A webinar on what it takes to conduct an effective webinar! Understand how to prepare your story for an invisible audience, keep them engaged and anticipate "in-flight turbulence". Enjoy!

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Effective Webinars
Presentation Skills
for a Virtual Audience
Saumil Shah
Net Square
26 March 2020

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Introduction and Agenda
• Flight Plan - Your Story.
• Pre-flight checks.
• Take off.
• During the flight.
• Descent.
• Landing.
Saumil Shah
@therealsaumil
Li: saumilshah

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Key Learning Objectives
• How to ENGAGE your audience.
• The dynamics of an INVISIBLE audience.
• Anticipate technical TURBULENCE during
storytelling.
• Loss of ENGAGEMENT.
• Managing TIME.
• Measure EFFECTIVENESS.

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Flight Plan
Prepare Your Story

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Prepare Your Story
• KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.
• Anticipate their attention span.
• Opening Slide.
• Date and Time of Presentation.
• Agenda.
• Closing Summary / Take Aways.
• Thank You and Q&A.

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Preparation Guidelines
• Large Fonts.
– Stand 8 feet away from your screen
– Can you read?
• Contrasting Colours.
• Avoid Transitions and Animation Effects.
– Screen refresh lag will destroy them.
1 Slide = 2 Minutes

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Pre-Flight Checks
Tests and Dry Runs

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Tests and Dry Runs
• Atleast 2 hours before the show.
• Test AUDIO, RESOLUTION and
SCREENSHARING.
• Test your LIVE DEMOS!
• Ask a friend to view and give feedback.

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Taxiing to the Runway
Setup

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Setting Up Your Presentation
• Connect 15 minutes ahead of time.
• Set up a secondary VIEWER device.
– you must see what the audience sees.
• Mic and headphones are a MUST.
• Shut out all ambient noise.
• Stop all notifications and popups.
START ON TIME

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Take Off
Initial Announcements

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Take Off: Initial Announcements
• Mute the audience.
• Title slide - ask if anyone is experiencing
DIFFICULTIES in audio and video.
• Send the same message via group CHAT.
• Encourage feedback and responses on
chat.
• "During the talk, please feel free to
queue up any questions on chat."

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During
The Flight
Your Presentation

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During the Flight: Presentation
• Talk to an INVISIBLE audience.
– Tip: Rehearse with live friends.
• Keep checking your VIEWER device.
– wait for screen refresh before you begin
talking.
• PAUSE between slides.
– Don't keep talking to FILL silence, just
because there's no feedback.
• Talk SLOWLY and CLEARLY.

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Cruising Altitude
Halfway Mark

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Halfway Mark
• Pause when you're halfway.
• Unmute the audience.
• Take some questions from the chat.
• READ the question ALOUD first, and
then provide your answer.
– Audience needs to hear the QUESTION and
then the answer.

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Turbulence
Problems that may arise

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Problems that may arise
• Network JITTER and PACKET LOSS.
– THROUGHPUT, not speed, matters.
– Perform PING tests for 30 minutes.
– Mobile hotspots make for STEADY
presentations.
• Loss of ENGAGEMENT.
– Audiences will be easily DISTRACTED.
– You will never know. Zero feedback.
– Have a friend prompt you if quality is poor.

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Flight Controls
Smooth Flow

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How to ensure a smooth flow
• Scrolling too fast causes DIZZINESS.
– Keep your EXHIBITS ready, and gently
switch to them.
• Don't ALT-TAB back and forth rapidly.
• Don't back-back-back-back, forward-
forward-forward-forward.
– Switch to thumbnail view, navigate to the
slide you want and present.
• Don't keep WOBBLING your mouse.

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How to ensure a smooth flow
• Give the audience time to READ.
• Don't narrate what is already written.
– Audience will read your slides and listen to
you independently.
– Repetition will cause LOSS OF
ENGAGEMENT. Your voice won't matter.
• Circle, Box or Highlight areas you want
to draw attention to.

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Helpful Hints and Tools
• Selectively broadcast a single window.
– Don't share your entire desktop if not
needed.
• Take your time to switch views. The
audience will wait.
• VM + VNC is your friend.
– Broadcast the VNC window, and control
through the VM view.

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Descent
Closing The Loop

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Descent: Closing The Loop
• RECAP the points you wanted to make.
• Key TAKEAWAYS.
– Max 3-4 takeaways.
• Conclude your talk atleast 5 minutes
before the end time.
• Open up the floor for Q&A.
– Present the chatroom on screen if possible.

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Landing
Questions and Answers

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Landing: Questions and Answers
• Again, read every question out ALOUD.
– Only then provide your answer.
• Take your time to answer.
– when you read the question, your mind will
be thinking about it.
END ON TIME

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Key Takeaways
• New Territories - the rules are different.
• Preparation is PARAMOUNT.
• TEST your presentation.
• Pray to the DEMO gods - IN ADVANCE.
• Stay ON TIME.

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What Questions Do You Have?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME
AND ATTENTION
@therealsaumil