Online presentations can be “streamed” in real time, or recorded for distribution later whenever an audience wants to access them. Understanding the advantages and limitations of both delivery modes can help you plan more effectively.

Real-Time Presentations

real-time presentation connect presenter and audience live, in synchronous communication. Immediate interactivity—being able to interact with the audience in real time—is an advantage of this type of presentation: Speaker and audience can respond to one another even though they are not in the same location. As in traditional speaking situations, audience feedback allows you to adapt topic coverage according to (for example) real-time audience input and questions, or adjust technical issues as they occur.

A chief limitation of real-time presentations is scheduling them around conflicting time zones. The more geographically dispersed the audience, the greater the logistical challenge. As such, many speakers reserve real-time presentations for occasions when they are in time zones close to the audience.

Recorded Presentations

In a recorded presentation, transmission of the online presentation and reception of it occur at different times, in asynchronous communication. Viewers can access the presentation at their convenience, such as listening to a podcast at night.

Lack of direct interaction with the audience poses challenges with recorded presentations, however. Without immediate feedback from the audience to enliven the presentation, you must work harder to produce something polished and engaging, especially by providing compelling content, delivery style, and presentation aids.