My Thoughts

You can be brilliant in person and invisible online. That blunt sentence has cost me a few client proposals — and then saved me twice as many. Virtual presenting is not simply an analogue of standing in a room with a clicker; it’s a different craft, with its own rules, pitfalls and advantages. After working with teams across Sydney, Melbourne and Perth for well over a decade, I’ll say this plainly: the people who treat virtual presentations as “just PowerPoint on Zoom” are the ones who go unnoticed. The ones who learn the medium—those are the ones who get the promotion, the sale, or the standing ovation in the chat. Why this matters now is obvious. Microsoft reported 270 million monthly active users for Teams in 2022 — that’s millions of meetings, briefings and pitches happening every month. Whether you’re pitching to a client in Brisbane, leading a town-hall for staff in Adelaide, or training a cohort in Canberra, your audience’s expectations have shifted. They expect crisp audio, purposeful visuals and an engaging delivery. They also expect you to respect their time. Virtual presenting isn’t less professional — it’s differently professional. And if you’re prepared to adapt, you gain reach, scale and flexibility. If you’re not… you lose. The core differences: presence, pace and polish People assume virtual presenting is easier because you’re not physically in front of people. That’s dead wrong. You lose the gravity of physical presence — the microexpressions, the room energy. You gain a smaller viewing window, distractions, and the relentless temptation for multitasking. That changes the game. So change your approach. - Presence: Create connection through camera work and vocal variety. Look at the lens. Use a simple backdrop. Wear contrast so the camera reads you. - Pace: Virtual attention is faster. Lead with your key idea early. Keep segments short — 7 to 12 minutes — and link them with a clear transition. - Polish: Technical issues derail credibility. Use a good mic and test your internet. Always have a backup — a phone hotspot, a pre-recorded clip, or an alternative host. Two opinions you might not like: keep sessions short (I prefer 20 minutes max for unilateral talks) and favour direct, bold slide design over “complete notes” on a deck. Some trainers will call that sacrilege. I think it’s honesty. Understand the pain points — then design around them Most virtual failures aren’t about content. They’re about expectations, attention and platform fluency. - Expectation mismatch: Attendees join with varying intent — some are there to learn, others to skim. State the purpose clearly at the top. “By the end of this 20-minute session you’ll be able to…” sets a shared outcome and automatically increases engagement. - Attention drift: People multitask. Use polls, quick breakout interactions, or a provocative question every 8–10 minutes. A single slide with a powerful visual can reset attention more effectively than a wall of bullet points. - Platform friction: Not everyone knows how to unmute, use chat or share a reaction. Spend a minute upfront setting the rules. Who asks questions? Chat, raise hand, or wait for Q&A? Technical mastery is non-negotiable Technical competence is as visible as your vocal tone. If your audio is poor, the audience doubts the content. If your video is lagging, they’re disengaged. Invest in the basics — a condenser mic isn’t an extravagance if you rely on virtual delivery. Practical checklist: - Microphone: USB condenser or a lav mic. Avoid laptop mics where possible. - Camera: 1080p is preferable; ring lights help but position them properly to avoid glare. - Internet: Wired ethernet when possible. Test speeds. Know how to switch to mobile hotspot. - Platform skills: Know how to manage screenshares, breakout rooms, polls and the recording function. Assign a co-host if you can. - Backups: Pre-record key clips, have slides as PDFs ready to send, and designate someone to field tech hiccups. Good tech doesn’t replace content, but it earns you permission to be heard. Slides: Less clutter, more signal The biggest mistake I see is presenters treating slides like a teleprompter. Slides exist to amplify, not repeat. The human brain processes images faster than text; use that. Slide principles I swear by: - One big idea per slide. - Minimal text — think headline + one supporting phrase. - Strong visuals — clear graphs, photos with meaning, or a single quote that lands. - High contrast. Readability is everything. - Use build animations sparingly — they must add rhythm, not distraction. People sometimes argue that dense slides are helpful for future reference. Fine. Provide handouts after the session. Your live deck should be a stage prop — not a manuscript. Crafting content for the screen In a room you can linger. Online, attention is finite and expensive. Structure becomes your friend. - Start with the headline: Tell them what’s coming — in one or two sentences. - The Why: Why should they care? Connect immediately to a pain or an aspiration. - The What: Deliver 3–5 concise points. Keep examples local where possible — a city-specific anecdote lands better than a generic case study. - The How: Show immediate actions they can take. People value practical takeaways. - The Close: Re-state the headline, invite one simple action, summarise in 30 seconds. Hooks work. Stories work. But keep them tight. A 60-second story with strong sensory detail is far more effective than a 10-minute backstory. Vocal delivery and camera presence Voice is 50% of your presence online. People can’t see your whole body, so your voice—and your eyes—do a lot of heavy lifting. - Warm up briefly. Do two minutes of vocal exercises or read a paragraph out loud. - Vary your pace and pitch. Monotone equals nap time. - Pause. Pauses are powerful. They let points land, and they control rhythm. - Eye contact: Look at the camera when delivering key lines. It feels like eye contact to the viewer. Not dramatically, but consistently. - Gestures: Keep them inside the frame. Hands visible and purposeful add energy. Big, theatrical gestures look odd on camera. Interaction beats lectures Even the best content falls flat without interaction. Use the platform’s interactive features to create micro-engagements: - Polls: Quick, binary polls work well — they’re low effort and high engagement. - Chat prompts: Ask attendees to type one word responses and highlight a few live. - Breakouts: Small-group discussion for 5–8 minutes is gold if tightly framed. - Whiteboards or shared docs: Use these for co-creation — a simple “what would you do?” prompt can generate rich discussion. Manage Q&A intentionally. Ask for questions via chat during the session, and allocate a clear 10–15-minute Q&A at the end. If you’re worried about being interrupted, have a moderator collect and sort questions. No one wants to watch a 40-minute monologue followed by a ragged 20-minute Q&A. Design for accessibility and equity Virtual presentations can be more inclusive if you choose to design that way. - Provide captions or live transcripts where possible. - Share materials in advance for those who prefer to prepare. - Be mindful of time zones — rotate times where possible or offer a replay. - Use clear language, avoid jargon, and explain acronyms. These choices aren’t just kind — they’re good business. Better accessibility increases reach and retention. Crisis management: what to do when things fail They will. Tech fails, kids appear on camera, pets make cameo appearances. Have a script for small disasters. - If audio drops: pause, announce the issue, and switch to chat with instructions. - If you’re dropped: the co-host continues, or you rejoin quickly via phone. - If the screen share fails: email the deck link and continue narrating without slides. Politeness matters here. A calm apology and quick recovery build trust; a frustrated rant erodes it. Measure what matters Treat virtual presentations as a product you’re iterating. Gather data: - Attendance vs registrations. - Average watch time. - Poll responses and interaction rates. - Post-session feedback: one or two targeted questions will do. We’ve found — anecdotally and backed by client data — that sessions designed with multiple micro-interactions and clear outcomes perform materially better on engagement metrics. You can be authoritative and agile. Use both. A few contrarian suggestions I’ll finish with a few stances that raise eyebrows in training rooms. - Pre-recorded segments are not cheating. Embed short pre-records to control the quality of crucial demonstrations, and reserve live time for discussion. Many audiences prefer clarity over the illusion of “always live”. - Shorter is often stronger. A tightly run 20-minute session with great interaction will be more effective than a 60-minute monologue. - Slides should be bold rather than safe. A memorable visual is worth five safe bullets. Yes, traditionalists will mutter about “face-to-face” superiority. I agree—there’s nothing like a live room. But virtual formats give reach and convenience that we’d be foolish to ignore. Final thought — craft, then practise, then measure Learn the platform. Design your content for the screen. Rehearse until the rhythms feel natural. Invite feedback and iterate. These are not optional steps; they’re the operating manual for doing serious work online. We see it every day in our workshops across Australia: people who invest in the craft of virtual presenting get results. They secure buy-in, move projects forward, and hold meetings that people actually remember. It’s not magic. It’s deliberate work. Just remember: being good in the room does not guarantee you’ll be good online. Adapt. Respect the medium. And if you can get your opening 90 seconds right — that’s half the battle won. Sources & Notes Microsoft (2022). Microsoft reports 270 million monthly active users for Teams as of 2022. Microsoft corporate blog release, October 2022.