Presenting in Zoom like a pro
It is always challenging to create presentations that have the right mix of both visually appealing and informative content. This challenge coupled with the new practice of presenting online from home makes it even more difficult to keep the audience engaged. Since most online meetings take place via Zoom, this article has some tips and tricks to help you effectively navigate your presentations online.
Getting the right gadgets for the job
To start off, you need to ensure that you have all the right set of gadgets at your disposal. Smartphones are not the go-to devices for presenting slides. We recommend that you use a desktop or a laptop. The most important gadget you need here is your headphone as you will be speaking throughout the presentation. The microphone needs to be loud and clear to ensure a smooth experience for the audience. If you plan on using the annotations in Zoom to draw and highlight certain points, a touch screen is always helpful. And it is wise to have a strong router for an uninterrupted connection. If you plan on sharing video, a good webcam always helps.
Knowing your features and shortcuts
Next, you need to utilize the in-built features of your presentation software and Zoom to craft an effective presentation. If you use a lot of animations, transitions and videos, you should turn on the options for sharing computer sound and optimizing full-screen video clips from the more tab with three dots located at the top right corner of the options. If you keep your video on, click the upward-facing arrow beside this option. Then, visit video settings to unlock multiple features to up your video sharing game. If your room is not as tidy as you would like it to be, you can use virtual backgrounds or custom pictures from your PC. Some professionals use their company logo in a clean background. You will also find the list of keyboard shortcuts here which allows to quickly toggle certain functions like switching camera, muting and unmuting yourself and many more.
Mastering the virtual presentation
It is always good to have some interactive sections in your slides to keep the audience hooked. Otherwise, people might start other tasks without paying attention or even fall asleep while staying connected to the meeting. And it is always wise to use data to boost the credibility of your information. The slides need to be clutter-free with clean backgrounds. It should not contain lists of long sentences and a lot of images. If you do not have the time to make your own templates, you can access multiple free ones from Google and other sources which are visually appealing. The flow of the presentation needs to be coherent and a story based presentation is always more memorable. The annotations can be used to draw and highlight certain items in real-time to give the audience an immersive experience.