Speaking, moderating, presenting, or being a panelist is a task in and of itself—but add in the virtual component and it’s easy to find yourself stuck while arranging your strategy. Every speaker preparing for an upcoming virtual chat is asking themselves: “How do I engage the audience when I’m not there physically?”

We’ve put together some tips to help you lead a captivating on-screen session:

Give your audience something to look at!

One of the most important tools to delight your audience is the use of visuals. We recommend slides for all sessions, even panels, and fireside chats, to help the audience connect what you are discussing to a tangible display. 

Don’t sweat getting too fancy with these slides either! You can make it as simple as 2-3 slides including data charts, an outline for your session, or even stock photos displaying the examples you’re mentioning—for more inspiration, check out our best tips for a visually engaging presentation. It also always helps to put yourself in the attendees’ shoes—would you rather see a speaker occasionally refer back to visual examples during a session, or watch one person talk on your screen for 30+ minutes? 

Key Takeaways are...well...key! 

Key takeaways are a succinct and impactful way to help attendees conceptualize your session and walk away with real action. As a speaker, including these 2-3 points can also serve as a concise outline for you to ensure your presentation is always referring back to one of the session takeaways. We advise including these points on a final slide at the end of your talk. 

Take advantage of the event platform’s capabilities!

Depending on the platform your event has chosen, there will likely be several tools you can tap into to engage with your audience. Whether it be through a poll, audience Q & A, or a survey, virtual event platforms are making it simple to gather feedback quickly—and accurately—from attendees. 

We recommend spacing out your polls and encouraging audience Q & A throughout your session to disperse the engagement opportunities and build a more dynamic flow for your content. This technique is also a nice way to “wake up” attendees and keep them engrossed throughout your session. These tools will also give you more content for your discussion—a win-win for both the speaker and the audience. 

Put your prep work to work! 

Prep calls are key to keeping speakers in sync to outline a plan of action before the actual event. They’re especially beneficial for panels or fireside chats so moderators and panelists can get to know one another, but also great for solo formats as well, for speakers to coordinate with the event organizer. Especially now, in a digital era of conferencing, run-throughs with all presenters will limit potential mishaps. 

During a prep call, establish the main themes you’ll address, take detailed notes, and refer back throughout your live session. If you are a moderator, write down which panelists can answer certain questions so that you can direct to a specific person during your session. Without the body language cues of in-person events, virtual moderators need to rely on vocal cues to avoid any confusion or talking over. 

Show your personality! 

After looking at a screen for most of the day, the last thing an audience wants to tune into is a characterless session. Yes, preparation is key, but aim to not be overly scripted. Be yourself and show your personality! We know the virtual stage provides new challenges, but there are still ways to insert personality and deploy humor through a screen. Learn how you can “win” on video with top tips from Heather Hansen, CEO + Founder of Advocate to Win. 

There’s an art to moderating!

One of the more unexpected side effects of virtual events has been finding the right way to facilitate a panel. We’ve all been on a conference call where people are unintentionally interrupting each other, hesitating to jump in, or maybe even speak well past their allotted time. The same is happening with virtual panel sessions! As the moderator, you have the ability to help your panelists avoid some of these common pitfalls. 

Use the information you gathered during the prep call to help you direct a question to a specific panelist. It can be saying something as simple as “Panelist A, let’s start with you.” From there, assist your panelists in feeling like they can stay in the conversation using inclusive phrases like “Panelist B, do you have anything to add?” or “Panelist C, has your experience been the same?” By doing this, you’re helping the speakers engage with one another as well as breaking up the monotony of a typical question & answer session. 

Interested in learning more? Lucky for you, speaker prep is something we’ve helped several clients with! Get in touch if you’d like more details.

This post was written by the cred event management team: Charlotte Heckard, Lauren Ronse, Rene Camacho, and Taylor Belshause.