Virtual Presentations, eMeetings, and Webinars: Teaching Technology-Driven Presentation Skills

1. Virtual Presentations, eMeetings, and Webinars: Teaching Technology-Driven Presentation Skills K. Virginia Hemby, Ph.D. Business Communication & Entrepreneurship Department

2. Virtual Presentations Defined Virtual presentations can be defined as presentations that you conduct remotely. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

3. Synchronous versus Asynchronous • When you are planning your virtual presentation, you can choose to conduct it in one of two ways: • Synchronously • Asynchronously • When your virtual presentation is synchronous, your audience will be able to listen and respond in real time. In synchronous virtual presentations, all participants are attending at the same time as though they were in the same room together. • In an asynchronous virtual presentation, you may post a discussion topic in the morning and participants may send their responses throughout the day. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

4. Four Types of Virtual Presentations • Webinars • Sales demos • Training • Meetings 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

5. What is a Webinar? • A webinar is an online seminar that allows people from around the world to connect in a virtual classroom and share information via the Internet. • A webinar is a form of elearning because it uses a computer or mobile device as the classroom. • Webinars are usually synchronous—meaning the instructor is on at the same time as the learner. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

6. Virtual Meetings 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • A meeting that bores people, does not generate good discussion or quality outcomes, and leaves a bad impression of the meeting leader is worse than a waste of time. It can kill team morale and threaten your project. • Saving money on air travel is no bargain if your project fails due to lack of input or the unwillingness of people to speak up and share their insights. • Strong facilitation skills are key for every manager, project leader, and administrator.

7. Benefits of Virtual Presentations 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • Making maximum use of managers’ and executives’ time. • Accelerating decision making. • Enhancing productivity and driving down operating costs. • Reducing time to market. • Enabling richer and faster communication at Web-based speed. • Tapping expertise wherever it resides. • Leveling the playing field for small and medium-sized businesses. • Troubleshooting IT problems cost-effectively. • Accommodating the needs of disabled employees.

8. Capabilities of Virtual Presentations • Presenting to hundreds of attendees at the same time. • Using one integrated tool. • Storing presentations for future retrieval. • Presenting in ways that you simply could not use before. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

9. When Virtual Presentations Are a Must 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • Need to present to more than 25 people at the same time. • Need to reach people far away (cheaply). • Have serious stage fright. • Need the more advanced capabilities of virtual presentations.

10. When Face-to-Face Presentations are a Must 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • Have bad news to deliver. Finding out bad news via a computer screen is like a slap in the face. Conduct these kinds of meetings face to face. • Need to establish trust. Establishing trust requires engaging many of the participants’ senses. Visual cues and social presence are critical to building trust—and these 2 elements are missing from virtual presentations. • Need to change attitudes. Changing people’s attitudes is difficult to pull off in person—nearly impossible in a virtual environment. Visual cues (nonverbal communication) and social presence are critical.

11. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association Teaching Students the “New” Presentation Skills • Identify your purpose • Know your audience • Know the requirements (time, location) • Conduct research • Prepare presentation or speech (use appropriate signposts/transitions) • Prepare visuals [PowerPoint or other visual aid(s)] • Practice • Review/Revise • Practice • Deliver (get feedback from audience through nonverbal cues and/or question-and-answer session; make necessary adjustments during presentation) • Have attendees evaluate your presentation at conclusion • Traditional Presentations 11

12. Teaching Students the “New” Presentation Skills Virtual Presentations • Identify your purpose • Know your audience (participants) • Know your role (e.g., presenter, facilitator, moderator, or panelist) • Know the technology you will be using (e.g., platform and tools) • Know the expected outcome (what do you want participants to do at the end of your virtual presentation) • Plan your presentation (e.g., what are you going to say, what visuals will you use—white board, slideshow, web links/tour, application sharing, etc.) • Prepare well (be confident in your knowledge and expertise) • Practice/Rehearse (do a dry run of your presentation, attend another presentation or meeting that uses the same technology, present to a small test group first) 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

13. Teaching Students the “New” Presentation Skills • Use technology appropriately (e.g., share webcam, selectively “mute” and “unmute” participants,” share your screen, record the session, conduct live polls, etc.) • Take baby steps (for synchronous (real-time) presentations, decide how you want to handle question/answer session—for a first time virtual presentation, perhaps answer only questions that are sent in advance; for the next webinar or virtual presentation, take written questions submitted during the session; for the next, open microphones so that participants can ask questions live) • Follow-up with your participants at the conclusion of the virtual presentation (e.g., send a thank you email or a “we missed you at the presentation” message to those registered participants who were unable to attend) • Collect feedback via presentation evaluation instrument 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

14. Why is Creating an Engaging Virtual Presentation so Difficult? • Both presenters and audiences approach online presenting with trepidation • Part of the fun of presenting live is connecting with people, and in a virtual presentation you are in a room by yourself • The normal rules of social etiquette you learned for live presentations do not really seem to apply. The audience for your virtual presentation can be easily distracted because participants can check email, surf the web, etc. You cannot see your audience so participants do not feel guilty about multitasking. • The audience provides little to no feedback • Technology can be a distraction until you get to know it 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

15. The Presenters are Boring 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • Feedback in virtual presentations is not the same as the nonverbal messages (e.g., laughter and energy) you encounter in lively face-to-face meetings. • You can use various tools (and many tools) to get input from your participants (ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE). • Check your participants’ “buy-in” and assess their learning. A good presenter CONTINUALLY checks the audience’s pulse and makes adjustments to his/her presentation. • If you follow these steps, a virtual presentation will NEVER be boring. If it is, the presenter and the information being presented are more likely the culprits than the medium used for the presentation.

16. The Meetings are Too Long and Waste Time • The point of presenting online is NOT simply to present information. You can present information via email—and save yourself and your audience members a great deal of time and trouble. • Effective presenters add value by • Effectively communicating • Listening to members of the audience • Engaging members of the audience • Facilitating like a pro 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

17. Barriers to Achieving Your Goals • A presenter will only achieve his/her outcomes if the audience is able and willing to receive the message and then take the action you urge. • Plenty of barriers exist to prevent that understanding—especially in the online arena. • Identifying challenges before you start your presentation can help you mitigate or overcome them. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

18. Web Presentation Platform Features Main features of a web presentation platform include Audio PowerPoint and document sharing Application and desktop sharing Whiteboards Chat Polling Annotation tools Recording Webcams and video 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

19. Before trying to learn the platform yourself, participate in as many webinars and online presentations as possible (lots of free ones are available). See what good presenters do (things you will want to emulate) and how poor presenters fumble (things you do NOT want to emulate). Notice all of the different tools and functions other presenters use and imagine how they can help you in your virtual presentations. P O I N T E R 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

20. Your Audience • These people need to be contacted and told about the event. • They might have to do reading or preparatory work (in the case of training), or you might need to gather information from them before the presentation (often the case for a sales demo). • Follow-up tasks might also be made available. • You need to plan for such preparation and follow up before you start presenting. • If you identify who cares about each part of your presentation and then plan to make it work for that audience, you will have a relatively stress-free time and achieve what you set out to do—a good day at work for anyone. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

21. Determine the Components of Your Project Plan 2014 Oregon Business Education Association Objectives and Outcomes (think about yours and those of your stakeholders) Audience analysis Marketing and invitations Tools and technology The presentation itself (whether you build it from scratch or use an existing presentation) Follow-up with your audience to ensure you meet your objectives

22. Create visuals (not just PowerPoint slides, but documents you might show, screen captures of software, titles for whiteboards, and anything the audience will see through the presentation). • Create a script or outline (if you are used to “winging it,” you will want to use at least an outline the first few times you present online until you get the hang of it). Creating Content Whether you are using a presentation you have done before, converting a live presentation to web delivery, or starting from scratch, the thought process remains the same. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

23. Create polls and other specialty visuals. If your platform allows you to create polling slides, questions, and other visuals in advance, do so. Checking your visuals will prevent typos and other mistakes that can trip you up. Creating Content (Continued) 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

24. What are Visuals in Virtual Presentations? • Visuals—a term used to describe anything the audience sees while your presentation is taking place. Visuals can also include things you DO NOT WANT people to see. • People see FIVE PRIMARY things during a webinar: • Webcams • Pictures and screen shots • PowerPoint slides • Annotation tools • Shared applications and documents • Each item has both unique qualities that can add value to your presentation and challenges that need to be overcome 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

25. Guidelines for Using Webcams Effectively Make sure participants can see you Do not move around too much Be aware of what you wear Dress appropriately Watch out behind you Look your audience in the eye Be prepared for calamity Use this tool sparingly 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

26. Find and Use Pictures to Tell Your Story 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • Human beings like pictures. • People also need them to solidify ideas. • People can understand the concept of a flower, but to really understand a flower and to be able to distinguish a rose from a tulip, people need to have that visual information in their mental repository. • The good news about web presentations is the ease with which you can show people what you are talking about using more than just words. • If you want to convince people how easy a software upgrade is to use, you can show them the system step by step.

27. Use PowerPoint Effectively 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • You can use other presentation programs besides Microsoft’s PowerPoint: • Apple’s Keynote • OpenOffice Impress • Prezi • About 90% of businesses use PowerPoint; however, you can use other tools to build presentations that will engage your audience and move you closer to your objective. • Presentation programs allow you to create and use three critical tools: • Text slides • Charts and graphs • Pictures and screen shots

28. Guidelines for Text Slides 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • Use more slides than you would in a live presentation • Tell a story with each visual • Use bullet points instead of blocks of text • Title each slide and then complete the sentence • Check your animations carefully • Do not use crowded backgrounds and templates • Do not get too creative with fonts, styles, and colors • Avoid altering font size • Avoid bulleted lists for special features

29. Use More Slides • Your audience is looking for visual stimuli and the changing of slides actually reengages your online audience—and the additional information helps reinforce your message. • In a live presentation, you might have 3 bullets on a single slide that remains posted for more than 5 minutes. • In an online presentation, you want something to happen onscreen much more often—you might show a slide with 3 bullet points followed by one slide per topic with more information. You will still need 5 minutes to cover the information but your audience will NOT be staring at the same slide the whole time. • Do NOT overwhelm your audience, though. Visually support your key points but don’t give extraneous information. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

30. Use Bullet Points Instead of Text Blocks • If your audience sees a lot of text on your slides, they will automatically stop listening and focus on the words on the slide. • Give them enough information to let them know what is coming but not so much that the audience members stop concentrating. • Keep them with you and where you are going. • Many presenters use the simple 4 x 4 rule—4 bullets per slide, four words per bullet. • If you need more than the four bullets/four words per bullet, you may be trying to cover too much information on one slide. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

31. DELIVERY DATE • Secure your environment. (Ensure your physical comfort, defend against distractions, and warn anyone who might think about interrupting.) • Log on at least a half hour early and test (even if you think everything is under control). Rehearsal Conduct a tech test. Schedule and conduct a dress rehearsal. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

32. A great way to create human connections but not make yourself crazy is to use your webcam to introduce yourself to the audience and then turn it off when you begin the body of your presentation. This process saves bandwidth (reducing the chance of something freezing up for you or your audience) and also frees you from worrying about what you look like while presenting. In cyberspace, no one needs to see you scratch your nose! P O I N T E R 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

33. Prepare Yourself to be Relaxed and Confident • Presenters make several mistakes that make things more difficult than they should be. • Most mistakes stem from the same core problem: not logging on early enough to get set up. • If you log on too close to showtime, you will feel rushed and are likely to forget something important. • GIVE YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME TO GET SET UP. HALF AN HOUR BEFORE THE START TIME IS A MINIMUM. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

34. Setup Tips to Create a More Relaxed Atmosphere 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • Put your script in a 3-ring binder and stand it up beside your computer where you can see it. • Check your webcam for angle and distractions. Nobody needs to see you jiggle your camera into position. • Use a headset on your phone if possible. Only use a speakerphone if the quality is good and you are in a closed room, safe from interruption and background noise. • Do NOT forget to annotate your slides to keep them interesting. Mark your script at appropriate places. • Make sure you have a glass of water handy. • Do not over-caffeinate yourself. Your brain is already pumping out enough adrenaline and cortisol to power a small city.

35. Setup Tips to Create a More Relaxed Atmosphere 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • Log on at least 30 minutes early to ensure good communication with your co-presenter (if applicable). • Unless you have created and stored them for retrieval, create or upload all polling questions immediately after setting up the meeting and test them to make sure they work. • Test your slide advancement, annotation tools, and anything else you plan to use before the participants begin to arrive. • Set your audio to “host and presenter” mode only. Whether you are using the platform’s audio or teleconference, make sure the audience cannot hear you talking to yourself or others—many presenters say things under stress that they do not want the audience to hear. • Make periodic announcements to your audience about exactly when you are going to start.

36. Setup Tips to Create a More Relaxed Atmosphere 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • If you are on a teleconference for audio, make sure you do not hear people “beeping in,” especially with large audiences. The sound will drive you—and your audience—crazy. • Attend to all biological needs 8 to 10 minutes before showtime.

37. Serial Process Without Making Yourself Crazy 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • You CANNOT MULTITASK! Accept the facts. Your brain does NOT work that way! • What is really going on is called SERIAL PROCESSING. • You are actually doing NOT 3 things at once but 3 DIFFERENT THINGS, one after the other in rapid sequence. • Presenting has a rhythm, and you should recognize it: • Speak • Pause • Prepare • Act • Speak again

38. Serial Process Without Making Yourself Crazy 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • You will need only a second to scan the chat function for new input or type something on a whiteboard. • The audience will not notice the pause. • Because you slow down, you give the audience members a chance to process the information—and they will likely appreciate that

39. Serial Process Without Making Yourself Crazy 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • Remember to listen. Whether you are training, doing a webinar, or conducting a sales call with a client, you have to LISTEN to people speak. You cannot do that effectively while searching for your highlighter or reading questions. • Really pause and listen to the other person. • Repeat the question or rephrase what he/she has said to show understanding.

40. Serial Process Without Making Yourself Crazy 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • Do NOT rush. Your audience typically will not notice that small pause that seems like an eternity to you. Your participants would rather you pause and move purposefully than stumble around. • Communicate. To eliminate the fear of losing members of your audience while you are performing a task, tell them exactly what you are doing and that it might take a moment. For example, at the beginning of your presentation, tell the audience you are going to turn off your webcam and that it may take a moment for them to see it on their screens.

41. Serial Process Without Making Yourself Crazy 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • Alert the audience to changes. Remember that your audience may be less familiar with web-based presentations than you are, and people get mildly stressed if unexpected things happen (even those things you have carefully planned for effect). • Tell your audience what is about to happen, and check in to conform that they see what you intend. The results are well worth the second or two of silence.

42. Close Your Presentation to Meet Your Objectives 2014 Oregon Business Education Association • Several things can derail your presentation at the end: • You do not allow enough time for questions. People might not have the chance to clarify issues or be properly informed. • Next steps are not explicit. Do not assume people can see the next “logical” step. • Your energy drops. • The next step or call to action is difficult to convey. • This call to action is the reason you put yourself through the presentation process in the first place—the culmination of all of your hard work and stress.

43. Follow-Up We all need a little help now and then! 43

44. Feedback • Quality control and continuous improvement are parts of professionals’ daily work lives, and giving great web presentations is no different. • Feedback is a GIFT—even if it feels like anything but. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

45. Great web presentations accomplish their goals. • Follow up checks to see if that happened. • You will want to follow up with both people who attended the presentation and those who signed up but did not attend. • You can follow up with attendees in two ways: • Direct follow up by email (or phone) • Surveys and evaluation forms Follow Up to Check Your Success 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

46. Celebrate Your Accomplishments • You did it! You accomplished your first web presentation. • Take a moment and breathe. • Let your body and your brain return to normal. • Accept the good wishes of participants. • Get up and walk away from your desk and find something cool to drink. • Plenty of time will be available to look at the feedback—good and bad. • As with any skill, you will get incrementally better at it by examining what you do now and what will make your work even more effective, and then practicing until you can do that particular action to the best of your ability. 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

47. Industry Standard Platforms WebEx (www.webex.com) GoToMeeting/Training (www.gotomeeting.com) Mikogo (www.mikogo.com) Yugma (www.yugma.com) 2014 Oregon Business Education Association

48. References 1. Clay, C. (2009). Great Webinars. Seattle, WA: Punchy Publishing. ISBN: 9780976458715. 2. Courville, R. (2009). The Virtual Presenter’s Handbook. 1080 Group LLC. ISBN 978-1449504670. 3. Gendelman, J. (2010). Virtual Presentations that Work. McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 9780071739368. 4. Hofmann, J. (2004). The Synchronous Trainer’s Survival Guide: Facilitating Successful Live and Online Courses, Meetings, and Events. San Francisco: Pfeiffer/Wiley. ISBN 9780787969431 5. Koegel, T. J. (2010). The Exceptional Presenter Goes Virtual: Take Command of Your Message, Create an ‘In-Person’ Experience, and Captivate Any Remote Audience. Austin, TX: Greenleaf Book Group Press. ISBN9781608320462. 6. Pluth, B. (2010). Webinars with WoW Factor: Tips, Tricks, and Interactive Activities for Virtual Training. ISBN 9780979410314. 7. Turmel, W. (2011). 10 Steps to Successful Virtual Presentations. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press. ISBN 9781562867461. 48

49. Thank you! K. Virginia Hemby, Ph.D. Middle Tennessee State University Jennings A. Jones College of Business virginia.hemby-grubb@mtsu.edu (615) 898-2369 (Office) (615) 962-0944 (Cell)