SHORT & SHARP
Unless you’re running a webinar, it’s so important to keep your delivery brief. Great presentations shouldn’t be longer than 15 minutes, and in virtual reality terms that should be even shorter. Aim to speak for no longer than 6, or an absolute max of 7 minutes. Your audience will thank you for it and hopefully on a group call this will encourage them to follow suit.
S.M.I.L.E.
If you’ve had any sort of presentation skills training before the trainer will have hammered this one home, but it matters even more when you’re presenting via Skype/Zoom/Google Hangouts etc, as it’ll not only keep your viewers engaged with what you’re saying, but it’ll improve the vocal tone and make the whole delivery feel and look more engaging.
Slow down
There is a risk that under the pressure of the laptop camera you feel like you should race through the material you’ve got. Instead, fight your natural intuition to speed up, and instead liberally apply pauses to slow down your delivery. Remember that your viewers need time to digest what it is you’re saying, and it’ll ensure you deliver clearly and smoothly too.
Eye contact
Any speech coach worth their salt will tell you this is key to connecting with your audience. The temptation on a video call is to look at your screen and watch yourself back, but remember, you will need to spend most of the time looking down your camera and directly at your viewers, so either adjust your camera positioning or be sure to move from screen to camera frequently.
Take a screenshot
At times like this when motivation is low, this will be a good, shareable morale booster, so embrace the technology!
Stay safe, look after one another and I’ll see you on the other side. Oh, and don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like any help with the above.
