How & Where? Participants, Access, & Your Online Presentation
Photo by Adrianna Calvo from Pexels
By Scott J. Allen & Maria Soriano Young
“90% of how well the talk will go is determined before the speaker steps on the platform.” —Somers White, speaker
We agree with White’s poignant (and daunting) note above: Presentation design is a critical component of speaker success. And a significant portion of your success is cast in stone before you even open the Zoom room (or Teams, or Google Meet…you get the idea). However, in this new domain of online presentations, there are a few new considerations that require your attention—namely, how your attendees will access your presentation and where they will be watching.
iPhones, iPads, Laptops, & Desktops
As you begin the design process, be mindful of the various devices and screen sizes a remote audience might be tuning in on. A person tuning in on a cell phone will view the presentation differently from someone watching on a full-size desktop monitor. We have had attendees access our presentations on tablets, laptops, desktops, and cell phones. In some cases, attendees were not using the video—instead, they were accessing the presentation as a phone call. Understanding how people will log in and engage with the presentation and maintaining awareness that your participants’ access points could be all of the above is an essential consideration as you design. In addition, it’s important to make yourself aware of the limitations that each device may present; if the attendee is viewing your presentation on a mobile device, would poll questions pop up for them? Is the chat feature accessible, or invisible?
Sitting, Standing, Walking, & Driving
Similar to how participants will access your presentation, where they will be is another consideration. We have had participants access from the bathrooms, their car (which we do not condone), and even poolside from Florida. The sky is the limit in this new reality. Some will be listening from the park, and others from their home office. The fact is that because some of your participants may not be looking at their screen, slides may have less impact. Likewise, a handout attached to the chat may not be realistic for some participants. If visual aids and/or interactive components are crucial to your presentation, you may want to specify that in advance. Another option is to ask if the session could be recorded and emailed to attendees afterward so they could re-view the presentation with the slides, read the chat transcript, or see how others participated in the interactive portions more clearly.
The Key is This…
Be sure you ask your contact how your participants will be accessing your presentation and where they will be accessing your presentation; even though your contact may have an answer based on their best guess or their expectations, keep in mind that because of home lives, schedules, or even individual choice, some attendees still may (or just will) access your session on a mobile device or in an environment that you didn’t expect. Maintaining an awareness of the how and the where is critical, and will help you design a presentation that is destined for success before you even open the Zoom.
We explore this topic and others in our new book Captovation: Online Presentations by Design.