As presenters, we need to be sure that our audience is always engaged. We want to see that people are interested in what we have to say and that they understand our messages. Although it can be a little tougher to do this when we’re presenting online, it can be done. In fact, if you want your presentations to be effective, it must be done.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of talking to your audience, rather than with them. This can be especially problematic when we’re presenting online, since you might have to do a little advance preparation to make it happen. But it’s totally worth it! Here are two great ways to encourage conversation and keep in touch with your audience.
Answer questions during your presentation
Make sure you stop every once in a while to ask the audience if they have any questions about what you’ve said. For my remote presentations, I add “Questions?” slides. When I get to one of these, I stop presenting and take questions from the audience. If you’re presenting at a webinar and the audience is too large for live questions, you or the moderator can read from the Chat or Q&A windows. In smaller webinars or meetings, you can open up the microphones so people can also ask you their questions in person.
Ask your audience to respond to questions
Q&A can be a two-way street! Asking the audience to respond to questions requires them to actively participate in the meeting. They’re no longer just passive listeners if they’re answering your questions.
You can use the polling feature of your online meeting software to get very specific responses. Prepare the polls ahead of time so they’re ready when you need them.
You can also get good information by asking “yes” and “no” questions that the audience responds to by electronically raising their hands. Comparing the number of responses to the number of attendees gives you an idea of how many people agree or disagree with something. If you have a smaller meeting where you can easily see everyone onscreen at once, you can ask people to raise their hands in real life.
Your turn
How are you interacting with your virtual audience? What’s worked and what hasn’t? Please answer in the comment section below.