This August I had 4 virtual speaking opportunities, and the experience is quite different from in-person speaking. You have to contend with technology and your space and all those other factors that aren’t applicable in an in-person setting, so today I’m sharing a few tips I learned along the way.
1. Get lit. Natural light can fade in and out, especially as the weather calls for more rain. Because you’re on a screen, it is critical that your audience can SEE you. Get yourself a ring light if you don’t have one already. I like this one that’s available on Amazon because it has cool, warm, and neutral lights, you can adjust the intensity of light, it plugs right into your laptop via USB and you can clip it to your desk (or even a book) so It doesn’t take up valuable real estate on your desk.
2. Keep your background as clean as possible: Some people choose to have a virtual background, but those can be very distracting particularly if you move a lot while speaking, or if you’re a hand talker like I am. I strongly prefer to use my real background, but the trick is to keep what’s in the frame as clean as possible. This is also an opportunity to show a little bit of your personality - my background is a bookcase in my office which includes some personal items like a Baby Yoda plush toy and mementos from our travels, in addition to several stacks of books.
3. Accessorize: When you’re speaking in person, your whole body is visible, and you can express your personality through movement, clothing etc. When you’re speaking virtually, your audience is generally only seeing your head and maybe your shoulders. It’s much harder to read body language. Accessories are your friend. I use statement earrings to showcase my personality, but a scarf or necklaces will do fine too.
4. Watch your face: speaking of body language, virtual conferences mean your audience is entirely reliant on your FACE to judge your reactions, so watch your face. Like many women, I’m afflicted with RBF which makes me look annoyed or disinterested if I’m not careful. So I’ve learned to have a slight smile on my face at all times - just enough to point the corners of my mouth very slightly up, not a full out grin.
5. Wear a bright lip: This one is aimed specifically at women - a swipe of bright lipstick will brighten up your face and draw attention to your mouth.
Real outfit from a virtual conference: note the statement earrings and bright lip that also help draw attention away from the dark circles under my eyes.
6. Speak slightly slower than feels normal: I know I’m an excited talker - I get really into a topic and start talking with my hands and talk fast. When you’re speaking virtually, it is critical that you SLOW down so your audience can hear you clearly. For me, this means speaking slightly slower than feels normal for me - it sounds awkward in my head, but is the right cadence for replay. That said, remain expressive. Changing your tone, emphasizing words, and other verbal expressions keep your audience engaged in what you’re saying.
7. Have someone else handle the questions: Most virtual conferences have a chat box for the audience to enter questions. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HANDLE THE CHAT BOX. You will get distracted and it will make for inferior audience experience. Instead, have a host, or co-host look at the questions and feed them to you to answer live. That way they can eliminate any duplicate questions and you can focus on the job at hand-delivering your message.
8. Make a handout if appropriate: This doesn’t work for every scenario, but create a quick digital handout if appropriate. If you don’t have a template, there are several available on Canva for you to try. Better yet, create a landing page on your website where your audience can find the key takeaways from your session, and ideally also sign up for your email list.
9. Be searchable: If you don’t have any online presence (that you control), you need to change that immediately. At the very least, create a compelling LinkedIn profile. If you need help with LinkedIn, I strongly recommend Brittany Neish’s LinkedIn Refresh. If you have a little more time, create a simple site that has an about page, links to upcoming events and past recordings, bio, etc. I’m partial to Squarespace because it’s aesthetically pretty and easy to use but you can use a free platform if you prefer.
10. Have fun: You’ve been invited to speak because you have the expertise and cover a topic that people want to hear about. Have fun with it!! If you’re nervous, say some affirmations to yourself in the mirror before you log in. YOU’VE GOT THIS!!!
If you’re interested in some of my speaking gigs, you can find recordings of them towards the bottom of my ABOUT page.
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