Easily Master Your Virtual Presentation

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I joined Sam Roberts (@BeHappyRemote on Twitter) on the Be Happy Remote Podcast to discuss how to speak stress free, even if you have a fear of public speaking right now. You can listen to the episode:

Easily Master Your Virtual Presentation

The dread of having your video on. Worried about the lack of audience engagement. Virtual presentations sound much easier than in person but the stress does not seem to go away, it just changes focus.

It does not have to be that way.

You have heard me talk about the nano speech. This is one simple route to mastering your virtual presentation, but lets focus on things specific to delivering a presentation on camera - the chances are you have something to deliver virtually coming up.

Video reps

You find being on camera stressful because you don't do it very often. It is another thing you have to think about without being on autopilot. Maybe you don't know how it works, or fear what might be seen in the background of your video.

Get reps in before you have to deliver your important presentation. Every meeting you have sit on video. Turn it into something you don't think about anymore. That removes any stress you have with turning your video on when presenting.

Look into the camera

If you have your video on you have a tendency to watch yourself on the screen, rather than everyone else you are speaking to. Checking to see what you look like is a natural response to being on camera. What if there was a better place to look? And I don't mean at everyone else on the screen.

Looking at the others in the room is great for reading the room and seeing how messages really land, beneath what is being said, but this does not solve the tendency to look at yourself. Instead you should look into the camera.

Looking into the camera creates the illusion of eye contact. When people watch you on the screen, it will appear as if you are looking directly at them. This is a powerful engagement tool to build connection with your audience. Just before you are about to land your key message, pause, look into the camera and deliver.

Your environment

When delivering in person you have more to think about when it comes to the environment. Whether the audience can see or hear from the back, or wondering where you are going to park the car are common concerns. You don't have those issues when delivering virtually.

Even better, in a virtual environment you can have as many prompts, notes or resources around you that will help your delivery without anybody knowing. The trick is to keep this to a bare minimum otherwise you will be seen looking all over the place and the audience may take that as a sign of disengaging. If you need your notes in front of you (and bare in mind you should not use any slides as notes), stick to your 4 bullet points per main point:

• How you will open

• Your main point

• Story to land the point

• How you will transition/close

Having your notes around you will make you feel more comfortable, and the chances are you won't even need to look at them. Consider it your safety net.

Actionable takeaways

• Get reps on video even if you are not speaking. Turn having your camera on into something you do on autopilot. It will remove a worry you have about delivering a presentation virtually.

• Look into the camera to create the illusion of eye contact. This will improve your audience connection.

• Relax by not memorizing your presentation. Get comfortable by having notes around you.

That's all for today!

As always feel free to reply to this email or reach out @liamsandford as I would love to hear your feedback.

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Liam Sandford

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