We’ve all asked this question—did we lose them?
We mean clients. During an important meeting, pitch, or presentation, it’s vital that you don’t lose your participants’ or clients’ interest because it could eventually cost you a deal or a contract. When you give presentations, keeping your audience’s attention is the most challenging part (but let’s be fair, giving a presentation is nerve-wracking enough on its own), especially when it’s through a video call. Just imagine it. You’re in the middle of your presentation and you see your client’s eyes glazed over or even worse, frowning. This would absolutely throw you off and as you finish your presentation, you increasingly grow less confident.
But, let’s crush those worries from the get-go. We’re going to go over six easy ways to elevate your presentations and keep your audience’s attention throughout the whole of your video call presentation. After all, success is all about practice and preparation. Let’s get started.
1. It’s easy—rehearse everything twice over!
As with most things in life, practice makes perfect. There’s nothing worse than messing up part of your presentation because you didn’t go over the content enough or even blanked out completely on what to say next. Not to mention, your audience, your clients, will be completely unimpressed and if you were worried about it before, they’ve definitely become uninterested with an easily avoidable blunder.
Avoid easy mistakes such as saying the wrong things, misidentifying specific aspects of the content of your presentation, and even “stage fright” by rehearsing everything that needs to be said and presented. This step is crucial to successful presentations when you’re presenting in a team because with multiple people in a presentation, you want to ensure that everything you say is cohesive and flows smoothly. Practice will make sure that you will look professional, competent, and interesting and your clients will certainly be impressed and stay engaged throughout your whole presentation.
2. Liven up your video call presentation with accompanying visuals and media.
You can go over repetitive slides and slides of information and data and still crush your presentation. But imagine you’re in your client’s shoes. It’s getting kind of boring just staring at words and words of information that the presenter is already articulating. Why don’t we take it a step further? Consider livening up your presentation with relevant visuals and media such as tables and graphs and even images and videos.
Incorporating accompanying visuals and media into your presentation has never been easier than now with a video call. Video conferencing systems have incredible features that allow you to easily switch over to a video on a different site or window. For instance, ProVideoMeeting provides members with a comprehensive array of built-in features. YouTube Group View allows you to seamlessly switch over to YouTube and play a specific part of a video for your clients. Visuals are compelling aspects that when used smartly, attract interest and move your audience into action.
3. Provide an agenda that everyone can follow.
One of the main reasons why people become uninterested in a presentation is because they become overloaded with all the information thrown at them and eventually get lost. Avoid this by creating an agenda or a simple outline of your presentation and sharing them with your clients. They’ll be able to follow along and will stay continuously engaged with what you’re presenting. Additionally, your clients can take notes and write down anything that they want to circle back to. Providing an agenda demonstrates that you don’t want to only talk at your clients, you also want to engage them and ensure that they’re getting the information that they need.
4. Mind your body language.
How you present yourself could ultimately change your client’s opinion about you and your presentation. Think about it. If your body language screams out nerves and insecurity, your clients will have already come up with a specific response to your presentation. You want to make sure that you’re hyper-aware of your body language. For instance, you want to make sure that your eyes aren’t constantly glued to the presentation screen or notes. It’s alright if you glance back every so often to ensure that you’re right on track with the pace of the presentation, but you also want to hold eye contact with your clients. This demonstrates confidence, engagement, and professionalism that will impress your clients.
Additionally, you want to watch out for posture (especially since you’re on a video call and sitting down in front of your computer or laptop screen), hand gestures, video positioning (make sure the laptop camera is positioned to see you front-on), and tone.
5. It’s all about looks, seriously.
It’s tempting to just show up in your pajamas and turn off your cameras but that will absolutely dock points off for sure with your clients. You want to make sure that your appearance matches the confidence and professionalism that you want your video call presentation to communicate. Dress in professional attire, groom your hair, and set up your background. Make sure your surroundings are organized and that you look your best. After all, you dress for the part that you want and in this case, it’s success.
6. Leave room for a Q&A.
As you close out your presentation, you want to leave time to answer any questions that your clients may have. Clarifying any questions or concerns that your clients may have will clear out any doubts that they have about your presentation and will give you an opportunity to communicate any last bits of information that went unsaid during your presentation. A Q&A also shows your clients that you’re thorough and have thought of solutions to any concern that they may have.
After incorporating these six easy tips into your presentation, your clients will definitely take note of what you have to say and will be impressed by what you have to offer through your services or products. We understand that it’s hard to present through a video call but with preparation and these tips, you’ll be confident and ready to take on any video call presentation that comes your way.
