At the Very Least...Do These 3 Things Before Presenting Online
By Scott J. Allen & Maria Soriano Young
It’s been almost 14 months since many of us transitioned to working from home. And with every meeting and webinar we attend, we continue to be amazed at what we see and don’t see. Senior leaders in organizations of every size have not prioritized even the most fundamental shifts to better connect with their teams, clients, and constituents. Here are three action items that you can take to level up your digital presence. We promise that your followers will thank you for it.
Purchase an ethernet cord — ensuring a hard connection between your router and your computer is the best way to ensure that your video feed is crisp and clean. For $10, you can secure some peace of mind.
Secure your sound — purchase a microphone so people can hear you. Too many senior leaders sound like they are in a cavern or are relying on dated technology from their laptop to transmit their message to listeners. Ditch the Apple headphones that screech across your collar for the entire presentation, or the AirPods that do not always maintain a clear connection. Scott uses the ATR2100 and it’s worked great.
Prioritize your lighting — we still see way too many shadowy figures, dark figures, odd lighting, and ceiling fan strobe fests. Purchase some box lighting or a ring light so your audience can see you as you present. Scott uses box lights and they have worked very well - any time of day.
Want a good laugh? Follow @ratemyskyperoom on Twitter. We promise you will catch a few tips and have a good laugh (the content does have a political slant to it, but here we are referring to Room Rater’s commentary on backgrounds—cord violations, what is art, and where a decorative pillow could be added, among others!). This is still new for all of us, and we are confident that “work from home” will impact a large faction of us for years to come. Ensuring that you have the right equipment to lead is critical.
Can your followers see and hear you? Is your connection crisp and clean? Followers likely will not tell you otherwise (or they might tell you in the chat, and you’ll have to determine whether it’s something with your connection, or it might be something with theirs; either way, navigating those tech-trouble messages could interrupt the flow of your presentation). As the principles of online presentation design extends into your setting and tech, we remind you that it’s up to you to ensure that your digital presence is in line with your personal brand.
We explore this topic and others in our new book Captovation: Online Presentations by Design.