I have been producing and directing live events for corporations around the globe for over 40 years. In that role I have also developed skills as a speaker coach.
My book “On-The-Job Speech Training” is a primer for content experts to successfully present their message to a large audience with all the bells and whistles inherent in a big corporate event.
I have been coaching presenters with the new reality of virtual events.
With a live virtual event, your first thought must be the audience. A live, unstructured, unproduced Zoom meeting, for example, is OK for short brainstorming sessions, but it doesn’t replace the big live event from previous years.
Don’t expect to bring that big live event to the virtual screen. Expecting the same return from the audience experience using only 10% of the budget is a fallacy.
Everyone now uses Skype, Zoom, and FaceTime with family and friends, this doesn’t translate to the production skills needed for a corporate virtual event.
Your audience is in their own place with their own distractions.
So, let’s first consider the audience. While their location for a virtual event may have changed, their needs haven’t.
They are in a different place – mentally and physically. Often, they’re distracted by other activity nearby, cell phones, games, kids, spouses, and Google searches.
Unless participants are in the room where it originates, they probably have the mic on “mute” and they’re pretending to pay attention while also letting the dog out or making a sandwich.
Moreover, your audience today watches everything from TikTok to Netflix to YouTube on their home TV – so a important virtual meeting can’t look impromptu and unprepared.
No longer will an audience sit for a 45-minute "update" from the CEO, as they might if they are paid to be in a Hawaiian ballroom, looking forward to an afternoon of golf.
The virtual audience will benefit more from a well-produced 3-5 minute video and a 5-10 minute live talk with Q&A.
Presenters must be comfortable with their contributions and their personal style. Place them in a comfortable location, dress him/her well, with good makeup, lighting, a quality microphone, and earpiece.
Even the most seasoned presenters will benefit from coaching.
Eye contact, tone, gestures all have to be re-trained so every audience member feels they are the only viewer.
I encourage presenters to watch a few good and bad presenters on video. Then we talk about what they saw.
NY Post 2020/03/21
One of the best examples is NY Governor Andrew Cuomo during the COVID19 crisis. He is seated comfortably. His tone is authoritative and considerate.
My initial session can be with one to 10 people. If the introduction begins with a group, it is important the follow-up is individualized.
From my virtual office, I show participants good and bad eye contact and its impact on the presentation.
Then, we go through my eye contact exercise and record it. We review it together. Some prefer to do this exercise before we meet. We can share the results.
It’s important to personalize every short presentation by being natural. Appear as the same person “on camera” the audience knows off camera. Talk one-on-one with the viewers. Consider pacing and inflection.
While I demonstrate this during my coaching for a large event, I focus on the difference with the small screen.
I coach presenters on how to deal with the idiosyncrasies of virtual event technology: the sound itself, audio delays (especially with Q&A), and unexpected interruptions.
A live presentation is best suited for Q&A. Like any Q&A session, the presenter must know ALL the likely questions and the appropriate answers.
Some of the virtual networks introduce issues with audience feedback because of the time delay between participants. We will need to practice an interactive exercise so the host feels comfortable managing the issues that arise.
The questions should be vetted by someone off-camera. The questioner can be live via video link or submit written questions via text or email. We rehearse how to effectively handle questions with the virtual medium.
In the case of a panel discussion with each participant in different locations, how the panel appears to the vast audience is unique in a virtual event.
When all panelists are shown in separate boxes on the screen, everyone must model the behavior they expect from the audience. Look interested, keep eye contact with the camera, don’t interrupt someone or look like the foreign correspondent who waits 5 seconds between speakers. It is awkward and disturbing to the audience.
If you’re the leader, develop patience not to interject comments while someone else is talking. Lead the next person to talk by saying their name, “Susan, what do you think?”
camerajabber.com
Some presenters will require a teleprompter. Those skills don’t come naturally to most people. When used for VIPs in remote locations, there must be a producer off-camera with COM connection back to the prompter operator, who can be remote.
My initial coaching session should not exceed 15 minutes with an individual and 50 minutes with a small group. I will ask the client to continue to practice what they have learned.
Before the big event, I ask to review a few recorded sessions for coaching in our final meeting.
In addition, it’s beneficial for me to attend the significant targeted event as an invisible “attendee,” to review and make suggestions going forward.
My fee is $75 per hour with a minimum commitment of 5 hours per project. Contact me at production.director@gmail.com.
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