How to Make Virtual Presentations Engaging

I have a confession to make. I have been guilty of putting people to sleep during my presentations. Unfortunately, not once, but many times. I could blame it on the complexities of tech topics or the dryness of the subject. I could always console myself by saying that at least it's not as sleep-inducing as financial presentations (sorry, my friends in Finance). Deep down, though, I knew that even the most complicated and dry topics could come alive. As with anything, it's a skill and can be improved upon. Thus, I turned to my friend Christopher Chin, Communication Coach for Tech Professionals, for some much-needed advice. He shared these 5 presentation tips guaranteed to leave a lasting impression: 1/ Speak to Their Needs, Not Your Wants Don’t just say what you like talking about or what your audience wants to hear. Say what your audience needs to hear based on their current priorities and pain points: that sets your presentation up to be maximally engaging 2/ Slides Support, You Lead Slides are not the presentation. You are the presentation. Your slides should support your story and act as visual reinforcement rather than as the main star of the show.  Consider holding off on making slides until you have your story clear. That way, you don’t end up making more slides than you need or making slides more verbose than you need 3/ Start with a Bang, Not a Whisper The beginning of a presentation is one of the most nerve-wracking parts for you as the speaker and one of the most attention-critical parts for your audience. If you don’t nail the beginning, there’s a good chance you lose the majority of people. Consider starting with something that intrigues your audience, surprises them, concerns them, or makes them want to learn more. 4/ Think Conversation, Not Presentation One-way presentations where the speaker just talks “at” the audience lead to dips in attention and poorer reception of the material. Consider integrating interactive elements like polls and Q&A throughout a presentation (rather than just at the very end) to make it feel more like a conversation. 5/ Finish Strong with a Clear CTA We go through all the effort of preparing, creating, and delivering a presentation to cause some change in behavior. End with a powerful call to action that reminds your audience why they were in attendance and what they should do as soon as they leave the room. By integrating these, you won't just present; you'll captivate. Say goodbye to snoozing attendees and hello to a gripped audience. 😴 Repost if you've ever accidentally put someone to sleep with a presentation. We've all been there!

Ever notice how some leaders seem to have a sixth sense for meeting dynamics while others plow through their agenda oblivious to glazed eyes, side conversations, or everyone needing several "bio breaks" over the course of an hour? Research tells us executives consider 67% of virtual meetings failures, and a staggering 92% of employees admit to multitasking during meetings. After facilitating hundreds of in-person, virtual, and hybrid sessions, I've developed my "6 E's Framework" to transform the abstract concept of "reading the room" into concrete skills anyone can master. (This is exactly what I teach leaders and teams who want to dramatically improve their meeting and presentation effectiveness.) Here's what to look for and what to do: 1. Eye Contact: Notice where people are looking (or not looking). Are they making eye contact with you or staring at their devices? Position yourself strategically, be inclusive with your gaze, and respectfully acknowledge what you observe: "I notice several people checking watches, so I'll pick up the pace." 2. Energy: Feel the vibe - is it friendly, tense, distracted? Conduct quick energy check-ins ("On a scale of 1-10, what's your energy right now?"), pivot to more engaging topics when needed, and don't hesitate to amplify your own energy through voice modulation and expressive gestures. 3. Expectations: Regularly check if you're delivering what people expected. Start with clear objectives, check in throughout ("Am I addressing what you hoped we'd cover?"), and make progress visible by acknowledging completed agenda items. 4. Extraneous Activities: What are people doing besides paying attention? Get curious about side conversations without defensiveness: "I see some of you discussing something - I'd love to address those thoughts." Break up presentations with interactive elements like polls or small group discussions. 5. Explicit Feedback: Listen when someone directly tells you "we're confused" or "this is exactly what we needed." Remember, one vocal participant often represents others' unspoken feelings. Thank people for honest feedback and actively solicit input from quieter participants. 6. Engagement: Monitor who's participating and how. Create varied opportunities for people to engage with you, the content, and each other. Proactively invite (but don't force) participation from those less likely to speak up. I've shared my complete framework in the article in the comments below. In my coaching and workshops with executives and teams worldwide, I've seen these skills transform even the most dysfunctional meeting cultures -- and I'd be thrilled to help your company's speakers and meeting leaders, too. What meeting dynamics challenge do you find most difficult to navigate? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments! #presentationskills #virualmeetings #engagement

Ready to make your prospects the star of the show? Let me put you on to a play I used to run as a rep that still hits hard in trainings today “The Heros Trailer” video play Picture this Your prospect is the hero facing their big challenge (cue the dramatic music) Your job? Help them see how your product is the missing piece they need to overcome it Heres how you can run it 1. Highlight their journey In your video don’t make it all about you—make it all about them. Show that you understand their current struggle - “Here’s the challenge you’re likely dealing with and heres how we help heroes like you solve it” 2. Tease the solution Like any good movie trailer you’ve got to keep it intriguing. Don’t spill all the beans. Give just enough so they’re curious to see how it all plays out. This isn’t the full demo. it’s a teaser. “Imagine if you had a tool that does [X] you’d be able to achieve [Y]” 3. Back it up with credibility Drop in “reviews” from other heroes (aka testimonials) “Sara and Mike were in the same boat but after using [our product] they saw XYZ results” now you’ve got their attention and you’ve built trust without sounding pushy 4. The big CTA End with a cliffhanger “Let’s schedule a time for you to see the full picture” make it feel like a VIP screening they can’t miss 5. Get creative with distribution It’s not just about the video—it’s how you deliver it. Send it via email, LinkedIn DM or even a voice note follow up. Your goal is to cut through the noise and give them something different—something that makes them feel like you really get their journey The reason this works? You’re not just pitching you’re positioning yourself as the guide that helps them shine It’s all about their success story When SDRs in recent trainings tested this play they started landing meetings they’d been chasing for weeks The feedback? “This feels more like a conversation than a sales pitch—it’s engaging” So next time you’re setting up your outreach ask yourself How can you help your prospect see themselves as the hero in their story—and position your product as the tool that helps them get there? Give this play a shot and let me know how it goes 🤘

I led a webinar last week that included 17 moments of audience interaction — that’s one every 3 ½ minutes. How did we do it? Not through breakouts or fancy polling software, but through the humble chat window. Here’s how we used it and why I love it. We used chat: * 5 times for fill-in-the-blank answers to my questions. * 3 times for yes/no answer to my questions. * 3 times for sharing their answers in brainstorming exercises. * 2 times for answering a series of quick questions. * once for answering an open-ended question. * once for a quick individual exercise. * once where I invited a volunteer to walk us through an exercise; and * once at the end for 10 minutes of Q&A. And here’s what I love about it. The chat window is: * Active — the opposite of passive, it gives people something to do. * Simple — anyone can use it.  * Instant — no “dead air” while waiting for poll results. * Flexible — people can jump into the conversation or just read along. * Unfiltered — no moderator is screening the content. * Non-hierarchical — people can share their own ideas and talk with each other. * Enlightening — participants learn from each other. * Energizing — seeing and calling out the waterfall of comments lends energy to the occasion. * Validating — it’s a real-time indicator of people’s engagement. Remember: the best presentations are a conversation, not a lecture.

We were wrong. What works in a room doesn’t always work online. When Jeff Gothelf and I started teaching online, we thought we could just adapt our in-person classes to video conferences. Turns out, that doesn’t work. We had to rethink how we structure lessons in order to keep people engaged, and create an interactive experience that actually helped them learn. Here’s what made the biggest difference: 1. Shorter is better (shoutout to Teresa Torres for this one) → People can sit in a room for a full day. They won’t on Zoom. → Schedule multiple shorter sessions instead of one long one. Keep them engaging—not just with the facilitator, but also with the content and each other. 2. Ditch lectures → What works in person often falls flat online. → We moved lectures to short pre-recorded videos as homework and used live sessions for discussion and exercises instead. 3. Use small breakout rooms → Large-group discussions rarely work well online. → Breakout rooms let teams collaborate and bring back key insights. 4. Cameras on, mics off → It sounds simple, but setting expectations upfront keeps energy high. → Everyone keeps cameras on. Mics stay muted unless you're speaking. 5. Choose the right tools → Mural/Miro for whiteboarding, Slack for between-class discussions, and Zoom’s breakout rooms for collaboration. → The right tools make workshops feel more interactive. Online workshops can be just as engaging as in-person ones—you just have to adjust for the medium. What have you seen work well?

Many of us have experienced this: We give a presentation and when we are done, we open it up for questions. Moments of awkward silence follow. Eventually, a few questions trickle in. Embarrassment avoided. But we know: active audience engagement looks different. Much of my work with clients revolves around designing engaging, highly interactive workshops, trainings, panel discussions, and presentations. I just stumbled upon a short article by Joe Murphy, CCEP (see link), sharing an effective technique he uses to get participants involved during presentations or trainings. The beauty of it: It is very easy to apply, doesn’t require props of any kind, and suitable both for in-person and virtual settings. The technique in brief: 1) After a short introduction of yourself and your topic, ask participants to turn to a neighbor or two. Ask them to introduce themselves and share what they hope to get out of this session. 2) As you finish your presentation and move into the discussion part, ask participants again to turn to a neighbor and discuss: What was presented that you have questions about? What is your perspective on the topic? 3) After a few minutes, harvest discussion topics from the group. Why is this simple technique effective? 1) The presentation becomes more user-centered. It allows the presenter to be responsive to the interests of the audience and conveys to the audience that they and their perspectives are valued. 2) The exercise loosens participants’ tongue. As they speak to each other, they rehearse what they have to say, boosting their confidence to speak up in the larger audience. 3) People are much more satisfied with a session where they were able to contribute and felt heard. The best techniques are sometimes very simple. I hope you will find Joe’s technique as useful as I did. I am curious to hear: What techniques can you recommend for designing more engaging sessions? Please share in the comments. #facilitation #uxdesign #ethicsandcompliance https://lnkd.in/eivNaqZB

You're hosting another webinar. The chat's dead silent. Half your attendees are probably scrolling through their phones. And you can practically hear people dropping off like flies. Sound familiar? It's time to wake the hell up and revolutionize your webinar game. I've been there. We've all been there. Boring, one-way presentations that put people to sleep faster than a bottle of NyQuil. But in 2024, if your webinars aren't engaging, interactive, and valuable as f*ck, you're wasting everyone's time - including your own. Here are 5 ways to turn your webinars from snoozefests into can't-miss experiences: 1. Ditch the monologue: Stop talking AT people. Start conversations. Use real-time polls, Q&As, and breakout rooms. Get people involved or get out of the game. 2. Bring the energy: If you're not excited, why the hell should your audience be? Pump up the enthusiasm, use storytelling, and for God's sake, show some personality! 3. Less is more: Cut the fluff. Focus on ONE core message and drill it home. Give people actionable takeaways they can implement immediately. 4. Make it visual: Our brains are wired for visuals. Use dynamic slides, live demos, and even props. Anything to break up the monotony and keep eyes glued to the screen. 5. Create FOMO: Exclusive content, limited-time offers, or guest experts. Give people a reason to show up live instead of watching the recording (if you even offer one). I remember when we overhauled our webinar strategy at VaynerMedia. We went from typical corporate snoozefests to high-energy, interactive experiences. Attendance shot up. Engagement went through the roof. And most importantly, our audience started getting real, tangible value. Here's the thing: Webinars aren't just about delivering information. They're about creating experiences that stick with people. That inspire action. That make people feel like they're part of something bigger. So here's my challenge to you: Take a hard look at your next webinar. Are you truly creating value? Are you engaging your audience in meaningful ways? Or are you just going through the motions? It's time to step up or step out. The days of boring, one-way webinars are over. Your audience deserves better, and frankly, so do you. What's one way you're going to make your next webinar more engaging? Drop it in the comments.

Since 2015, I have spoken to more than 15,000 people in 10+ countries including Singapore, The United States, Lithuania, Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, Turkey, Sweden and so on. Here are 5 tips that helped me deliver engaging presentations and these tips can help you too. Come closer to the screen: 1. Master Storytelling: Always, always and always start with a story. Storytelling is the most important skill you may need to have. Regular presentations are boring. The stories are memorable. 2. Get the Audiences Involved: Meet and greet, and get the audiences involved from the second or third sentence. Ask a question or invite them to share some thoughts. Once they are involved, now you all are in the same wavelength. 3. Seeing is Believing: Colorful and easy to view slides are your friend but you gotta be ready to go. Seeing is believing which means people love to see good visuals but nobody wants to read too long texts. Keep that in mind for your next presentation. 4. Stay Hungry, Stay Humble: A presenter who is authentic and comes with humility, open-mind and with an intention to give and take is the best combination. Audiences love authentic presenters and this is the formula for a successful presentation and interaction. 5. LAST Method and Never Argue: Listen, Ask, Speak, and Thank but never argue with audience members. Arguing with someone from the audience is the worst way for any presenter to "prove a point." Also, never turn your back to the audiences to read from your slides. And, keep your hands out of your pocket. No matter who you are, learn to respect the audiences. That's the best way to deliver engaging presentations and be a memorable speaker.

In March 2020, the world changed overnight—and so did how we connect. Suddenly, all my speaking engagements were online. At first, I struggled. How do you capture the same energy, the same connection, through a screen? It was a steep learning curve, but the lessons were invaluable. The key to standing out in virtual presentations is mastering small details that make a big difference. I learned to treat my camera like a person—making eye contact and speaking directly to it, as if addressing a live audience. Visuals became essential—not just slides, but dynamic content to keep people engaged. And I realized that virtual interaction is possible, using polls, Q&As, and even acknowledging the online setting made my presentations feel more connected. If you're navigating this new world, remember that virtual doesn’t mean "less." It requires more attention to detail, creativity, and effort. But when done right, a virtual presentation can be just as powerful as one in person, if not more. Ready to stand out in your next virtual presentation? Focus on eye contact with the camera, use engaging visuals, and keep your audience involved. Drop your virtual presentation tips in the comments below! P.S. Want more strategies to improve your public speaking skills as an entrepreneur? Follow Ham Sebunya and check out my book on public speaking at https://HamsB4.com!

Stop Trying to Be Authentic! Here’s Why It’s Making Your Presentations Boring and What to Do Instead... We’ve all heard it again and again, "Just be yourself." Be authentic! I feel like this word is so overused that it has muddied the idea of what it means and how you are expected to show up, whether you are pitching a new innovation or presenting to customers. It’s not about being fake or overly polished—it’s about embracing the performative side of presenting. Here are a handful of reasons for why I feel striving for constant authenticity can potentially backfire: 👉 Lack of Structure 👉 Aimless rambling 👉 No clear flow 👉 Audience gets lost 👉 Over-Sharing Personal Stories 👉 Too many anecdotes 👉 Distracts from main message 👉 Audience tunes out 👉 Inconsistent Messaging 👉 Mixed signals 👉 Core points get buried 👉 Confusing takeaways 👉 Monotony Through Predictability 👉 Same approach every time 👉 Boring and forgettable 👉 Lacks engagement ✅ What You Can Do Instead 👉 Embrace the Performative Side 👉 Use body language 👉 Vary your tone 👉 Engage actively 👉 Focus on Purposeful Preparation 👉 Structure your content 👉 Clear objectives 👉 Confident delivery 👉 Curate Relevant Personal Stories 👉 Keep it concise 👉 Enhance your message 👉 Avoid oversharing 👉 Blend Authenticity with "Professionalism" 👉 Maintain professionalism 👉 Let your personality shine 👉 Find a balance with logic, empathy and authenticity 👉 Incorporate Varied Presentation Techniques 👉 Use visuals- Show don't tell! 👉 Add interactive elements- more please! 👉 Mix pacing and styles 👉 Engage Your Audience 👉 Ask questions 👉 Encourage participation 👉 Create a dialogue Yes, being authentic builds connections, but perhaps you can reframe the word "authentic" to "bringing your SPARK" instead! Because when you perform from a vague definition of authenticity, you risk turning your presentations into snoozefests. It’s not about being 100% yourself in every way. It’s about being the best version of yourself that keeps your audience interested and inspired. 💡 Pro Tip: Balance genuine expression with strategic preparation to create presentations that are both authentic and captivating. Always leave your audience wanting more! #PublicSpeaking #PresentationSkills #Authenticity #ProfessionalDevelopment #EffectiveCommunication #Leadership #Engagement #PresentationTips #CareerGrowth #Storytelling 🛑 Do you want more content like this or to find out about my upcoming workshops and offerings, then please hit the "🔔" on my page and let's do this!