Top 5 Videoconferencing Public Speaking Tips

Zoom is here to stay, or at least videoconferencing is the future of the remote worker. This post follows on from my article "My Top 5 Public Speaking Tips". This is another 5 tips that have helped me when hosting weekly meetings of 100+ on zoom.

1. Virtual Backgrounds are a No-No.

Bizarrely virtual backgrounds have become so ubiquitous that here in the UK a kitchen company took to advertising their products with the “You need to have this kitchen in the background over that blurry mess on your zoom call.” You don’t need a fancy kitchen. Just a plain blank wall is all you need. I know, boring! But your listeners won’t be distracted by the edges of your face melting, the paperbacks on the shelf or the controversial art on the walls. Because let’s face it, sometimes they can be more interesting than our subjects!

2. Invest In a Decent Microphone and Webcam

Due to the large quantity of virtual media that we consume, we have become so used a high production value (the quality of production from some YouTuber’s for example is staggering) that when we hear a crackling hiss or see a messy pixilation on the screen it can be very jarring. Don’t give you listeners anything else to be distracted by. If you can afford to get a decent microphone and webcam it’s a great investment.

3. Stand Up, Don’t Sit Down

As tempting as it can be to just stay in your fancy ergonomic chair (and for some small presentations is perfectly fine) you will really benefit if you can have things set up to give your talk or presentation whilst standing up. A stack of books to hold your laptop up will work just fine for this if you don’t have a fancy standing desk setup. You will get all the benefits that come from standing whilst presenting – good posture conveys confidence; better breathing gives you numerous benefits as well as direct projection into the microphone and camera.

4. Still Look At Individuals

Have your display set to gallery view. As with any presentation given in person, it is always beneficial to talk to individuals rather than to consider your audience as one mass. Virtual presentations can be quite isolating but if you still try and look at one individual at a time, for a few moments or so, on the gallery view it will help keep you engaged with your audience and hopefully they with you.

5. Do not have your notes on a split screen of your computer.

Have them printed out as a hard copy or on a separate device – such as an iPad - if you possibly can. When you have them on the screen of say a laptop, with one half dedicated to zoom, you will have a weird 45-degree angle to your video feed when you’re looking directly at your notes. And if you tend to read a lot from you notes, this will be clearly obvious. Without this obvious head movement, you will likely get away with consulting your notes more often.