90: How to Run a First-Class Virtual Presentation or Meeting

As event planners and companies scramble to transfer their in person meetings and trainings and workshops online, the moderators and speakers like myself are working even harder to ensure the online experience is not only a productive one for attendees, but I'll admit it entertaining. On the podcast this week, what it takes to run a first class virtual meeting or presentation. All right, for those of you in the virtual presenting game, everyone, we all want to show up and bring our A game at all times. When you have 100% remote attendance, you, even under the best of circumstances, it's never going to be the same as a live event. And I know this as someone who has sweated my way literally through a number of these trainings. My first pivot to online training happened the first week of April, only two weeks after the country essentially shut down. And the most recent one I had was yesterday, in fact. Now me, I have to bring my A game to every single training session or talk that I present. I want attendees who have taken the time out of their day, likely one of many, many video chats or video sessions that week. When they're sitting there listening to me, I want them to enjoy it and think to themselves, wow, this is one of the best sessions I've attended. And if you do the same in your work, it's likely that you feel the same way as I do. You want to present at the highest level. Now, something else I've learned from my experience that as soon as a speaker, either yourself or a facilitator, welcomes the people at the start of the meeting, the competition for attention begins. So for you, the presenter, it's you versus multitasking people immediately. And I'll admit I do this too. As soon as it starts, they start texting, they're scrolling on another screen. And that's from the people that you can actually see. When a person turns off the video camera and you just see their name, there's just nothing. You're talking to a box, you don't even know what they're doing. Then there are the hyper involved, that's the attendee or two who want to dominate the conversation. And when that happens, you obviously want to control that because when it happens, people are going to tune out. And then the third piece, it's just you. I mean, you're juggling a lot of things. In many cases, if you're presenting, at the very least you're juggling some type of note or a bullet point somewhere. But you're also juggling the tech. Maybe it's the mic, maybe it's the lighting, maybe it's your headphones. Now, to the lesser observer, hopefully you're juggling all the material with ease. However, if anyone looks closely, they may see the actual sweat on your brow. Now I can tell you as a speaker, an online speaker, a trainer man, it's stressful because frankly, if you suck, no one will want to listen to you again. Especially if they are paying for it. And with so much free content out there, if you're charging for your content, it better be good. But like I said, it is very difficult to moderate so how do you run a first class virtual meeting or presentation? So on today's podcast, 10 tips to help you run your first class virtual meeting or presentation in three areas. I'm going to discuss the planning, the presentation and some pro tips. So I'll share three primary takeaways at the end that are easy to remember. All right, number one, here we go. Tell me why I'm here. In other words, what is the purpose of this meeting, the purpose of the chat, the purpose of the presentation? If you are giving a training right away in the meeting at the beginning, you want to discuss the overall goal, Set the objectives, follow a script, tell people precisely when it's going to start, what you expect from them, and when it's going to end. Give them explicit instructions on what they need to do next. Number two, Use the right equipment. People who bring their a game have a game level equipment. What do I mean by that? Well, one, of course you're going to have a computer, an iPad, or a tablet. If you are presenting, it is much easier to present from a laptop than it is from a tablet. It's much easier to present from a desktop rather than a tablet or a phone. Also, use a microphone and I'm going to repeat this use. Use a microphone, especially for long meetings or presentations. And here's the reason why. Now it might be fine. In the beginning, when you're first listening to someone speak, they're in their natural environment, but eventually the ambient noise becomes distracting. I know I do it if I note right away if someone has a microphone, if they're using a microphone. And then within a minute or so I start listening to the background. So instead of listening to them speak, I'm listening to birds chirping in the background or I'm listening to something else happening, you know, in their house around them or listening to the echo. Attendees have to strain to hear you and they have to listen over the background noise or the echo from your side of the screen. I do A lot of trainings, and I know listening to other trainings. And so this is also to explain what I mean by it. If you are giving a presentation and you're in a room and you just hit click sign on and you start speaking, people are listening to the surround of the microphone. The microphone is picking up the entire room without a mic. They're getting everything, including your voice with a microphone. They're only giving the listener their voice. So you want to give the attendees their ears and their brains rest and use a microphone. Also use headphones. You can use them with cords or you can use Bluetooth options so you can toss the cord. But these microphones or these headphones, most of them have mics in them. And it is okay if people see the headphones. I've done a very unscientific study on this. I'm noticing that reporters, people who are giving, you know, high level type of interviews online. So it's on broadcast television, cable television, or it has wide distribution. It's common to see someone with headphones wearing them. Either you see the white airpods in their ears or coming down with cords. So don't think that it looks weird or it's distracting. It's actually a sign that you know what you're doing. So it's okay if people see your headphones. The one headphone you don't want to use anymore are the large ones, like those Beats headphones that are big, the ones that cover the whole ear. It's distracting. It's fine if you're on a chit chat with your friends, but you don't want to present because people will focus on your ears rather than what you're saying. Now, for me, I use headphones. I go back and forth depending on, you know, what is working for me. I do have my AirPods. Those are my favorite. And I do have a hairstyle where I can hide them so they're not as distracting. But I also have a pair of Beats headphones, but the ones that go in the ear and they're black and they're solid and I'm not dealing with Bluetooth, so I know I can always count on them. And the black just kind of fades in there as well. So those are two options that I use. And I'll include links in the show notes. All right, number three. For the presenter, you want to create a checklist for launch. You know how pilots have a prelaunch checklist that they use before takeoff. So if you're looking down the aisle and you poke your head through, and you see the pilots kind of going through the system. Well, you know what? You do the same thing for presentations. Test the technology ahead of time. Nothing kills the momentum at the start of a presentation or a meeting. If there's a presenter scrambling to figure out how to turn on the video or turn on the audio, download the software ahead of time, update the software. If you use Zoom, Zoom has had a lot of updates lately. So prior to any virtual meeting, make sure that all of the participants test the technology and make sure they're comfortable using the major features, sound and video, and make sure that this takes place ahead of time. Nobody has the patience to listen and watch people try and figure out audio and video anymore. All right, number four, and this is a really, really key tip. Use a facilitator. Now, I've presented on my own. I've presented with a partner, and we kind of worked as each other's facilitators. And I've also trained with a facilitator on the other end. And I can tell you with authority, it is much, much better to have a facilitator. It eases the stress for the presenter, and it also gives attendees assurance that the trains are running smoothly and on time. And if any issue crops up, a facilitator can help. And if you don't have one and you're asking someone to present and they have to do all the tech, it's kind of like if you were to hire a speaker for your conference and you ask them to set up the coffee and the donuts before they set up their presentation. Now, in a recent training that I gave, there were about 20 or so participants that I was training to over the course of two days, three hours each day, and it was the second hour of day two where the attendee could not see me. So in the middle of me speaking, she asked, I heard, molly, Molly, I can't see you. I can't see you. And it brought the training to a screeching, dead halt. Because she wanted to see me. Now, I appreciated it. I did not. I was not offended. I was not upset that she did it because it was important to her, which I understand if you're in a training, you want to see the presenter. But I knew that every second I spent on trying to tutor her through how to open up her video screen that I was going to lose the audience. My facilitator for the training jumped right in, asked for her phone number, and they figured out the issue offline. It was perfect. So it's usually Harder to manage a virtual discussion than an in person one. It just is. You're juggling a lot. But it can be helpful to assign at least one person, just one individual, to help you guide the conversation. And it allows other participants to focus on the content. The facilitator can also explain if you have a polling system or if you're going to use video and just give them that explanation, they can run through the agenda, whatever it is, if you can use one, it goes a long way. Now, I'm going to slip in a pro tip here for facilitators. If you are a facilitator, here's my Molly tip. If you are inviting a guest to present or you work for a company and have another presenter, let them come into the room, the virtual room, at their own pace. Don't start speaking to people as soon as you see them pop up on the camera. Now this is my coronavirus, Achilles heel of impatience. I get my Irish up every single time. I get rushed with the technology. There was a case, it happened to be on my birthday, where I popped in and I was opening up my mic, I was switching my audio, switching the video. I had two screens and I was going through it slowly, step by step, and I could hear them on the other side say, molly, we can't hear you. We can't hear you. Molly, we can't hear you. And I gave them the nonverbal sign like, I hear you, I hear you. But then the phone calling started and the hand signals and truly it is so distracting and it's so annoying. Also, in the first few weeks where I was starting to do trainings again, my co presenter did not come into the room early enough. And I was rushed and I could not get everything going. And so I have found. So I'm gonna speak from experience and I'm gonna speak on behalf other people. Do not rush any of your presenters. Make sure that you allow them to get into the room with ample time. I'm talking 30 minutes early. You don't have to sit there and babysit them, but just let them into the room, let them just chill and do their things and then everything will work out just fine. Okay, back to the list. All right, number five, this goes hand in hand. Log in early, give your speakers the right to log in so they can go through the pre launch checklist. The pros who do this, they need to do it right. They're never just going to hop on and start speaking because they have headphones. They probably like me, I have a shotgun Mic. So if you hire someone to speak at your virtual event or your meeting, the pros, when they come on, they won't even look at you. They will not even engage in the camera. They won't even make eye contact. They are letting you know by looking away that they are setting up. When they look into the camera's eye, then it's game time, and then you can engage with them. All right, number six, keep it simple. Keep it short. Now, think back to the last time you sat in a long meeting. Now, visualize that meeting back in February of 2020. Picture it as a virtual meeting. Like, how agonizing would that be? So for these virtual meetings, stick to the basics again, have clear objectives for the training or the meeting. Have a moderator read the rules of the road before you start. Give the impression that this meeting is going to be as short as possible. That allows for enough time to get all the information in there during the session, use an agenda and make sure you stick to it. Set your meeting ground rules, take breaks, and clearly outline the next steps for each each session. So that includes the timing and the accountabilities after each section. So owning the time, controlling it, goes a long way in these meetings. People will get itchy if it goes on for too long. The shorter the better. Okay, number seven, make it visual Slide decks. They're great. Faces are great. Attendee spaces are great. It creates okay accountability, but it also humanizes the room. Now, I understand that people need to cut down on bandwidth, and they may have issues in their homes if they're using the video. So they might cut the video and just have the audience, especially if they have kids online doing homework or they're on Netflix or PS4, or other people have phones, or even if you have phones in your office and you're using and you're fighting for that WI fi. But for the presenter, it's not easy to speak to a box. It's not. And it's very, very impersonal. So try to show the video if you can. All right, number eight, call on people. Getting everyone to participate without talking over each other is one of the more challenging aspects to running a virtual meeting. Now, to forestall this, I recommend that you periodically call on individuals to speak. Now, if you. You have to keep track in your mind who's spoken or who hasn't or who's speaking too much. But you virtually want to go around the table before a decision is finalized, or before you close out a section or before you close out a Q and A, you want to make sure that everyone has a part of it. Okay. In some of these virtual programs, they'll allow attendees to raise a hand if they want to speak. Some people might raise a hand in the window. And also with the help of a facilitator, they can help you drive all the people and let you know through a private chat who hasn't spoken yet. But the more people speak, the better off it is. And again, make sure when you're calling on people that it's not random and willy nilly that you're trying to stretch out time. Make sure you're keeping it short, but you're keeping people involved, keeping them on their toes. Next, number nine Turn off notifications. It's important to remember to silence and stop all notifications on the device you are using and any devices nearby. Today I was watching a live presentation for my daughter's senior year. They had an online talk where people were giving talks and a person's phone kept going off so you can tell her friends were texting her while she was live on the air and it kept dinging. It was actually kind of cute. But professionally dings can be very distracting. So most virtual conference platforms, when you are presenting it will stop the notifications. However, it can appear if someone is sharing a screen on a call this week someone told me about a work call where the CEO was speaking about a new project and one of the employees was commenting on how stupid the project was on Slack and well, Slack came up on the screen of the presenter and he said you could hear the visual breath of the CEO that he took in when he saw the Slack notification on the screen, kind of derailing his project there. Oops. All right, number 10. Keep it interactive. With so many visual cues now missing from this virtual environment, you want to use as many features as you can within the platform. The polling, the video sharing, chat rooms, breakout rooms, raising hands, Q and A. The more interactive it is, the better. Make sure that participants have clear instructions for how to participate and if it's a longer training. For my longer trainings I have supplemental material that I send ahead of time and people can download and they can follow along in the book or the downloads. In one of my training I actually allow for time and I'll say okay, on page seven fill in 1, 2, 3, okay, and then I give them time silence and I let them work on it and then they all come back in. I try and make it as real time in real life as I can. Well, best I can and allowing for time is incredibly helpful. So pad all of your exercises with time. If you're asking someone to put something in a chat room, keep in mind that some people are typing from laptops or desktops, but other people are using tablets and they're using their phones or they're trying to find a keyboard on an iPad and some of it's on a screen and it's just really difficult for them. So finding those interactive features may not be as intuitive to some of your other attendees. All right, there you go. Those are 10 tips for creating a first class environment in your virtual meetings or presentations. From the list of the 10, the three takeaways that I think are most helpful that you learned today 1. The planning a pre launch checklist is going to cut down or eliminate the mistakes. Make sure you have one. Make sure you have a printed one. Those work best. And go through all the steps to make sure everything is order. Next in your presentation, I would say make sure there is an agenda and it's followed. Make sure you're managing the expectations of your attendees and within that presentation, if you can use a facilitator, even better. They're the ones that are going to make sure that the trains are running on time. And a pro tip Give your speaker time to come in at their own pace. Do not rush them because you might crush them from avoidable errors. Okay, there you go. Best of luck in your upcoming virtual presentations. I have a feeling that you may be doing them for some time to come, so good luck with your meetings. I wish you all the best and I hope they're all first class. Thanks for listening to the podcast. If you have time on social media, be sure to follow me on Twitter. Molly McPherson there's so much to talk about these days. So much. That's all for this episode. Bye for now. Sam.