Seven tips to ace your online presentations

Presenting in front of a group of people is never easy. For some, virtual presentations may be even scarier because there is much more that could go wrong.

To help combat your presentation “cold feet”, here are some nifty tricks that will ensure your presentations are both memorable and interesting.

During presentations, you have to make eye contact to engage your audience. This also applies to virtual presentations – just pretend your laptop’s webcam is the “eye” of your viewers. 

You may instinctively look at your screen when presenting, but to the viewers, it looks as if you are looking away from them. To remind yourself to look at the webcam, paste a bright sticky note behind your webcam.

It can be tempting to read your presentation script directly from your laptop, but reading from your script is a big no-no. 

When you read from left to right, your eyeballs will shift in the same direction. Because your webcam is so close to your face, this can be very obvious.

Instead of reading word for word, we encourage you to briefly refer to your notes if you have to, but remember to continue to make eye contact.

Most video conference platforms should come with a function to ‘pin’ any participant’s video. If looking at a crowd of faces intimidates you, you can always ‘pin’ your friend’s video to quell your nerves. 

You can let your friends know you will be pinning their videos beforehand, so they know they should nod and smile supportively while you present. Make sure they don’t distract you by making funny faces!

Alternatively, you can pin your own video to monitor your presentation.

You may be conducting a presentation online, but that doesn’t mean you cannot use body language. Ensure the webcam captures your upper arms and shoulders, and use fluid gestures when speaking.

Your face also takes up a large portion of the screen, so make sure to also use facial expressions, such as smiling, to show your enthusiasm.

If your background is too messy, it leaves a poor impression and can be a huge distraction. To come across as professional and organised, you should clear the things behind you.

Alternatively, you can blur your background or set a virtual background. Bonus points if your entire group has the same background during a presentation, as it looks cohesive.

During a virtual presentation, slides take up a huge portion of the viewers’ screens. If your slides are not engaging enough, you may lose your audience’s attention.

To make slides that will hold your audience’s attention, you can use more images and less text, as well as use transitions to display one point at a time. But use these animations sparingly!

Keep your slides simple by avoiding adding chunks of texts or too many images, as not everyone is viewing your slides in fullscreen. On a smaller screen resolution, your slides could look cluttered and messy.

Keeping your slides simple also helps prevent lag, as sharing your screen on video conference applications can lead to streaming issues, especially if your viewers have a weaker Internet connection. 

Before your presentation, do a final “dress rehearsal” with the same platform, background, and audio accessories that you plan on using for your presentation. This will prevent any technical difficulties, such as your earpiece’s microphone not working.

You can invite a friend or use a screen recorder to monitor your presentation and get feedback from them on how to improve.

As with any presentation, remember you have to know your own content well so you can present confidently and answer any questions. Good luck!