Strategies For Successfully Going Virtual (Part 1 of 3)

As little as three percent of your presentation tools are available to you in a virtual delivery.  How is it that virtual presentations are up against such a disadvantage?  Because nonverbal communication accounts for up to 97% of your message, and your audience likely won’t be looking at you.  Webcam, you say?  Read on…  In this three-part series, I’ll share simple, yet powerful strategies you can use the next time you collaborate virtually, regardless of how robust your platform is – or isn’t.
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Level One: you have a phone, and not much else.

 For “old-school” virtual presentations – using unidirectional conference call technology – your options are limited, but don’t let that be an excuse for being ineffective.  When your engagement strategies are strictly limited to your voice and words, here are two key actions to keep in mind, the simple one first:

• Get off of your speaker phone. Even drive-thru clerks have headsets!  The tinny sound quality created on a speaker phone is unpleasant to hear, makes listeners work harder, and can create all the excuse needed to tune you out.  Enough said.
• Create “premeditated spontaneity.” Oxymoron, you think? No. Your planned remarks should be outlined in such detail and known so well to you that your delivery of them sounds conversational while actually being highly prescribed.  Preparation is key. One way to create an unscripted feeling, even when you have speaker notes, is to paraphrase segments as you refer to them.  Another is to write down only the key components of stories you intend to interject so you retell them extemporaneously. There is about zero latitude for losing your listeners’ interest and focus in virtual presentations. Once distracted, once disinterested in what is happening in the virtual space, regaining listeners’ attention is exponentially more challenging. This hurdle can be avoided by creating a compelling unidirectional delivery style.

 
Next up in the series…Level Two: a virtual collaboration tool is available, but only with unidirectional audio (perhaps because group size prohibits two-way discussion). Check back for it – or subscribe (at right) to receive an alert.

Kimberly made the move to virtual deliveries a few years back. Her strategies in this series can help you master the move as well. ATD published Kimberly’s tips in a TD at Work issue entitled “Great Presentations” in 2017.