What’s the big deal about online presentations?
You already know how to plan and execute your online programs. You start with a slide deck, add learning objectives, introduce yourself to your viewers and methodically move through your deck. You hit all the salient points – often with a list of bullets, or an image here and there. You finish with a summary page and maybe a few thoughtful questions. Voila! You’re done.
So, what’s the big deal?
Big Deal #1: It's Outdated
The big deal is that you’re creating and delivering training and learning programs the same way we did a decade ago.
PowerPoint decks are a tried and true way of delivering information – cram everything you know into slides and data dump. You assume your viewers received and understood all information. But, a few days later, you’re repeating the process. And with the same information!
Has this ever happened to you? I know it has for me and it’s frustrating – both as a communications professional and as a viewer.
It’s well-known that most of us don’t consume information the way you did one or two years ago, not to mention way back when, when there was no video and no mobile apps. Your viewers want a personal and digital experience that lets them consume knowledge how they want, when they want, not how you want. Give it to them!
Big Deal #2: It's not Resonating with your Audience
The big deal is that you don’t know if you’ve really connected with your audience.
Using video and interactive tools like live chat, polls and clickable navigation helps keep viewers connected with you - the presenter. Better yet, creating visually appealing slides that act as a conversation guide rather than a white paper crammed onto a slide will certainly keep viewers more engaged. (This blog offers Three steps that lead to more engaging interactions.)
Remember, the goal of your presentation is to keep them wanting more. If your topic is interesting and you’re interesting (as conveyed via video and/or audio delivery) your viewer will want to participate in the conversation and be more likely to stay to the end.
Big Deal #3: It's not Interactive
The big deal is that you may have lost crucial engagement opportunities.
Let’s think about it. Wouldn’t it be better if you knew engagement activity starting from the moment your audience interacts with your content? This would help in three important ways:
- You can adjust your content or your delivery style to maintain audience interest whether it’s in real-time or for the next presentation.
- You can measure full engagement and assess viewer comprehension and certification.
- You can analyze engagement to help prioritize lead follow-up.
Take Control of Your Online Presentations
You spend valuable time crafting and delivering your program. Whether it’s 30 minutes, one hour, or even a half a day, you always need to measure your success. So why not try something new? Try adding video to show off your personality and passion, interactivity modules to increase engagement and assessment tools to measure retention, and measure and track performance with an analytics dashboard. Use these 3 tips to create more engaging interactions to take control of your online presentation experience:
- Make it personal with video
- Add interactivity modules
- Embrace the data
Make it personal with video.
If you can't be there in person, there is no better way of connecting with an audience than through video. You can create one-to-one connections even though you are presenting to many. Video captures the essence of who you are, conveying your expertise, passion and knowledge in a way that powerpoint alone just can't do. It also provides a platform for storytelling - that indescribable art that engages viewers, makes emotional connections and improves recall of content. (For more insights on storytelling, check out this post from Ariel Group.)
Video helps you accomplish three amazing things:
- showcase your expertise and passion;
- deliver consistency across every view; and
- increase engagement and viewership.
Leading analysts from reseach firms like Bersin, Forrester and Gartner continue to confirm that using video is the norm when it comes to training, learning & development, and delivering online programs. And according to Forrester Research, 75% of employees are more likely to watch a video than read an email, web article, or documents.
So, for your next online presentaton - remember to make it personal and use video!
Add interactivity modules throughout the presentation.
Don’t worry about distracting your audience. We don’t have the attention span we used to anymore. Give your viewers the chance to experience their learning journey on their terms.
Provide chapter navigations, clickable links with supplemental materials, and transcripts to keep them interested. Polling and live chat sessions will make your viewers feel empowered and part of the conversation. Offer certifications and encourage viewers to participate in the discussion during and after the presentation.
Embrace the data.
If you rely on online programs for training, employee development, on-boarding and marketing (the applications are endless), then you need data to track performance and measure your success. You also need insight into the viewer experience and content effectiveness.
When thinking about data, look for analytics that give you a 360º view at the viewer, author, content, and summary level. Standard data metrics include number of views and viewing minutes. But that’s not enough. Meaningful insight into content performance can come from engagement heat maps for video, slide view details, quiz results, cohort analysis of content, and viewer level viewing activity to name just a few. You need to know how well your content is performing, whether your audience is watching and participating, whether your message is understood. How else are you going to iterate on your content and improve your delivery?
Start a new relationship with your presentations.
Interactive online presentations give us insight into content performance and a platform to create more engaging viewing experiences, which everyone wants. Online presentations with video make us all better communicators.
So, let’s start a new relationship with online presentations. Demonstrate knowledge and expertise using video, inspire engagement with visually appealing decks and interactivity models, and embrace the data!
See how you can get more from your presentations with Knovio.