O n l i n e E v e n t S p e a k i n g B e s t P r a c t i c e s P r e p a r e d F o r : ( A C P A ) Our goal is to help you present a successful online event that will keep attendees coming back again and again. With this in mind, CommPartners has compiled these Best Practices. In our experience, adhering to these practices will ultimately make your online event run more smoothly and limit points of failure.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW! The success of your online presentation is truly based on your dedication and investment. Whether you are a seasoned public speaker online or to a live audience or this is your first speaking engagement online please read over these best practices of what you need to know before, during and after your online presentation to make it a success. Setup & Planning The initial steps. required to set up to present an online program are often the most important. The more time you allow for preparation, the more successful your event will be. 1. Technology Requirements a. You will need the following mandatory equipment. -Internet enabled computer (PC/MAC Laptop or Desktop) -Hard-wired Ethernet Internet connection -The latest Adobe Flash software version installed Note: If you need to download or update your version of the Adobe Flash software, direct your web browser to www.flash.com. From the gray tool bar at the top of the site, click on Downloads. then scroll down to locate and install the free Macromedia Flash player. -Hard-Wired Telephone Connection -A telephone headset is highly recommended -Cell phones and speaker phones are highly discouraged -Back-up telephone (another office phone or cell phone) b. Optional equipment based on presentation interaction -Web-Camera (HD recommended) -An extra Internet enabled computer (PC/MAC Laptop or Desktop) 2. Speaking Environment a. Set-up your required technology equipment in a quiet/secluded area. -Make sure this area has hard-wired phone and Internet connection capability -Mare sure this area has a door you can close to eliminate outside distractions/interruptions b. Have enough space around you to have printed materials, a place to write down notes, etc. c. Eliminate Distractions and Prevent Interruptions -Turn your cell phone on vibrate or silent - Notify the people around you that you will be presenting a live recorded event - Place a do not disturb sign on your door - Stop all incoming calls to the main phone you will be utilizing (i.e. Do not disturb button)
-Turn off all email/instant messaging/social network notifications d. Have a glass of water nearby in case you get choked up e. Presenting on Camera? - Have a solid colored background behind you that is not distracting. A Black or Navy Blue backdrop usually are the best. -Wear appropriate neutral colored clothing, no bright colors, designs, etc. f. Screen sharing? -Change your computer s desktop background to a solid neutral color. -Remove anything that you don t want participants to see -Test the websites/documents you will be sharing to make sure they are working. 3. Developing Your Presentation a. Content -Make sure your presentation is geared toward your audience -Make sure the information you present fits within the timeframe allotted -Add in time for audience interaction -Polls -Q & A Sessions b. PowerPoint Slides - Overall PowerPoint slide file should be no larger than 10MB. -When creating the file, set font sizes, colors and styles using the slide master. This method ensures consistency, saves time when adding slides and making global changes to your presentation later. -The background and font colors should be contrasting colors for ease of readability. The ideal color combination is a white background with dark blue or black font. -Slides should include text talking points as well as some graphic images if possible. Try to maintain a balance between white space and text. All images should be embedded into the PowerPoint file (using Insert Picture function) NOT copy/pasted from another application. -All text should be Windows standard fonts without serifs (such as Arial) for readability. Choosing standard fonts will ensure all online event attendees will see the same presentation format. (Use of unusual fonts will prompt others computers to substitute those fonts for their computer s internal fonts.) Font sizes utilized should not be smaller than 16. If you d like more details on this, please ask us for the list of preferred fonts. c. Practice/Rehearse -If you are the only one speaking on an event, practice your presentation. -Time yourself, then decide if you need to add or remove any content to meet the allotted time you have available. -Leave at least 10-15 minutes for audience interaction
-If you are presenting with others, practice together, rehearse who is speaking when and who will handled questions, audience interaction, etc. -Familiarize yourself with the webinar technology. If there is a scheduled training to learn the technology, do not miss it! The Day of Your Event Before Your Presentation Make sure you complete the following tasks the day of your event recording. a. Reboot your computer. Before entering the Web conference, restart your computer. Once it s back up, do not open any other applications you will not use during your presentation. b. Make sure you were sent login instructions. Log on/call in early. Plan to dial-in and login 30 minutes prior to the start of your event. This allows time for practice, audio/technology check and go over any last minute details. c. Try to eliminate interruptions. Put a Do Not Disturb sign on your closed office door and turn off your cell phone/pager/pda. d. Practice using your phone and mute features. Make sure that you sound clear and are loud enough. e. Have a full glass of water available. You never know when you may need it. f. Take a deep breath and relax. Even if you re a little nervous, once the program starts, and you begin to talk to the audience, you ll find everything will flow smoothly. During Your Presentation a. Be conversational. Just speak to the participants as if they re in the room with you. b. Project your voice. There s no need to yell, but speak in a clear, concise tone everyone can hear. Make sure that your voice does not to trail off at the end of a sentence or point. c. Occasionally check your watch or clock. Attendees will appreciate it if you stay on schedule. d. Mute your phone line. If you re presenting with others, place your phone on Mute while they speak. e. Try to minimize ambient noise. Coughing, throat-clearing and paper shuffling can often be reduced simply by awareness (and the Mute feature). f. Avoid dead air. If audience feedback is being taken via online polls (for instance), consider elaborating on the reason for asking the questions and/or the value of their responses to avoid long silences. g. Be polite. If co-presenting with others, don t talk over others or advance or annotate slides while someone else is presenting.
h. Keep it in perspective. If you make a mistake or lose your place, it s OK. Don t overapologize or sound defeated. The less attention you draw to a mistake, the quicker your audience will forget about it. PITFALLS TO AVOID a. Avoid just reading the content on your PowerPoint slides aloud, attendees won t benefit from your depth of knowledge on the subject and will likely be resentful (they could ve gotten a hard copy vs. attending your event). b. Having no interaction planned. A lively, interactive session will be memorable for attendees. c. Talking at the same time as another speaker or while a participant asks a question. Be patient and identify yourself when you start speaking again, especially if you are part of an expert panel. d. Rushing through the end of your presentation or running out of time (too much content). Plan to spend 1-3 minutes per slide (on average). e. Poor graphics or visuals. Slides that are too text heavy. f. Being unprepared/not practicing before the event. g. Poor audio. Make sure you check your audio equipment thoroughly before the start of the call. After Your Presentation Once your presentation is complete you may think you are off the hook. We ll yes this can be the case but we highly discourage you to just walk away and never look back. Here are a few tips to keep the presentation and conversation going. a. Get a copy of all of the questions asked during the presentation. -Answer these questions in a document that you can share online with the participants afterwards. -This is great if you are unable to answer all of the questions that came in during the live event. b. Offer your contact information for the audience to contact you with further questions or inquiries. c. Share your presentation (if you can). d. Social Media -If there is a Twitter feed or LinkedIn Group, etc, based on your webinar, go to these pages and engage or start conversations. e. Read the evaluations
-Most webinars have some way for the audience to share their thoughts on the presentation. -Take any Positive and/or negative feedback into consideration for your next presentation.