13 Tips to Improve Your Zoom Meeting & Webinar Presentation Skills
Over the past several months, I have been an attendee on several hospital video presentations with from one - four presenters on various topics, mostly related to hospital responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have been a combo with providers, and vendors presented like a case study.
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| Image by Tina Koehler from Pixabay |
It is remarkable the breadth and depth of expertise in the innovation and change that has taken place in the hospital industry. The response by leadership and staff in hospitals and health systems to the public health crisis has been outstanding for the most part. The willingness to share their story of success and failure of the rapid change journey shows much creative thought and innovations that were rapidly implemented in institutions that are generally resistant to change.
These webinars have added to the collective knowledge, but I have seen some trends with the presenters, detracting from the presentations. In a video conference attended by a large group of people where interaction is limited to the chatbox, optics are everything. It can be challenging when there are multiple presenters.
With that in mind, I decided to put together a tip sheet that will help you with your video conference presentation skills whether internally to the organization or externally to a large group.
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| Image by wiredsmartio from Pixabay. |
1. Don't multi-task. We are all are busy, but when you are one of several presenters on the call, your movement, actions, typing, and other behaviors distract from the speaker. Remember, optics is everything, and the attendees can see what you are doing. You look disengaged, and that diverts the attendee's concentration. It not a conference call where people can't see you.
2. Mute yourself. If you can't help yourself and feel the need to type for whatever reason on the video call, please mute yourself. The sound of your typing can be heard and is a distraction.
3. Show some enthusiasm for the topic. Vary your vocal pitch and smile when someone else is talking with a nod in agreement if appropriate. Show you are paying attention and are as engaged in the webinar as the attendees.
4. Don't read your slides. The audience can read and are highly experienced and educated individuals. The audience is here to learn. If all you are going to do is read your slides, you might send the slide deck to everyone and let them read. Instead, pick one to two points that are critical to the process or outcome and talk to those points.
5. Scripting your talk is good but don't go beyond talking points. I have been on webinars where the presenter scripted out the entire talk. The person then proceeded to read a verbatim script. That is a talking head, and it's boring. The optics don't help with your head bouncing up and down and the sound of pages being turned. Scripting while helpful, can also send the message that you may be unsure of the topic and can't speak extemporaneously.
6. Stay away from making eye chart PPT slides. White space is good, and less is more. Add slides if you need to. Use transitions in your slide points and bring them in as you are taking. The technique of side transition provides some separation and visual alerts the attendee that you're moving along. Be reasonable with the transition tool and consistent. Don't have items flying in from all over the place.
7. Speaking of PowerPoints, use the widescreen format instead of standard. It does not require a new Microsoft PPT software. In your open presentation, click on Design. The in the lower toolbar to the right, click on slide size and choose widescreen. It gives you more white space and is far more modern looking than the standard PPT square format. You'll have to fix the slides to match the new area, but it's worth the effort.
8. While we are on PowerPoint, use as few slides as possible. You need to demonstrate command of the material. Just because you have a certain length of time doesn't mean a PPT slide every 30 seconds or so. Be concise and rely on your personality and knowledge to establish speaker rapport with the viewers.
9. Limit the hospital or health system about us to one slide with pertinent facts as to scope and size. The audience wants to learn what you did, how you executed, and what you learned. Stay away from hyperbole such as world-class, a zillion Centers of Excellence, the largest in the world, etc.
10. Remember to mention the contributions of other departments, leadership support, etc. Acknowledgments do wonders for the organization and culture.
11. Take a breath. We all get nervous, and sometimes talking becomes a runaway train. Your thoughts race ahead of your ability to speak and the speed and pace of your talk naturally speed up. Slow down, enunciate clearly and give an occasional pause allowing time for your audience to comprehend want you said. A good pause technique in a webinar to remind people that if they have any questions to use the chat function.
12. Ask your marketing department to assist with the formatting and graphic design. For example, if you have several points in a process, a tree with limbs can be used to place the process point names on the limbs, or a winding road with point signs.
13. Practice. Practice. Practice. Like anything in life, practice does not make perfect, but it makes presenting and speaking more comfortable. Use your internal meeting presentation opportunities to practice these thirteen tips. Dry run the entire presentation on a video call, or present to a group in-person, and fill the call or a conference room with colleagues. Then, when you're called upon to represent yourself and the hospital or health system in a webinar or speaking engagement, you'll be ready and an old hat at it.
With 13 actionable tips for a better video webinar and internal PowerPoint presentation, you'll be a TED Talks speaker in no time. Keep learning. Keep sharing with your peers. Keep improving.
Michael is a healthcare business, marketing, communications strategist, and thought leader. As an internationally followed healthcare strategy blogger, his blog, Healthcare Marketing Matters is read in 52 countries and is listed on the 100 Top Healthcare Marketing Blogs & Websites ranked at No. 3 on the list by Feedspot.com. Michael is a Life Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives. An expert in healthcare marketing strategy, digital marketing, and social media, Michael is in the top 10 percent of social media experts nationwide and is considered an established influencer. For inquiries regarding strategic consulting engagements, you can email me at michael@themichaeljgroup.com.
Connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Flipboard, and Triller. The opinions expressed are my own.
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