How to Create Engaging Presentations Online

The biggest difference between an online presentation versus a face-to-face presentation is the level of engagement you have to maintain with the audience. When presenting online, you have to engage the audience way more. Whether it be questions or pulling commenters, more frequent engagement online will lead to a more effective presentation.

Consider things like polls to engage viewers directly, and don’t be afraid to include lots of animations. Online viewing can get very static very fast; throwing in images with the text is an easy way to avoid this. As people are viewing the presentation it’s important that there are constant changes happening on the screen to keep them engaged and interested. People tend to view content, process it and then click away to one of their many other devices (email, texting etc.). And because you don’t get second chances at a first impression in the online world, the presentation has to do more then just grab their attention, it has to keep it.

When designing a powerpoint for online you want to insure you aren’t displaying the text all at once. You want bullet points with relevant information to appear as you move through the presentation. Your online presentation should be customer-focused, and you should provide the audience with relevant information (that’s the reason they’re watching it to begin with). Think about what the customer may be thinking while you are presenting and create an effective story tailored around this.

A good rule of thumb is that every six to seven seconds something should be changing on the screen. A good way to insure this is having interesting and effective transitions throughout. Another good tip is to allow questions the entire time. Many people keep time at the end for the audience to ask questions, but allowing them to free flow through things like chat will lead to a more involved, interactive audience. The final tip we have to keep viewers engaged is vocal variety, meaning you have multiple presenters speaking to different parts throughout the webinar. Have a product you’re selling? Have the sales rep speak to it. New marketing trends emerging? Have your communications specialist jump in. The more the better!