Have you ever wondered if your webcast attendees are actually watching your presentation or if you’re just speaking into the ether? Whether attending from home or an office, people are busy and have a million distractions. So how do you keep them engaged and away from their inbox or wandering down the hall to get a piece of birthday cake from the break room? Here are 4 effective ways to keep your remote audience engaged:
1. Know the Technology
Nothing will lose an audience faster than a presenter who doesn’t know how to advance a slide, can’t get a demo to launch, or plays a video that works for them but doesn’t play for the attendees. You may be the most knowledgeable person when it comes to the subject you’re presenting but not knowing the platform you’re presenting on will kill your credibility and frustrate your audience. Schedule a dry run a week before your event to get familiar with the technology and make sure your content is working properly in the virtual environment.
2. Make Use of Engagement Tools
There are a wide variety of engagement tools available that vary depending on which webcast platform you use. Tools like hand-raising, polls, white boards, chat, Q&A, and social media integration will help make your presentation interactive and encourage audience participation. They can also help gauge understanding and determine what topics your attendees want to focus on. Spend some extra time familiarizing yourself with the engagement tools available and plan to integrate at least one in your presentation.
3. Use Your Voice Effectively
The most prominent feature of any webcast is the presenter’s voice. A boring, monotone voice will quickly lose your attendee’s interest. You can make almost any content seem interesting by using the power of rate, tone, and pitch effectively.
Successful speakers vary these tactics throughout their presentation, creating the feeling of being on a roller coaster ride to keep attendees engaged.