Be A Better Online Speaker
To make a slide "SHOW", really.
In an offline presentation, your slide is the visual aid for you.
In an online presentation, you are the audio aid for your slide.
In a REALLY GOOD offline presentation, people are looking at the speaker 95% of the time. The other 5%, they’re looking at what’s on the slide.
In a REALLY GOOD online presentation, people are looking at your slides 95% of the time. The other 5%, they’re looking at themselves on the screen.
A lot of things I have learned about public speaking are no longer relevant in the context of online presentations.
You, your facial expression, and your body language are the least of the audience’s concerns. (They can barely see you.)
Memorizing your speech is not even that important anymore, because you can open many tabs at the same time.
Instead of focusing on body language and memorization, an effective online presenter should focus 95% of their energy on 1 thing:
The slides
This is getting 95% of the spotlight on everyone’s screen. THIS IS THE VISUAL!
Good slides will draw and retain people’s attention. This means distracting them from the distractions :)
Elements of a good slide aren’t much different between online and in-person. Here are a few of them:
An element of surprise. You must say something that is NOT on the slides. If not, why bother giving a presentation? Just send everyone your slides.
Images should be used whenever appropriate. It is easier to remember a good visual metaphor than a good quote.
The number of slides is NEVER important. I’ve seen presentations with 100+ slides that are remarkable. Every teacher who tries to put a cap on how many slides students can make understands NOTHING about effective presentations. It is the journey that you take the audience on with those slides that matter.
See more in a TED talk I’ll share in the comments!
All in all, Your slide is the spotlight.
Think Bigger
When we watch an offline presentation, we are in the “Learning” frame of mind. We have been trained by our education system to pay attention to the person on the podium.
That’s why it’s much easier to grab and hold attention when you’re speaking in person.
I’m not saying that’s how education should be, but that’s how it’s usually done.
But when we watch an online presentation, we are in the “Exploration” frame of mind. Because that’s what we’re used to doing with our computers.
We go on the Internet, and look for the next exciting story/ movie/ YouTube video/ blog… The next dopamine hit.
This means that you either have to move quicker with your slides, or pack more VALUABLE information in one.
Because when people are bored by the slides in an offline presentation, they’ll look to the speaker for engaging facial expressions and body language.
BUT when they are bored in an online presentation, they’ll just open a different tab and zone out.
Your job, as an online speaker, is to make the slide reading experience more exciting. Get used to this.
Is that inherently good for humans? I don’t know.
But I’m not here to criticize how we behave as human beings in different environments. I’m here to help you communicate more effectively in each of these settings.
As a public speaker, you must understand the audience you’re serving,
especially what frame of mind they are in.
You can choose to continue to make tedious slides and rely on your body language or intonation to keep the audience engaged - things that worked out for you with in-person speaking gigs.
You can then complain along the lines of “People have such short attention spans nowadays. It’s concerning for the future.”
Or you can choose to improve your slides, focus on the story you tell with each transition, and create a captivating “slide show” IN ORDER TO serve your audience better.
Understand the rules of the game, and play it well.
Complaining doesn’t get you anywhere.
Go make that slide SHOW.
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Would you like to watch a slide show by me? Click this link for a free workshop I ran on blogging :)