Management and Leadership

Honing Your Virtual Presentation Skills

• Traditional Classroom: 1-day
• Virtual Instructor-led: Two 3-3.5 hour sessions; Three 2-hour sessions

Very few skill sets are as valuable in business as the ability to create and deliver a powerful presentation. While presenting in person and virtually do have elements in common, there are certain skills that are unique to the virtual environment. In this highly interactive course, you will explore the unique challenges and opportunities inherent in presenting virtually. You’ll learn best practices on how to “show up” virtually with credibility, how to structure for interactivity, how to exploit the features (and avoid the pitfalls) of the virtual platform you’ll be delivering on, and how to engage and propel your audience forward on a journey to a destination that you define.

Target Audience

This course will benefit anyone who wants to design and deliver engaging virtual presentations that move their audience to action.

Learning Objectives

• Discuss concrete ways to enhance your virtual presence and credibility.
• Explain key findings from neuroscience regarding how our brains respond to stories.
• Create a goal statement for a presentation or business story to focus and sharpen its impact.
• Perform audience analysis to design a relevant and powerful call to action.
• Identify design and delivery techniques that drive engagement with a virtual audience.
• Describe ways to optimize visual, verbal, and paraverbal elements when presenting virtually.

Course Outline

Getting Started

• Course Goal and Objectives
• Opening Activity
• Getting — and Keeping — Attention

Engagement and Delivery Mode

• Tools to Engage Your Audience
• Facts, Beliefs, Emotions, Actions
• Activity: What Causes You to Disengage?

Key Considerations for Virtual Presentations

• The Five Deadly Sins of Presenting Virtually
• How to Show up with Credibility
• Mastering Your Virtual Set-Up
  • Lighting
  • Audio
  • Framing and Background
• Activity: Virtual Presence and Credibility

The Importance of Storytelling

• Making Meaning through Story
• The Neuroscience of Stories
• Activity: Storytelling and Presentations
• Video: A Lesson in the Importance of Brevity

Structuring for Success

• Steps for Organizing Your Presentation
• Setting Your Presentation Goal
• Activity: Writing Your Goal Statement
• Analyzing Your Audience
• Activity: Conduct Your Audience Analysis
• Identifying and Supporting Your 3 Main Points
• Structuring Your Presentation

Enhancing Your Delivery

• Guidelines for Visual Composition
• Adding Vocal Variety
• Using Questions to Engage Your Audience
• The Power of the Pause
• Session Summary and Key Takeaways

MDV1482 Course Code