5 Creative Tactics for Virtual Presentations

Stop and think for a moment about the last virtual presentation you led or attended. Did you keep your eyes on the screen the whole time? Were the Power Point visuals out of this world? Did you ask questions? If it was a successful virtual presentation, chances are you answered “yes” to these questions.

And if you answered “no,” you certainly aren’t alone. Virtual presentations can easily fall into a format where the presenter just talks, and the participants listen. But they can be so much more interesting and engaging for everyone if you think outside the box.

While there’s no single approach that’s right for every situation, there are a few tips you can follow to ensure your training delivers its intended results in an engaging way for participants. Here are just five creative ideas you can implement to bring your next virtual presentation to a new level:

  1. Host a live Q&A format
    A live Q&A virtual presentation format allows you to build a relationship with your audience from the very start (or even before your presentation starts). Invite your audience to submit their relevant questions beforehand and open your presentation by candidly answering one or two to grab their attention. Unmute participants so they can continue to ask questions live throughout the presentation.
  2. Incorporate storytelling
    Virtual presentations can make it challenging for you as the presenter and your attendees to feel the tangible connection that traditional classroom training provides. Bring in a human touch to your virtual presentation by offering true-life stories or anecdotes that can make your content seem more applicable to participants’ lives. Knowing their pain points and what they value and what they don’t will help you tell the right story.
  3. Gamification, of course!
    This isn’t the first time The Bob Pike Group has brought up gamification as a way to help make training more fun and interactive for participants. Apply low-tech, inexpensive game elements to boost audience engagement during your virtual presentation. Strategies include using rewards for participants who accomplish certain tasks or a friendly trivia competition to encourage camaraderie. Top performer rewards can be anything from free one-on-one coaching sessions to top performer badges to display on social media.
  4. Wow your audience with great visuals
    If your slide show is filled with black text on a white background, nothing will have participants looking away to check their emails or social media pages faster than that. Eye-catching visuals are very important for maintaining engagement and attention. Feel free to use a lot of images, but make sure they support the text, rather than distract from it. Splashes of color through infographics are also very effective. Finally, less is more when it comes to text—plus, it forces participants to take their own notes.
  5. Add in a guest speaker or two
    Sometimes virtual presentations can feel a bit lonely with you as the lone presenter. Plus, attendees are required to sit and stare at a fixed spot for up to an hour and take in all the valuable content they can while keeping involved (and alert). Add both audio and visual interest by bringing in subject matter experts, third-party speakers, or other experts in for a panel discussion on a set of subjects. Incorporating an informal chat between subject matter experts can also make for a fun, interesting experience for your audience.

As you prepare to host your next virtual presentation, The Bob Pike Group challenges you to get innovative by finding new ideas like these to inspire audience participation, boost retention, and improve overall outcomes.

Sign up for an upcoming workshop by The Bob Pike Group to learn more about Creative Training Techniques® and how to make your next virtual presentation more engaging and participant-centered.

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