Our world continues to change and surprise us. We have learned to adapt to new challenges as they arise to continue our work seamlessly. Lately, many presentations that may have been given in person are now being given online. This presents a new host of digital distractions that may keep your audience from hearing what you have to say. Anthony Sanni outlines the “dirty dozen” that many presenters have that either distract their audience or dilute the power of their message. We are going to hone-in on three of these that especially apply to GoTomeetings, Zoom meetings, Google Hangouts, or whichever platform you may find yourself on in this new remote meeting landscape.
Excessive Use of Slang
There is an innate pressure that is lifted when you are in your own space. You have more control when you eliminate having to find parking, connection issues with foreign technology and navigating obstacles that often arise when traveling for meetings. This familiarity can cause a disconnect between the etiquette you are accustomed to and online etiquette. It’s important to still be as articulate online as you would be in person. This means intentionally using more sophisticated language and not making any assumptions for your audience’s familiarity with popular slang.
Fidgeting and Fiddling
Sitting while presenting an online meeting is much different than standing in front of a live audience. This will often cause new tendencies to form. What you do with your hands reads very differently on-screen than it does in a physical space. Less is more to limit distractions when gesturing online. While it is important to show that you are passionate and engaged, take some time before the meeting to familiarize yourself with what your viewing audience can see on their screen and how it could be perceived.
Use of Text-Heavy Visual Aids
While the screen is generally much easier to see when on a virtual meeting than during a live presentation, that is no reason to put more words on the screen. If you want your listeners to hear what you are saying, keep your slides highly visual. The point of your slides is to aid in your speech and help cement key ideas and points. The more text on the screen, the more likely your audience is to tune you out and just read the screen. Avoid this with the use of arrows, icons, pictures and videos.
At Ethos3 we know presentations! We’d love to help you take yours to the next level.
