Capturing the attention of your audience is…well…difficult. This was true even before covid-19 changed our way of working, driving more virtual event and meeting platform users than ever before. And while these tools have come a long way, providing more and more opportunities for audience engagement, they’re still a far cry from true face-to-face interaction.
And given the realities of the world we live in today – with companies moving towards a hybrid work environment and major hospitality and event companies investing in hybrid meeting models and technology, it’s imperative that presenters and leaders both learn and embrace the virtual world.
But you don’t just want to be “another zoom/teams/WebEx call,” right? You want to be the call that your audience looks forward to, the one they know will provide meaningful, engaging content given by a compelling, energetic presenter.
So. How do you accomplish this? Here are 5 tips that you can leverage today to provide more meaningful, engaging content in your virtual meetings/presentations.
Tip 1. Create ENERGY.
One of the benefits of meeting in person is the use of environment to get your audience excited – through music, dance, videos, live performers – the list goes on. To elevate your virtual meeting, infuse ENERGY in every capacity you can. Use videos when possible to help illustrate a point. Have music playing as team members and/or clients/customers dial-in, or when on breaks. Use animations and moving backgrounds when slides are static.
If you set the tone correctly when you open your meeting, your audience will be far more receptive to both you as the presenter, and to the content you present. Though the risk increases from a technology perspective, the capital you gain as an exciting virtual presenter is invaluable.
Tip 2. Provide OBJECTIVES.
Begin your presentation with a slide focused on key takeaways – to hold both yourself accountable, as well as to give your audience a specific look at why your audience should attend your presentation.
This is key – unless you have a captive audience who are attending your session because it’s mandatory, you need to provide a reason why your message is more important than the plethora of other webinars available. And even if you have a captive audience, “attending” a session and leaving with tangible nuggets of understanding is not a given.
The symbiotic relationship between audience and presenter is one of give and take – you provide your time and expertise, and your audience provides their time and attention. But as the presenter, it’s your job to help hold this attention, so make it as easy as possible by giving them the why at the very beginning of your message.
Tip 3. Create AFTER CONTENT.
What is “after content”? After content is a 1-pager, specifically designed to compliment your presentation after you’ve delivered it. Completed before your presentation begins, it includes the major objectives you speak to during your presentation, as well as any content that’s too heavy to have on slides. You can reference this document in your speaking notes, noting that it’ll be in attendees inbox as soon as you hang up, or by end of day if you wish to include the meeting recording.
Many leaders/presenters are concerned that if you provide the information after the call, it will discourage participation. While this is a valid, promising follow-up detail actually puts your audience at ease, so they can truly focus on what your saying, as opposed to ignoring the presenter as they try to read detailed financials on a screen much too small to discern any significant information.
This also allows for much better engagement because you can eliminate the lecture and instead, open a dialogue with your attendees, or perhaps bring in subject matter experts to provide their perspective on the topic you’re discussing.
Why not just send your presentation deck? Ideally, your presentation will not be content heavy, thus making sending the presentation material not nearly as beneficial as a 1-pager where you can include graphs, key messages, trends, links to articles, etc.
Tip 4. Break the 4th Wall.
There is no better way to encourage engagement than introducing competition – or play – prior to jumping in the presentation. You can also use pre-event communication to seed this plan for increased participation. The idea is that you use play/competition that reinforces the audiences learning/presentation objectives included at the beginning of your presentation, as noted earlier.
For example, if you’re providing a presentation on automotive trends, and one of your presentation objectives is to have your audience leave with a better understanding of how the companies mission fits within automotive trends, you can seed a question during your presentation, such as, “when did [INSERT COMPANY NAME] first introduce an electric vehicle to the market?” The first audience member to answer correctly in the chat wins a prize, or perhaps a lunch conversation with a subject matter expert.
The trick, though, is to not announce the winner(s) until the end of the presentation. Perhaps you include multiple questions, or have the questions on the slide, but not address them during your presentation to truly see how many are engaging with your content.
There are multiple ways to enhance play and participation within the virtual world, such as presentation polls, breakout sessions, slide scavenger hunts, audience testimonial spotlights, and so on. How you action engagement and play will be a key differentiator with employee retention and development as we move forward, so be creative, incorporate one or two of these elements, and have fun!
Tip 5. Leverage a Story.
Story-driven presentations are inherently more engaging than those without direction or “flow.” Presentations that don’t seem to land, or that leave audiences more confused than enlightened suffer from lack of organization – but if you incorporate story elements within your pre-planning, agenda, presentation transitions, your message will have a consistent, compelling throughaction narrative that will leave your audience with a clear, connected understanding of your message and presentation objectives.
For example, if you’re giving a presentation on your companies enhanced Diversity and Inclusion measures – a topic that can incite rather personal feelings amongst team members – its important to ensure your presentation isn’t tone deaf to that fact. Your audience will immediately tune you out if you begin your presentation with simply: “We’re rolling out updates. Here’s what they are. Talk to HR if you have any questions. Have a great day.”
Instead, you need to start with the beginning of the story. Explain the initial Diversity and Inclusion initiative and why the company felt it wasn’t enough. Then discuss the current state, the “now” of the story, before finally moving forward to your next steps, the “next chapter” or “sequel” of the story. This takes your audience on a journey with you, so they truly understand why the decisions were made.
As soon as you let your audience join you on that journey, they are much more likely to trust you as an authority on the subject, and be better brand ambassadors for your organization because they know the full story – not the abridged or “spark notes” version.