You’re about to present virtually to a large audience. What are the essential elements for success?

You’re preparing for a virtual presentation to a large audience. Here’s 5 tips I’ve learned the hard way. 1. Look into who’s listening—interests, needs, knowledge. 2. Craft your content to echo their world, not just yours. 3. Keep it real—authenticity beats polish every time. 4. Engage, don’t just speak—use polls, Q&As to make it interactive throughout. 5. Energy is everything—even through screens, your passion translates.

Before presenting virtually to your audience, one of the most important is to determine who your audience is. This helps you know how to tailor your words, style and tone to suit the audience. For you to be an efficient speaker, it’s imperative to know who your audience is.

I find the details about the age, gender, occupation, education level, and other relevant demographic information of your audience to tailor your message appropriately. Interests and preferences: Explore my audience's goals, challenges, and motivations to frame my message in a way that addresses their needs and interests. Be aware of cultural norms, values, or social dynamics that may influence how your audience perceives and responds to your message.

In public speaking, understanding your audience is paramount. Just as a doctor comprehends a patient's root cause of pain before treatment, we must delve into our audience's depth. Learn about their backgrounds, interests, and fields. Tailor your speech structure to align with their diverse backgrounds. This thoughtful approach ensures a meaningful connection, resonating with their experiences and fostering engagement.

Start backwards: Following asking the "Who" (who is your audience), ask your "What": That is, if you could share one message, in one sentence: What would it be? What is it that you would like them to take away from your pitch? What do you want them to remember one month from now? Once you have your What, take a piece of paper and pen and draw 5 boxes (one for each slide that you have a chance in presenting); and state what is the one message that you would like to share within each slide. A good storytelling would follow the flow of: 1) Problem Statement 2) The Solution (What / The Big Idea) 3) The Benefit (Why / What's in it for them) 4) The Plan How) 5) The Next Steps

I ensure that my technical setup is reliable and professional. Test my audio, video, and internet connection beforehand to avoid technical issues during the presentation

Crafting a compelling speech is akin to building a house, demanding a meticulous structure. Begin with a solid foundation—your introduction. Capture attention uniquely to engage the audience from the start. Following this, erect the framework, introducing key points seamlessly. Each section serves as a pillar, supporting your main ideas. Add walls by elaborating on each point cohesively, ensuring a smooth flow. Windows and doors come next—transitions between topics—allowing the audience to navigate your discourse effortlessly. Finally, cap with a sturdy roof—your conclusion—summarizing key points and leaving a lasting impression. This architectural approach ensures your speech stands tall, resonating effectively with your audience.

Plan your Structure into Shorter Segments Whilst delivering a virtual presentation, it is easier for the audience to become distracted due to external elements, outside of the speakers control. By breaking presentations into shorter segments it prevents audience fatigue, aids information retention, and allows for better focus. Shorter segments also provide opportunities for audience interaction and feedback, keeping participants actively involved throughout the presentation.

I use visually appealing slides, graphics, and videos to enhance my presentation and keep the audience's attention. Avoid cluttered slides and use visuals to support your key points.

Post-pandemic, most professionals have a higher degree of comfort with one, if not more, virtual communication platforms, be it Zoom, MS Teams, WebEx, Google Meet, etc. Pick your poison; use the one *you* are most comfortable with. Functionality across platforms is quite similar now, unless you're doing something like creating multiple breakout rooms. Where many presentations fall down though, is in audio/visual. Try to ensure your audio has noise canceling functionality, whether that's via a headset or a duplex speakerphone. And the One Big ProTip that often gets neglected: make sure you've got good lighting. A ring light is fine, but if you're doing anything professional, throw a few bucks at a decent LED setup.

Nothing beats video - as in, video taping yourself presenting. Where are your eyes looking? Who are you "facing" when talking? Does it seem like you're reading a script? Is your chair comfortable, or would you be better off standing? Knowing your content and flow is important, but knowing how it looks/sounds/feels to your audience is equally, if not more, important. Record yourself!

With virtual presentations you need to work even more with your voice and facial expressions to help you communicate your message, as you don’t have much physical movement to use to help create energy and momentum. Keep a relaxed and gentle smile throughout if you can/if appropriate as this will help to make your tone more resonant and sound more attractive and engaging. Vary your tone and pace dependent on what you are saying - maybe a lighter, quicker tone for an anecdote and a lower, more resonant and more measured tone for the key messages. Look into the laptop or device camera if you can to give an illusion of eye contact. (And be kind to yourself, because it’s not easy!)

ehearse My presentation multiple times to ensure smooth delivery and familiarity with the content. Practice speaking clearly and confidently to maintain the audience's attention.

Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse! Test your delivery in different stages. 1. Just for yourself 2. For yourself in front of a mirror (It´s crazy what looking in your own eyes for a long time can do for your confidence) 3. In front of 1 other person you know 4. In front of a small group you know 5. In front of people you don´t know, if you can. You could stagger this in different ways but this helped me and gets you confident with the content on how to present and condense it down. 3.

I believe that engaging the audience is key. of course you need to know your audience and choose The right tools, but to engage them you can use several techniques including questions, polls, humor, short excercises, provocative quotes or statements, use of surprise. You can tell personal stories tha resonate with the audience, make fun of yourself, throw statements that you know will resonate with the audience's experiences, etc.

Given the choice between crafting my pitch and engaging with my audience, I'd prioritize the latter every time. Here are two strategies I swear by: Treat them as the 'Honored Guest' in your space: Cater to their preferences, trust in your value, and make them feel valued in return. Ensure they feel listened to and that your proposal genuinely benefits them. Stay true to yourself: Authenticity resonates. If you fail to connect with one person, five others will appreciate your genuineness. Contrary to common belief, audiences are attracted to realness and the story behind why you do what you do.

I encourage audience interaction by asking questions, soliciting feedback, or inviting participation through polls or discussions

Be more interested in your audience than they might be in you. - Take breaks to ask questions. - Reflect back what you heard from them - Make it interactive and throw the questions back to the audience - Synergise different comments you heard and quote them Making it feel like an experience rather than just a presentation makes it way more impactful and memorable.

Things I would always do: Incorporate interactive elements such as polls, Q&A sessions, or live chats to engage the audience and encourage participation.

Q&A sessions are a great way to authentically build trust in your personal brand. Here are 5 things I’ve learnt as an interviewer and a panellist: 1. Think about WHO is in the audience, what they want to know and prepare answers. Don't deliberately leave out details to get an easy question. Respect your audience, after all they came to hear you speak! 2. Embrace the opportunity to connect. There might be curveballs, but think about WHY they asked the question and answer the question as well as their WHY. 3. Connect, smile, make eye contact, be present, informative, and engaging. 4. Avoid technical terms, keep it clear and concise. 5. End on a high, summarise your key points. Offer to answer any remaining questions online or during breaks.

Be yourself! When you don´t know something, be authentic enough to admit it, tell them you will research it and come back to them. Don´t show an inflated ego just because you are in a position of authority. They notice it and you lose credibility and relatabilty.