Virtual Presenting: maximising your effectiveness in blended and virtual environments

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• Do not try to replicate face to face interactions
• Improve engagement and interaction
• Feel confident presenting online (and off) Mini Monkeys and Chunky Monkeys

Has there ever been a better time to hone and polish your virtual presenting skills, including skills needed for blended meetings? We might be biased, but we think not! If you aren’t already convinced, check out our video on the importance of adapting to a virtual environment here.

The coronavirus pandemic forced a record number of people to work from home but what did this move into the virtual world mean for professionals? Some people were totally new to online presentations and calls and even people who were experienced at holding virtual meetings had to learn and adapt quickly to learn new techniques to keep people engaged and motivated.

It was a challenge for most people to translate everything they do into the online world – from hosting conferences, video calls or webinars to delivering virtual presentations or pitches to remote teams, suppliers or customers. In addition, it was tricky for teams they were required to meet and collaborate virtually. For help with choosing the right training course for you and your team see our page to book a taster session.

And now we are left with a more hybrid approach with some face-to-face meetings where appropriate and possible, and others virtually whether they teams are working from home or travel is unnecessary. And in many meetings a mix of some physically present and some attending virtually.

The top 3 techniques to increase your effectiveness when delivering in a virtual/blended environment

1 DO NOT try to replicate face-to-face interactions!

Presenting and meeting virtually is not the same as in person – so why would you expect the same techniques to work in a totally new environment?! That’s a bit like taking a houseplant and expecting it to survive and thrive when you put it in the garden! To have successful, effective and engaging virtual meetings or presentations you need to adapt your techniques and approach accordingly. We show our clients exactly how to do that.

2 Improve engagement and interaction

As you’ll know by now, meeting and presenting remotely can be more challenging and getting a remote audience to engage and interact is much harder. But there are plenty of things you can do to improve. (For more information on how to engage your virtual audience click here). Here at Simply Amazing Training, we really do believe you can make your virtual and blended meetings as good as, if not better than in person! With new skills and enough planning and practice of course!

But most professionals admit to being self-taught when it comes to presenting and meeting online, so now we know virtual and blended meetings and presentation are here to stay, isn’t it time to take the opportunity to learn from professionals and maximise your chances of success?

Do you want to master the art of virtual presenting? Visit our site for more information on virtual presenting and help choosing the right training programme for you.

3 Feel confident presenting online (and off) – Mini monkeys and Chunky monkeys

Many people feel nervous or apprehensive when presenting. And presenting virtually, for some makes these worries even worse. They hate looking at themselves on the call or dislike the lack of engagement or get thrown by the time delays. Simply Amazing Training was founded over a decade ago to help people tame their Public Speaking Monkeys; the negative doubts in our heads that stop us from presenting to our full potential, whether in personal or virtually.

We’ve noticed there are two types of monkeys:

• Mini monkeys that dent your confidence. These small worries stop you from being the best you can be. In the virtual world, these are worries like: “What if the technology goes wrong” and “They aren’t responding, am I boring them?”
• Chunky monkeys cause fear and public speaking nerves. These can be deep-rooted worries causing crippling fear, leaving you shaky, sweaty and struggling to control your breathing – both in face to face or virtual scenarios.

If you’d like to know, more get in touch. We help individuals and teams to overcome Public Speaking Monkeys big and small.

https://simplyamazingtraining.co.uk/choosing-the-right-training
https://simplyamazingtraining.co.uk/what-are-public-speaking-monkeys

Why does presenting virtually spark Mini Monkeys?

Virtual presenting can go hand in hand with Mini monkey worries because online meetings have taken many people out of their comfort zone. Even as a confident presenter face to face, you can suddenly find yourself nervous about delivering online. You might feel out of your depth with the technology, especially if you are using different software than usual. Or perhaps you’re nervous about the perceived lack of audience response and interaction in an online setting. Maybe you can’t make out people’s reactions clearly which leaves you feeling unsure. These worries are all perfectly normal.

The good news is that we can help you to overcome these Mini monkeys by:

• showing you the new skills needed in the online environment
• helping you develop a positive frame of mind around presenting virtually
• giving you a safe environment to practice and apply your new learnings

Whereas many trainers will only teach you practical skillsets, Simply Amazing Training also works on your mindset. It’s the mindset that can take more work but will result in a long-term behaviour change.  Once you are in the right frame of mind and add the skills, you will learn easily and see how to apply the approaches in a way that’s right for you and your business.

Want to learn more about our Simply Amazing Virtual Presenting?

Are you or your team ready to deliver confident, professional and actionable online presentations? Our Virtual Presentations training programme has been tried and tested with online audiences, so we know it really works. With our 3-step approach, you will learn how to:

• Build instant trust and rapport with your audience
• Keep your listeners engaged
• Get your audience to take the action you want them to

There has never been a more sensible time to invest in getting yourself and your teams presenting to the best of your abilities online – do it now.

Simply Amazing Training – Bringing Out Your Best