{"id":5050,"date":"2021-09-13T08:06:50","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T15:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogschapman.wpenginepowered.com\/business\/2021\/09\/13\/how-to-crush-zoom-conferencing-software-presentations\/"},"modified":"2021-09-13T08:06:50","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T15:06:50","slug":"how-to-crush-zoom-conferencing-software-presentations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/business\/2021\/09\/13\/how-to-crush-zoom-conferencing-software-presentations\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Crush Zoom (conferencing software) Presentations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like it or not, the prevalence of conferencing software use is increasing and likely to continue to do so. \u00a0For this reason, developing video presentation skills will give an advantage to students who want to ace the presentation, win the interview, land the job, or impress the client.\u00a0 As an SoC communication instructor and ASBE program evaluator, I have watched hundreds of presentations over conferencing software, mostly Zoom<\/em>.\u00a0 The following is a discussion of the 5 most frequent- and annoying- mistakes Zoom presenters make and how to avoid them.<\/p>\n

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  1. Dress for the occasion!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Just because we can\u2019t see all<\/em> of you doesn\u2019t mean you should slack off on your appearance.\u00a0 Neat grooming & professional attire serves 3 beneficial purposes: first, it tells the audience that you are taking your content- and them<\/em>– seriously.\u00a0 Second, dressing for the occasion psychologically helps you to adopt a proper tone, posture, & energy.\u00a0 Third, you will avoid the possibility of an accidental, embarrassing reveal!<\/p>\n

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    1. Your surroundings are part of your appearance- dress them appropriately too.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Pay careful attention to your physical space: open window blinds can cause stripes across your face. Turn off distracting ceiling fans. Prevent lights from facing into the camera; avoid backlighting (e.g.: don\u2019t sit in front of a sunny window); and place a light source in front of & slightly above you for best lighting effect. Clean up the room and make it esthetically pleasing (an organized bookshelf & a plant are good background prop choices); eliminate clutter; and beware of mirrors which may be revealing the mess in the corner. Ask someone to take care of your pet for a few hours. If you are in a dorm room, try hanging a plain bedsheet to create an artificial wall, then add a few sophisticated props to dress up the space.\u00a0 It takes some effort and pre-planning, but is totally worth it when you consider that your audience\u2019s first impression is going to be visual and bias their opinion of the rest of your presentation.\u00a0 (Virtual backgrounds scream \u201cI\u2019m hiding something<\/em>\u201d and should only be used as a last resort!)<\/p>\n

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      1. Position yourself and the camera for maximum effect.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Make sure your head and shoulders are visible and take up most of the screen (this will also reduce the amount of background dressing you will have to do).\u00a0 Ideally, your eyes should be 2\/3 up from the bottom of the screen.\u00a0 Set your laptop on a box so you don\u2019t have to angle your screen toward the ceiling (and the audience isn\u2019t looking up your nose).<\/p>\n

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        1. Practice immediacy behaviors.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Immediacy is the creation of psychological perceptions of interpersonal closeness.\u00a0 In short, it is establishing a sense of connectedness with your audience.\u00a0 You can\u2019t make real eye contact<\/strong>, but you can simulate it by frequently looking at or near the camera rather than the video image of the people you\u2019re talking to.\u00a0 It feels weird at first but gets easier with practice.\u00a0 To perfect eye contact, turn on your camera and take screen shots of yourself as you look at the camera and other positions near it- that way you can pinpoint the exact spot to \u201cfake\u201d looking into your audience\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 Smile<\/strong>! This lets your audience know you are friendly and approachable- it will also boost your own energy level.\u00a0 Use vocalics<\/strong>– especially those that indicate enthusiasm, like volume & pitch.\u00a0 Few things are more boring than a monotone voice.\u00a0 Did you know enthusiasm is contagious?\u00a0 If you<\/em> seem excited about your subject, your audience will be excited about it too (the reverse is also true: if you don\u2019t<\/em> seem excited about it, they won\u2019t be either).\u00a0 Avoid the temptation to read a script- the audience can TOTALLY tell, and it will destroy your credibility, prevent immediacy, and put your audience to sleep.\u00a0 Instead of talking AT your audience, have a conversation<\/strong> with them: use a few talking points to keep your presentation on track, then imagine you are sharing your great idea with friends. No one will notice if you forget a piece of information, and perfect sentence structure is not important- but connecting with your audience IS.<\/p>\n

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          1. Do a practice presentation and record it.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Is your internet connection good? If sketchy, relocate somewhere else. How is the sound quality? If you hear an echo, try placing a pillow against the wall next to you (outside of the camera\u2019s view).\u00a0 Did your PPT or video share work well?\u00a0 Is the text size on your slides large enough for viewers to easily read? Are the colors pleasant to look at or do they irritate the eyes? Things look differently over video, so check it out!\u00a0 If you are presenting with a team, practice your segues- that is, your transitions from one speaker & topic to the next speaker & topic.\u00a0 Segues are important for a smooth, professional presentation.\u00a0 Example: \u201c\u2026That concludes our market analysis. Now, Jane will discuss our distribution plan.\u201d\u00a0 Finally, take note of the name displayed on your video feed- it should be yours, correctly spelled, and consist of your first and last name- not abbreviations or silly nicknames. For example, No: nnichols<\/em> ; Yes: Nicci Nichols<\/em><\/p>\n

            Many of these tips will seem artificial and strange to you- but they won\u2019t seem that way to the audience. Keeping them interested is priority #1, because even the most brilliant idea will fall flat if the audience is too bored or too distracted to listen.\u00a0 Ready to crush your next Zoom prez? \u00a0You\u2019ve got this!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Because they aren\\’t gone for good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4322,"featured_media":5043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"custom_author_name":"","chapman_pin_hero_slider":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-graduate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4322"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}