Last month I presented you with the idea of using a webinar to connect you with potential customers or as a way to bring current customers up-to-date. Did you find yourself thinking, “Good idea, but I don’t know how to do a presentation on the web”? Well, I’m sure you weren’t alone. Here are some tips that we have found helpful in making the transition from presenting face-to-face to doing it in cyberspace.
Stand Up Body posture influences the projection of your voice. If you’re scrunched at your computer, or huddled by the phone, your voice may not come across with authority, and you risk be perceived as unprepared. Pretend you’re in a real presentation environment. Give yourself some privacy, tape up photos of people to make eye contact with, stand up, and even use a clicker. It makes a huge difference.
Burst the Content People will multitask during your presentation. It’s the nemesis of the medium. Instead of ignoring it, use it as motivation to communicate differently. Create presentations so visually rich that they won’t cover up your webinar with their Inbox. Varying the volume and tone of your voice will create auditory bursts, and to add auditory emphasis to your content. Humor is a great way to capture interest. If you sound like you’re having a good time, they’ll want to hang out with the cool crowd. (Wouldn’t it be great if you could add a laugh track to your presentation?)
Present with Two When two people share the responsibility of presenting, the audience’s interest will be piqued each time the presenter changes. A new person usually means a new topic, and the audience will tune in to hear about it. Granted, if you can’t sustain the interesting content they may drift again, but the first few seconds after a transition are great opportunities to reengage interest. Take advantage of those moments by planning them ahead of time.
Make it Interactive Take advantage of nature of the web to collect feedback and interact with your audience during the presentation. Most applications have installed extensive feedback mechanisms so the audience can float questions, chat as a community, and give live feedback. If it’s a large online audience, it’s best to have an administrator handle the incoming questions and comments. You can also extend the reach of your presentation by recording it and posting it. Then the audience can watch it (and pause it), in their own time frame.
Understand the Technology When delivering a presentation online, each application used to display your content is very different. Host a dry run of your presentation in which you click through ALL your slides. Many of the applications lose transitions, builds, and animations. What works in PowerPoint may not work in the application hosting your presentation.
Just like when you were first learning to drive and you wondered how you could possibly stay on the road when you were also supposed to be looking in the rearview mirror, you may feel a bit overwhelmed at the thought of making your presentation and having to learn about a new technology at the same time. Don’t let it scare you. Start off with a webinar to a couple of clients with whom you have good rapport—or maybe do it with some of your employees. Get their honest feedback and adjust accordingly.
Need help putting this effective tool to work for you? Call Hi-Impact Marketing and Sales Solutions and we can help you design and implement your own webinar!
