How to connect with virtual audiences

While virtual technology has opened plenty of doors, let’s face it: Interacting with a virtual audience is different than doing it in person. And just as you would tailor an in-person speech to fit a particular occasion (e.g. intimate meeting vs. giant graduation), you also need to tailor your interactions to better engage your virtual audience.

Even the pros agree. One survey of event planners said that when it comes to connecting with an audience, engagement is the biggest challenge, followed by good, meaningful interaction.

While you may not fall into the “pro” category, it’s still important to engage with your virtual audience and make stronger connections, no matter who that audience might include.

So, how can you boost everyone’s experience during casual virtual chats, presentations, sales pitches and beyond? Here are a few tips to help you better connect with audiences of all types:

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Get the bugs out.

No matter what the reason for meeting up, you can’t connect with anyone if your setup isn’t working. There’s nothing more frustrating than mics not working, screens not sharing, videos not playing and connections failing. Log in extra early to your meeting, test your settings, and prep for your meetup by making sure that:

• You have a strong internet connection
• Your microphones are working
• Your video looks good, is well lit, and is up and running
• Your background is appropriate (if not, use background blur or choose a custom background)

Be charismatic.

As with any meeting, in person or otherwise, a charismatic speaker is the key to a better interactive experience. Even if the term “speaker” may be a bit formal for what you have planned, it still rings true. The ability to engage the audience via storytelling, eye contact and interactive experiences makes all the difference. But how can you when those all-important personal nuances like facial cues and natural interactions aren’t as easy to see? Luckily, things are quickly progressing and there are plenty presentation capabilities that help you better come together and connect with your audience.

Make sure you use software that lets you easily engage in chats and “see” your entire group via features like together mode, which puts you in a shared background, so you can see other people’s faces and body language—making it easier to pick up on those non-verbal cues that are just as important to human interaction. Now you can connect with your audience verbally, non-verbally or even via emojis that let you instantly share your reactions to a comment, joke, fact, picture or other compelling content.

If you’re sharing a slideshow—make it good.

Whether you’re sharing wedding slides with Aunt Ellery, a heart-tugging fundraising story, a sales pitch for your side hustle, or something else—make sure it’s compelling. Any slideshow software worth its salt should include smart design tools that do the heavy lifting for you. For example, find one with integrated features that can:

• Detect your pictures, charts or tables and offer a variety of attractive arrangements that are easy on the eye.
• Convert hard-to-read numbers, lists and/or stats into easy-to-digest visuals.
• Provide multiple suggestions for illustrations and layouts based on your content.
• Help coach you through a trial run, with an eye on pacing, pitch, any culturally sensitive terms and even detecting a monotone, robotic delivery. Some even deliver a report with statistics about your performance, as well as helpful suggestions for improvements.

Incorporate discussion and Q&A.

According to one survey, these two elements were the most popular engagement techniques when it comes to virtual events. So, whether your meeting is extremely formal or laughably casual, how can you encourage this? Here are a few suggestions:

• Interact in breakout rooms. If you have a bigger group or just need to do some brainstorming, one way to keep it intimate and encourage lively conversation is to create smaller breakout rooms. Whether you’re doing some wedding or vacation planning, trying to strategize for a team fundraiser, or you’re prepping for an upcoming school event, this is a great way to make headway while keeping everyone engaged. You can even “drop in” on each individual breakout room to give (or hear) feedback.
• Take a poll. Let’s say you’re deciding on a location for your next family getaway. Or maybe you’re wanting feedback on your upcoming nuptials. Perhaps you’re narrowing down PTA candidates. Conducting a poll is a great way to make everyone feel heard. You can even share the results in real time during your meeting!

The fact is: More and more of us are meeting, chatting and presenting virtually every day—and that’s not going to change anytime soon. The key to making these interactions feel more meaningful, more connected and more “real”, is by staying engaged, reading the virtual room and knowing how to pivot based on live feedback and interaction.