Rob Geraghty on Presenting Virtually and Audience Engagement

Rob Geraghty, the founder of Presenting Virtually, is dedicated to helping people design and deliver outstanding presentations. Moreover, he has developed a framework of 63 micro-skills that help people deliver virtual presentations to the highest standards. He also leads a team of Presentation Coaches who help organizations and individuals around the world.

In this episode, we talk about virtual presenting and the new required skills, and ways to improve your audience engagement.

Virtual presenting

Rob tells us that we need a whole new skill set for virtual presentations different from what we have known until now. He has managed to put all the skills for great online presenting in a framework of micro-skills that you can swiftly learn and apply. They are 63 micro-skills that would improve your virtual presence and delivery abilities, as well as audience engagement. Rob shares with us that, in some ways, the virtual experience can be better than the actual face-to-face. Two of the 63 principles are the power of intrigue and looking down the camera.

The new industry standard

Virtual presenting is here, and it is staying for a long time as it has already become daily for many people. Rob gives us some tips for audience engagement. For example, we should not share the slides all the time. From time to time, we could turn them off and focus and engage more with the audience. Slide sharing should be used only when needed.

Furthermore, building a virtual presentation zone is something not many think of, but it can have more impact than you expect. You can curate your background for extra connection to whom you are speaking. Besides, when you know the audience it can create instant rapport.

Audience engagement

Audience engagement is the most frequent question and the biggest challenge in presenting virtually. Rob advises, for that reason, to involve your audience early and often. You can straight away go to the people and ask them questions. The first 10 minutes can be engaging with the audience that will make them feel involved and more interested in your presentation.

Another tip Rob shares is that virtually co-hosting and co-presenting is now more possible than ever. Having a moderator or an extra host boosts engagement and makes the dynamic more interesting, and people listen more. Plus, involving them from time to time keeps them on their toes, and in combination, these things can do wonders for your virtual presentations.