing presentation with all of the engagement, bells, and whistles, and still not see the quantifiable results,” he says. “Things can come up at home. People might have multiple screens and be multitasking. They may not be ‘present’ for whatever reason.”

Virtual presentations are likely here to stay. So you can always come back to this expert insight on how to prepare for, facilitate, and follow up after your presentation to help you become more comfortable leading and connecting online.

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Virtual presentation framework: Your guide to presenting online

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Michael Lee March 01, 2021

By now, virtual presentations are a staple in the way many organizations conduct business. But just because most people are used to presenting online doesn’t mean they’re any good at it. The best virtual presentations require more than just appearing on screen or sharing content. To really connect with your audience, you need to follow the virtual presentation framework : Establish credibility, build trust, and appeal to your audience’s emotions.

This presentation framework serves as an online presentation guide to help you make sense of the most common elements of successful online interactions. As you get more comfortable with all the elements, you’ll be able to use the presentation framework as a digital toolbox of sorts, calling on the right skills at the right time.

It’s important to note that these segments are not mutually exclusive, but should work together. After all, you can be credible without earning trust, and you can be informative without eliciting any emotion. The best online presenters and speakers will apply the presentation framework as a whole to both their content and delivery. Read on for a more detailed look at each segment in the virtual presentation framework. 

Presentation framework: Establish credibility 

Credibility is a measure of how qualified you are (or at least, how qualified you seem) to speak on your topic. Basically, do you look like you know what you’re doing? On virtual presentations, you’ll need to consider:

How you set up your space

It may seem like a minor detail next to everything else you have to do for your presentation, but your home studio setup can greatly impact audience perceptions. If your face is dimly lit or your audience can’t hear you, it’ll make your entire presentation feel less professional. 

Position your light source in front of you (whether it’s a window or a lamp). Also, test out different microphones to find the one with the best audio quality. You’ll also want to avoid distracting your audience with busy backgrounds. Though, don’t be afraid to show more personality than a blank white wall! Even small, inexpensive adjustments can make a big difference. 

Get more tips from Jessica Chen , the founder, and CEO of Soulcast Media and an Emmy Award-winning journalist:

How you present yourself 

Any online presentation guide will tell you that to deliver an engaging presentation, you’ll need to practice. While one of the benefits of virtual presentations is the ability to include presenter notes , you also don’t want to look like you’re reading the entire time. Practice speaking with confidence, paying particular attention to your pacing and volume. Also, try cutting out filler words like “um” and “like.” Lorraine Lee , the Managing Editor here at Prezi, shares how standing while you present and projecting your voice can help:

How well do you know your material?

It can sometimes be painfully obvious when someone speaks on a topic they don’t actually know much about. If you’re giving a virtual presentation, it means you’ve had the time to prepare and pick your topic. Make sure you’re speaking to your subject matter expertise, whether it’s for a keynote, webinar, sales pitch, or just an internal presentation. 

Richard Mulholland , a global speaker and founder of presentation agency Missing Link , highlights the benefits of finding your “area of authority” and then focusing the vast majority of your attention on that subject: 

Presentation framework: Build trust

While trust may seem very similar to credibility, there’s a key difference. Credibility determines if your audience finds you qualified to speak about your topic. However, trust determines whether they’ll actually believe what you say. To build trust with your audience on virtual presentations, you should: 

Appear on the screen 

Body language and facial cues are crucial in conveying meaning, which is why it’s necessary to appear on-screen if you want your audience to trust what you’re saying. This also applies to screen sharing. If your camera’s on, but nobody can see you, then you’re going to lose out on opportunities to connect with your audience. 

Vanessa Van Edwards , a keynote speaker and Lead Investigator at Science of People , explains that hands act as “trust indicators.” That’s why you should use tools like Prezi Video to bring your content on-screen with you, so that you can show your content while still using hand gestures to keep your audience engaged . Watch Vanessa’s video to learn more and to see these principles in action: 

Back up your claims

With enough practice, you can say anything with confidence, but empty promises and hyperbole will only erode your audience’s trust. Make sure you use trusted sources while researching, and present facts and data as necessary. 

For example, see how Brian Xu , a Senior Data Scientist at LinkedIn , uses data to analyze the economic impacts of COVID-19: 

Respect your audience

Don’t forget that while you’re the one presenting, your audience is also investing their time and attention into your content. Make sure your content is tailored and relevant, and be mindful of sticking to your allotted time. 

You may also want to consider employing a more conversational approach to your virtual presentation. In a remote sales pitch , for instance, you don’t have to go through all of your content from start to finish. Instead, find out what your buyers are most interested in and only focus on those topics.

Presentation framework: Appeal to emotions 

Even if your content is well-researched and expertly presented, it ultimately won’t matter if your audience can’t remember any of it. Part of what makes content impactful and memorable is having it resonate on an emotional level. Be sure to include these elements in your virtual presentations: 

Displaying a wall of text on the screen is only going to result in glazed eyes. Use visual communication to help your message resonate with your audience — whenever possible, replace text with images, videos, and charts. 

In this webinar with Tiffani Bova , the Global Growth and Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce , she uses both photos and designed graphics, and clever placement of her visuals, to support her message. When illustrating the divide between sellers and buyers, she puts photos on either side of her screen. This creates a more visceral and memorable message than a bullet point:

Interactivity

Because you’re working with limited screen real estate on virtual presentations, you’ll need to work harder to keep your audience invested and engaged. That means you should avoid becoming a static talking head or hiding behind your screen share. Take advantage of Prezi Video to add some interactivity to your presentation. With Prezi Video, you can point at graphics you want to focus on or emphasize your message with gestures. 

Plus, there are currently a wealth of tools that can help you better connect with your audience. Take advantage of the chat, poll, and Q&A functions on your video conferencing tools, or use third-party apps like Slido to create impactful conversations . 

Storytelling

Stories are still one of the best ways to connect with your audience. They can take complex ideas and recontextualize them in a way that feels relevant and evokes emotions. And, our brains are already wired for stories (which is why they make up two-thirds of our daily conversations). 

Try starting your virtual presentation with a story or anecdote to capture your audience’s attention quickly. Elena Valentine , the CEO, and co-founder of workplace media company Skill Scout Films , explains how stories and anecdotes can make you seem more human instead of just “the expert,” and why that works in your favor:

Using the virtual presentation framework

This virtual presentation framework is by no means comprehensive. However, it can serve as a useful guide to online presentations. As you start putting content together for your next presentation, refer to the framework to pinpoint areas that you’re still missing and start incorporating them. You can also get even more advice and insights from our Virtual Presentation Innovators .

If you’re speaking at an upcoming virtual conference or event , drop us a line at [email protected] for a chance to work together on a virtual presentation that your audience won’t forget.

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Virtual Presentations

Whether you are giving a research talk, lecturing, or giving a workshop, virtual presentations present a new set of challenges, from interacting with an audience that you can’t always see to managing teleconferencing technology. You can keep your audience oriented by presenting a talk with a clear structure . Make sure to practice in this new environment and prepare your technological set-up . Finally, create a plan for engaging your audience .

If you haven’t yet, check out our Slide Presentation article.

Criteria for Success

A successful virtual presentation…

• Has a clear purpose that is tailored to the type of audience.
• Sets expectations at the beginning of the presentation about what you will talk about and what kind of feedback you want from your audience.
• Only includes visual and verbal information that supports the major point of each slide and the overall objective of the presentation.
• Is extremely well-rehearsed, as the energy of your presentation will come from how you deliver key points.
• Uses the available technology to engage the audience.

Identify Your Purpose

How you design and deliver any presentation, virtual or in person, depends on the goal you want your presentation to achieve. However, in a virtual environment with more distractions and less audience feedback, identifying the purpose of your presentation is even more important. This goal will help you decide what you need to emphasize and what you can drop to make sure your message rises above the digital noise.

For this article, we divide presentations into three general categories:

• Purpose: Share work that you have accomplished with a wider audience. You want others to be informed about the progress on and benefits of your research without necessarily teaching them how to perform the work themselves.
• Purpose: Help your audience learn and practice skills or tools that they can apply outside of the workshop, but don’t expect mastery. They can further explore the content later.
• Purpose: Teach students new skills; help them master the material.

Below, we share both general strategies and specific recommendations for the three categories, to help you tailor your talk for success no matter how far away you are.

Analyze your audience

To make sure your presentation is effective, you need to know not only what you want your audience to take away, but also who they are and how they will perceive your work. For any talk, it’s important to remember that your audience can vary widely in their expertise and goals , but virtual presentations create additional challenges for the audience’s experience.

If you keep these audience challenges in mind, you will be able to choose design and delivery strategies that will help your message shine through.

Design your slides to support the overall message of your presentation

Design principles are similar to those for an in-person presentation , but since the audience may be distracted, it’s more important than ever to have a structured, clear, and focused presentation.

In these figures, we illustrate best practices for slide design:

• Clear presentation structure, declared at the beginning in an overview slide.
• Consistent visual format among slides.
• Simple text and figures.
• Each slide introduces one new point, which is stated by the slide title.

Practice is even more important for virtual presentations

In-person presentations allow you to use non-verbal communication to gauge audience understanding, help emphasize key points, and convey energy. In virtual presentations, you and the audience are deprived of these physical cues, and the success of your presentation is often dependent on the quality of your voiceover and your mastery of virtual tools. Therefore, it is critical to practice, practice, practice — with friends, lab mates, family, and, of course, Comm Lab Fellows.

Technological set-up can greatly improve the audience experience

Even if you nail the oral delivery of your presentation, to have a successful presentation, you must mitigate distractions introduced by your technological set-up. A bad internet connection, unmuted audience member, or low-quality audio can make it difficult for the audience to stay focused. The below tips will help you give your audience the IMAX experience (or as close as you can get with virtual meeting platforms):

Make a plan for engaging the audience

If the audience knows where your presentation is going and what their role will be, they are more likely to stick around for the ride. Be upfront with your audience about what you will talk about, what kind of feedback you are seeking, and when you would like to receive that feedback. Engage your audience throughout the presentation, whether that be walking through problems step-by-step or telling a cohesive story to talk about your research.