As you progress through your college education and work life, you will increasingly face situations in which you will need to deliver an online presentation. For example, your sociology professor may require a video podcast, or your job may involve video conferences with employees located around the world. In these and other situations, you want to ensure that your audience stays tuned in to your message by conveying immediacy and projecting a powerful speech style. How? In addition to relying on the same language and nonverbal elements previously discussed, there are some specific things to keep in mind for online presentations.

Whether you are recording a video to post or streaming in real time, you’ll want to make sure the camera is properly adjusted. Focus the lens to a medium close-up shot, which captures your upper torso and head. By doing so, your viewers will experience a more personal connection than they would if your image were too close or too far away. You should also keep your background free of visual distractions. Something as simple as a clock or painting on the wall behind you can be distracting to listeners.

Be expressive with your face, eyes, and voice. Although this is clearly important at presentations where your audience will see you, it is also important for podcasts or any narrations you may do. Even if your audience can’t see your facial expressions, using your nonverbal communication will help your vocal expressiveness. If your audience can see you, avoid excessive gesturing and body movements that could be distracting.

To help keep your audience engaged, use presentation software and other visual aids. Well-designed and meaningfully integrated slides, for example, can help your audience understand complex ideas, especially statistical information. We cover more on how to use such software on page 391.

Of course, you’ll still need to practice. Whether it’s face-to-face or online, a key part of any successful presentation is practice. It is especially important that you practice with any technology you might use to make sure you know how it works and are comfortable with it. Recording your practice also allows you to check and revise your camera setup, expressiveness, sound levels, and lighting quality.