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Presenting from a Distance: Webcasting Tips
July 14, 2008
How to make great presentations from afar
By Dave Paradi
With business travel in decline, presentations traditionally held in a conference room have been forced to move to the virtual sector. Now, more presentations are being delivered remotely, either through Webcasting technology or by teleconferencing. If you expect to deliver presentations in one of these ways, here are some ideas to keep in mind:
1. The Internet will limit what you can do.
Whether you send your slides before the presentation or deliver them live through software in a browser window, you will be limited in what you can do. When slide files are sent ahead of time, embedded graphics and multimedia can clog e-mail systems, preventing the file from being received. As a result, participants in your meeting will be annoyed with you before you even start.
Additionally, bandwidth limitations can cause animations, transitions and multimedia clips to stop and start at random while presenting live, causing a disjointed message for the viewer. You should design small slide files that use only the simplest of movement effects to make the slides appear their best when displayed.
2. Your audience is multitasking.
No matter how good you are as a presenter, your audience knows you can't see them and they will be doing other things while you are speaking—such as checking e-mail, eating lunch or reviewing documents. So you need to keep them engaged with more audience interaction through discussion questions, polls or brainstorming exercises to keep them involved with what you are presenting.
3. Graphics need more explanation.
When you use a graphic—such as a photo, chart or diagram—you will need greater explanation on the slide than you would in a face-to-face presentation. When the attendees are not in the same room, they can't see you point to something on the screen. Add explanatory arrows and callout text that builds on the slide to make it clear what you are referring to when you are speaking.
A remotely delivered presentation can still be effective, as long as you understand the differences in the presentation environment and adapt to meet the needs of the participants wherever they may be.
Dave Paradi's Think Outside the Slide approach helps presenters get results by showing them how to quickly create effective PowerPoint presentations. He is the co-author of "Guide to PowerPoint," part of the Prentice Hall Series in Advanced Business Communication. He offers a free PowerPoint e-course, newsletter and articles on his Web site at www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
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