Presenting Slides in a Virtual Presentation
Gilda Bonanno
If you are presenting over the phone or via webinar, you can’t just use the same slides that you used for an in-person presentation. Here are 4 guidelines for presenting slides as part of your virtual presentation:
1. Don’t read them to the audience
It’s even more important when delivering slides virtually that you don’t just read them to the audience. They can read the text to themselves faster than you can say it out loud, which means that you will quickly lose their attention.
2. Use uncluttered slides
As with in-person presentations, don’t clutter your slides with a lot of text. For maximum impact, use graphics and pictures that are easy to read and remember.
3. Use more slides than when delivering in-person
It is more difficult to keep your audience engaged when they can’t see you. Using more slides with less information on them and spending less time on each slide will allow you to frequently change the slide and keep their attention.
4. Don’t use your slides as handouts
If you use your exact slides as handouts, the audience will browse through the entire deck and skip ahead to the end. Instead, think about what other materials could best accompany your presentation to add to its impact and the audience’s ability to understand and remember your message. For example, include an executive summary, a worksheet or an article with additional information.
Gilda Bonanno is a speaker, trainer and coach who helps people from all walks of life improve their communication and presentation skills.
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