Achieve Newsletter - 5th Issue - 2020 - 9

ABWA Perspec tives

5 Tips to Create Energy in Your Virtual Presentations

2- Disrupt the pat tern
Pattern Disruption is a concept that works well in virtual
presentations. The idea is to disrupt the normal flow of
information so that listeners are taken by surprise or
jolted out of their complacency. Because of the flat 2D
format, virtual presentations have to be " made " exciting,
and pattern disruption is one strategy that never fails.
What can you do to disrupt the ever-boring nature of the
predictable " data dump " presentation? Tell a vivid story,
share a startling statistic, show a mind-altering image,
raise your voice, or quicken your pace. While you don't
have as many skills and techniques available to use in
a virtual presentation, you still have enough; and if you
use them in creative ways you can rouse your listeners
and hold their attention. Aim to disrupt the pattern
every 4-5 minutes. When you plan these disruptions as
part of your content, you'll quickly have your listeners
eating out of the palm of your virtual hand.

3- Prime the energy pump
Your physical, vocal, and verbal skills will go a long way
in helping you create and maintain energy throughout
your virtual presentation. Use them! Prior to your
presentation jump-start your physical and vocal energy
by warming up. Speak in a loud voice, practice tongue
twisters, sing a song, take a walk outside or around your
house, go up and down stairs, make faces in the mirror
... do anything to get your heart rate and your energy
up. If you speak loudly and move quickly, you will do
more to create performance energy than you imagine.
And don't forget to smile and raise your eyebrows right
before you sign on. If you're happy, tell your face!

4- Organize and clean out your
work space
Clutter is energy draining; organization is energy
boosting. Therefore, remove all coffee cups, golf clubs,
electric guitars, dog beds, dirty laundry, games and
puzzles. Create one area, no matter how small, that
is yours and that you can keep organized, neat, and
clean. If you can't keep a neat space use a green screen
background of a " faux " organized office space.

A publication of the American Business Women's Association, Â©2020 ABWA Management LLC

5- Work with other family members to
set boundaries on private work time
Unfortunately, family or
housemates can be a big
energy drain when you're
presenting. Develop a
system of 'red, yellow, green'
and announce what kind of
meeting you are entering.
Red is highly important
(new customer meeting)
and that means everyone
needs to be quiet and not interrupt. Yellow is less
important (work team meeting) but still quiet is required.
Green (close colleague) means anyone can come into
your space and you will not have to apologize to the
person you are talking to. Setting boundaries with a
color code will help everyone know the rules and follow
them. When you don't have to focus on anyone else, you
can focus on sustaining your energy throughout the
presentation.
When conducting virtual meetings, you simply can't
depend on the stimulating influence of outside energy
to give you the boost you need to perform. But you
can use the time-tested tools of planning, preparation,
and practice to help do the job for you. Use these best
practices. And whatever you do, don't let the cat fall
asleep in your workspace.

Angela DeFinis is President of DeFinis Communications.
The company offers executive speech coaching,
presentation skills training, and virtual video
conferencing training. Through corporate sponsored
and public programs, the firm's unique skill building
approach helps business professionals become poised,
polished, and powerful communicators capable of
leading effective meetings and delivering compelling
presentations. To learn more about the firm's training
programs and coaching services, please go to www.
definiscommunications.com.

achieve newsletter * 5th issue 2020

9
http://www.definiscommunications.com
Achieve Newsletter - 5th Issue - 2020

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