Virtual speaking is now a popular form of communication. We know that speaking at a virtual event is quite different from speaking live. It’s important to understand how you can still make a big impact no matter what kind of virtual speaking you do. In this article, we will help by covering:
– Presentation skills
– Tips and insights for virtual speaking
– Benefits of virtual speaking and virtual events
For starters, you can’t just copy your old presentation into a new format or try to make a few tweaks and call it a day. If you want to create a meaningful connection (and you do), this guide will help. Let’s dive right in.
How Virtual Speaking Helps You Connect with Your Audience
Virtual speaking offers a level of personal connection that you don’t get from any other medium. Recent studies have shown that the gap in post-experience net promoter scores (NPS) between online and in-person experiences is narrowing. A dynamic online experience can have a similar impact as an in-person experience… if done right.
The experience will be better for everyone when you connect with your audience. You will deliver a highly engaging experience and get great reviews in return, no matter the type of event. Today’s audiences are inundated with content and brands that want to get their attention. Add that to Zoom fatigue, and it’s a lot.
What’s Zoom fatigue, you ask? Think about how much of people’s lives have taken place virtually over the course of the past several months:
– Today, just one in three consumers will show up to an online experience, regardless of cost.
– Brands that offer unique content will easily double online experience attendance rates
– Top performers have seen attendance rates as high as 65%
If you want to compete, you’ve got to get consumers’ attention and build this connection from the start.
Set Yourself Up for Success
Here are a few tips to help you get prepared for your event so that you’re not going in blind to a new experience.
1. Internet Connection and Access:
The biggest complaint of virtual events is a poor connection.
Thus, your first tip to success is to have a secure, hardwired Internet connection. Make sure that you’ve got enough bandwidth to support a live video feed and allow you to give the presentation that you desire. If you need to upgrade your Internet service to carry on your speaking events, do it. It’ll be an investment worth making.
(The WiFi debate: While you can successfully host events and presentations via WiFi hotspot or a 4G or 5G connection, professional virtual speaking is always best done from the strongest, most capable connection to ensure there are few or no issues with freezing, video sharing, rendering, and other details.)
2. Microphones, Webcam, and Lighting:
You also need to choose a high-quality microphone and make sure that you test the lighting and webcam before you start. Everything needs to be ideal so that people can see you and feel like they can engage with you. The microphone will make a big difference in audio quality. It can also improve the experience for some audience members. That’s a make-or-break factor in virtual events.
3. Getting the Audience Involved:
You have to engage your audience if you want to make the most of your virtual speaking events. Consider speaking in an open forum-style format or asking questions along the way. You can even advise your audience to interject or ask questions whenever they have them, allowing everyone to participate. If you’ve got examples to make, use your audience when you can. All of these things will help them feel more engaged and solidify your reputation as a virtual speaker.
4. Creating a Dynamic Presentation:
You can’t just get online and turn your webcam on and start talking. You have to actually take the time to create a presentation that you can offer to your audience to keep them engaged. No one wants to sit at a meeting and look at some speaker’s face for the duration of the event. Although engaging with face-to-face communication is part of a good event, it’s not the only part. You also need to have visual aids and other presentation tools that can get people’s attention and get your audience engaged.
5. Marketing Your Talk:
Of course, even with the best skills and the most powerful presentation, you can’t just expect people to show up. A large part of your success comes from properly marketing your talk. Start early and market often. Consider using email invites, social media shares, and tools like virtual calendars to tell people that you’ve got an event coming up that they won’t want to miss.
With the Everytale Calendar:
– No more worries about tracking each event separately.
– Users can sync their favorite events on the go.
– Users can share preferences and select the ones for which they want to be notified.
– With regular updates, you can keep them informed at all times. This way, users won’t miss out on your content.
There’s a lot that you can do to prepare yourself and set your presentations up for better results than before. These tips will get you started on the right track in no time.
How to Speak at Virtual Events: 5 Best Tips
Now that you’ve understood more about preparing for your event, let’s get to the speaking tips. It’s a different arena compared to a live stage. It’s also not like chatting on Zoom with friends and family. You can’t just hop online, start talking and hope for the best. You have to know what you’re doing. That involves doing your homework and learning the best practices for virtual speaking.
To help you with that, we’ve compiled the tips below.
Tip #1: Keep the Energy Levels High
It can be hard enough to get your audience engaged in a virtual setting. You can improve engagement with the right energy levels, though. When you work to keep people engaged, you’ll notice much more audience involvement.
As a result, the presentation will feel like it went much better than you anticipated. Take care of everything else ahead of time. Then you can focus on delivering the best online speaking engagement possible.
The biggest keys to success here include:
a) To stay upbeat
b) Deliver high-energy
c) Deliver a presentation that captivates the audience.
Tip #2: Have a Compelling Story
These days, people want a story. They want a narrative. A reason to listen and pay attention. The internet has done wonders for the world around us, but it has also created much distraction:
– Competitors
– Social media
– Ads
– Videos
That means that if you don’t have a compelling story, you won’t stand a chance even with the best speaking skills. A compelling story should be:
a) Truthful & valuable
b) Relatable, with a message that resonates
c) Informative or educational
d) Insightful or thought-provoking
Tip #3: Make One-on-One Connections with the Camera
Just because you know that you’re speaking to a larger audience, you can’t forego the one-on-one connection. The camera makes it easy to create that connection and gives people personal attention. This is one of the biggest presentation tips for public speaking online. If you can create that connection with every audience member, you can change your virtual speaking game.
Tip #4: Rehearse, Review, and Repeat
It’s crucial that you take the time to rehearse your speech and review each practice session. This way, you can take notes, make improvements, and find ways to get better at your virtual speaking. It’s important to record your practice so you can deliver the best performance every time. Giving a virtual talk online is much different than speaking in person or even on the phone. You have to make sure that you give it the attention that it deserves and understand the best practices. Rehearse until you’re absolutely confident!
Tip #5: Pay Attention to the Details
In addition to your compelling presentation, you’re also going to have to show up. That means giving a professional personal presentation:
– Dress nicely
– Sit up straight (or stand properly)
– Choose a professional background that doesn’t distract
– Don’t fidget or move around too much
– Smile and speak with confidence.
You’ll notice these details as you practice and review your rehearsals. This will give you the chance to get it just right.
Happy Speaking!
It’s time to embrace the future. Right now, the future is in virtual events. Even if the world gets back to a place where live events are “the norm”, you’ll find a lot of opportunities for virtual presentations.
That’s where Everytale comes in. Everytale is a virtual events platform & marketplace that allows you to create, promote, and broadcast events. We offer end-to-end virtual event services to make sure that all you need to do is focus on your content and your audience.