PAPER making! FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL Volume 6, Number 1, 2020
Remove distractions By removing visual, auditory, and technology-related distractions, you can stay focused on your talk and avoid annoying or distracting your audience: x Remove visual distractions . If you’ll be delivering y our talk from an office with windows, cover them so you don’t notice people walking by. Put a sign on your door that says, “Recording in progress” or “Do not enter.” If you’re having trouble completing a thought and you’re running a chat session, cover the chat box with a piece of paper so you don’t feel compelled to look at listeners’ comments. x Remove auditory distractions . Turn off anything around you that will beep, buzz, or chirp, such as your mobile phone, reminders, or incoming e-mails. Avoid wearing chunky jewelry or accessories that could jangle or clank against your desk or other objects while you’re talking. If you tend to click your pen when you’re nervous, keep pens out of reach. Lay your notes out flat so you don’t have to rustle through your papers. x Have a techie nearby . Make sure you’ve got a tech -savvy aide — a colleague or IT person — standing by to resolve any technical difficulties that arise during your talk. x Have a moderator . If you’ve got a chat session going on during your talk or if you’re taking questions or asking listeners to complete polls, a moderator can process the incoming responses and prioritize them for you. x Distribute backups of your slides . Have copies of your slides on your desk, and also send your slide deck to audience members in advance of your presentation. That way, if your technology fails, you and your audience won’t get distracted by the fact that you have nothing to look at. Lure and re-lure In a remote presentation, your “hook”— your compelling opening factoid, story, or statistic —won’t be enough to hold your audience’s attention throughout your talk. You need to keep re -luring your audience — drawing them back to you and the ideas you’re conveying. To re-lure them, regularly create a sense of contrast and provide enticing content bites: x Mix voice and media . Punctuate your talk with short videos, graphics, demonstrations, and other visual media. x Tell stories . Relate personal stories that help illuminate the ideas you’re conveying in your talk. Stories draw people in, create a sense of suspense, and make listeners want to know more. x Create tension . Periodically acknowledge your audience’s “what is”—the problem they’re struggling with —and then describe “what could be” if they adopt the ideas you’re proposing. The tension c reated by the gap between what is and what could be will pique your listeners’ interest. Delight and surprise Delighting your audience can help you further forge a human connection with them and keep them interested during a virtual presentation. Try these approaches: x Convey your passion . Draw on the excitement and passion you feel for the ideas you’re communicating in your talk. Let that energy come through in your voice. Smile. The tone of your voice changes when you smile — listeners will be able to tell that you’re smiling, even if they can’t see your face. x Sneak in a game or contest . Use games and contests to keep your audience guessing about what else you have to offer. You could write a message on a slide or whiteboard that says, “The first one wh o tweets about this gets a free mug.” You’ll get your audience looking for additional opportunities to win fun prizes. Adapted from “Presentation Skills” in Harvard ManageMentor.
Article 15 – Remote Presentations
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