Have you ever had a web presentation fall flat? Or worse been afraid to try one at all? You're not alone. Most web presentations are riddled with technical problems, poorly planned, and boring. I mean it. Amazingly boring. Imagine every endless meeting you've ever sat through. Got it? Now imagine the same droning voice coming through your computer while the entire Internet tempts you to click away and you'll have a pretty good idea what its like to sit through most web presentations.
It doesn't have to be that way. The promise of presenting remotely is real. You can reach thousands of people who could never see you speak in person. Web presentations can help you communicate ideas, generate leads and make sales. They can also fail if you fall victim to some of the most common problems.
The purpose of presenting is making connections. A good presentation shows the audience something they'll remember and makes them act. Here we'll take a look at the three most common mistakes of web presentations and how you can avoid them.
Each of the problems discussed here disconnect you from the audience. Avoid these common pitfalls and you'll create customer-focused presentations with lasting results.
Mistake #1: Overestimating the technology
The web is getting better every day, but it's still not the same as being there in person. The single largest issue with web presentations is lag. Lag is the time it takes for something you do, like clicking to the next slide or running an animation, to get from your screen to their screen. The lag could be nonexistent or longer than 30 seconds. – they will know, right, because in your tip you tell them how to solve this problem.
It probably took you longer than 30 seconds to read the previous paragraph, but in a presentation a 30 second delay is enough to make sure the slide you're talking about isn't the one in front of the audience. It is the difference between a smooth professional presentation and an annoying jerky one.
Tip #1: Use two computers.
Become a member of your own audience. Put a second computer on your desk and tune it to your presentation. Watch the second computer while you're presenting and you'll get a good idea what your audience is experiencing.
A second computer also works well for rehearsals. Spend part of your practice time watching your presentation over the web. You'll learn to pace yourself to match the medium, familiarize yourself with your presentation software, and find potential problems. Some of the most impressive animations are rendered jumpy and useless by a quick trip over the Internet.
Mistake #2: Trying to make your audience stop multi-tasking
You can't present anything fundamentally more interesting than the entire Internet. The Internet actively pulls people away. While you're speaking the audience will get distracted by emails, instant messages, Twitter tweets, Facebook messages, and a thousand other disruptions vying for their attention. They will multi-task and you can't stop them.
Never assume you have their attention for the entire length of your presentation. They aren't a captive audience. Most people start to lose focus after about 10 minutes. Drone on like you have total control and you'll lose them forever.
Tip #2: Burst your content.
Nancy Duarte, the author of slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations, always tells her clients to create small intentional distractions about every 10 minutes. These little bursts will pull people back into your presentation and make them pay attention. Here are a few different ways you can burst your content:
Visual
- Dramatically change colors
- Make something really big
- Use simple animations
Pacing
- Tell a story
- Have someone else speak
- Ask rhetorical questions
Audio
- Get excited and start speaking faster
- Make a loud noise
- Just don't overdo it
Letting your audience drift away briefly is fine, as long as you pull them back. Make your content exciting and give them a reason to stop surfing the web and listen to you. Remember that you have to win the audience back again and again.
Mistake #3: Sitting down
Can you image Steve Jobs seated for the Apple keynote? Don't sit down during a web presentation either. It may seem like a small change, but standing up can make all the difference. Standing elongates your esophagus and expands your diaphragm, improving your diction and your resonance. Getting your butt out of your chair makes you a better speaker.
Tip #3: Stand up.
Standing up also makes you excited. Bring all the excitement of an important conference keynote to your web presentation. Pace, breathe, get a little nervous. A couple of butterflies in your stomach may help you stay focused. You're setting the tone for your audience. Sit at your desk and drone on and they'll get bored. Stand up and you'll breath a little more excitement into every word.
Bonus Tip: Buy a cordless headset and a presenter mouse
Whether your audio comes from a conventional telephone, Skype, or your presentation software, do it with a cordless headset. Holding a telephone receiver or a computer microphone will cramp your style and distract you. A cordless headset keeps you connected with your audience while you walk around.
Presenter mice are important for the same reason. A presenter mouse works like a remote control for your computer. They also have next and previous slide buttons built in.
Conclusion
Your job with every presentation is connecting with your audience. Talking to each person like you are speaking only to them will build a relationship you can sell from. Each of the three mistakes outlined in this article, overestimating the technology, trying to make your audience stop multi-tasking, and sitting down, is a problem because it creates additional distance between you and your audience.
You fix these mistakes by bringing people closer, communicating with them at a speed that makes sense, reminding them of your excellent content, and showing them how excited you are. Focus on bringing your audience closer and all of your web presentations will succeed.
Zack Grossbart is a remote team coach, author, and engineer. Find out more about Zack and his book The One Minute Commute at www.zackgrossbart.com
