Answer to Question 1
Answer: When you present your material at an online meeting, you need to ensure your audience is engaged and understands. You cannot rely on visualor verbalfeedback, so you need to be proactive in managing the audience's needs.
Ensure your audience has connectivity. When you make a presentation face to face, you are the only one who has to worry about technology does your computer work? Can it connect to the projector? In contrast, when you deliver a presentation online, you need to confirm with your audience that they are connected and can see the presentation. Did they get the link you sent them? Can they log on to any special software you are using? Wait for them to confirm they can see your presentation slides on their own screen before you begin.
Make a plan for controlling what your audience sees on their screens. Some online presentation software allows you to share your screen, which means the audience sees on their screen exactly what's on your screen. As the presenter, you can control what they see and move forward from slide to slide at the pace you want. In this case, the online presentation resembles an in-person meeting. Other presentation technologies require the audience to have a copy of the presentation on their screens, which they control independently (equivalent to having sent them an email attachment that they can open on their own machine). When your audience can move through the slides independently, you need to provide cues about where you are in the presentation. For example, you can say, Here on slide 3, you can see...On the next slide, slide 4.... For this reason, it is important to remember to number your slides. If you direct the audience to the specific slide number, they will more likely focus on what you want them to see when you want them to see it rather than click ahead (or lag behind) in the presentation.
Open the meeting early and put a welcome slide on your computer screen, confirming meeting details if you are using a screen-sharing program such as WebEx. This early start will allow those new to the technology to become familiar with the interface while they wait.
Use a webcam or provide a picture to help establish rapport with attendees. If you are using a webcam, look frequently at the camera (rather than at the screen) so that remote people feel that you are making eye contact with them. If you are not using a webcam, you can display a picture of yourself on the welcome slide to help the audience visualize you.
Use good telephone etiquette. Online presentations are like phone calls, so good phone etiquette applies. This means you need a good connection and good equipment so your audience can hear you. Speakerphones can work if you want to be hands-free, but you may hear occasional static. Good headsets can also work, but test them first. Whether you use a traditional land-line service or Internet-based telephony such as Skype or Google Talk, establish your voice connection before you have your audience look at the presentation slides.
Engage the audience with voice and screen movement. With an online presentation, you cannot use body language, but you can engage the audience with excellent vocal delivery. To further engage the audience, plan for motion on the screen. Provide annotations on slides or use pointers to draw your audience's attention.
Invite questions frequently during interactive online presentations. When you make an online presentation, you can't get visual feedback from your audience. As a result, it's important to hear from them frequently. If the audience remains silent, you may not know if they are confused or if they have fallen asleep. Ask for specific questions after each major point to ensure understanding. For webinars, build in additional opportunities for audience interaction, such as polls, if your software supports that function.
Answer to Question 2
Answer: Anticipate questions and plan short answers. The main problem people face in impromptu speaking is the temptation to ramble. In other words, people talk aimlessly until they discover the point they want to make. The following advice will help you avoid that problem:
Anticipate. Think in advance about questions your audience is likely to ask and plan short answers. Map out an answer in your head. Though it may be difficult to organize your impromptu thoughts, mentally note or write down a few key points you want to cover to keep on track.
Keep your answers short. Begin with the shortest possible version of the answer and then stop. If people require additional information, they'll ask follow-up questions.
Decide how your team will handle questions. In a team presentation, you will want to avoid having team members look at each other blankly, waiting for someone else to answer. You will also want to avoid having multiple members trying to answer a question at the same time. Consider one of the following options for handling questions as a team. Both options depend on the team making a plan in advance about who will answer what kind of question.
Assign one team member to facilitate the Q&A session. That team member will ask for questions and assign them to the team member designated to answer that kind of question. The facilitator may also answer questions, but must be careful not to answer too many. Otherwise, he or she will seem to be claiming the spotlight.
Allow team members to decide whether a question falls under their designated area. For this option to work well, the team member should not just launch into the answer. Instead, identify that you plan to answer it by saying something like, I'll take that question. This signals to the rest of the team that the question is covered, and it prevents two people beginning to answer at the same time.
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