Interacting with Your Virtual Audience

Abstract

If you prepare a presentation to deliver online without considering how to engage the audience, your presentation will be missing an absolutely essential component. Indeed, by incorporating audience engagement as a core element, you ensure the effectiveness and memorability of the presentation will be maximised. One of the first matters to consider is the way your presentation will unfold and the form of engagement you want from your audience. There are certain questions to ask, the answers to which will then lead you towards the best engagement method to utilise. Such questions include: (1) What kind of information will the audience be asked to provide? (2) How does the presenter intend to use this information? (3) What level of interaction between audience members themselves will occur during the presentation? (4) Are there individuals within the audience who can provide information of importance to the audience as a whole? Polling is a useful technique to gather responses from an audience. Polling capabilities are built into several videoconferencing applications or exist as standalone solutions. Information gathered can be in the form of a constricted choice (such as a multiple choice question (MCQ)) or may allow for a freer response. The results of the poll are immediately visible to the presenter, who can make a decision whether to share the result immediately, store it for later use or highlight features of it to the audience.