8 tips on how to present over Zoom like a pro

maura-deering

Today, Zoom is a central part of the remote workplace. It and other video conference platforms are widely used for meetings, job interviews, webinars, and presentations.

In-person presentations can be stressful enough, and having to conduct them virtually can seem even more daunting. 

But it doesn't have to be that way. Our eight pro tips for presenting over Zoom may help you feel more prepared, comfortable, and confident. Read on to find out more. 

1. Plan out your Zoom background/location ahead of time.

You can use a location in your home or a virtual Zoom background. If you select a place in your house, make sure it is uncluttered and clean. A plain wall or shelves with neatly arranged books provide a professional setting. 

Consider lighting. Soft lighting placed in front of you illuminates you evenly; sitting in front of a window can cause glare and shadows.

Make sure your background doesn't distract from you and your presentation. You don't want your audience focusing on a family photo or the dishes in the sink.

2. Test your equipment before your presentation.

Your equipment can make or break your Zoom presentation. 

To avoid surprises, check your internet connection, plug in your laptop, and ensure that your camera angle is correct and that the microphone works. 

You can confirm your internet connection, audio, and visual with a Zoom test meeting . Using a hard-wired connection rather than wifi is the safer option. And closing any applications you won't need during the presentation can conserve bandwidth. 

Taking precautions can avoid or minimize frozen screens, views of the top of your head, dead batteries, and sound problems.

3. Put notes in the right place on your screen(s).

Zdnet recommends.

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You need your notes where you can see them, but you don't want to keep looking down or off to the side during your presentation. 

To combat this, you can use dual monitors . Position your presentation on one of them, visible to all, and your presenter's notes — plus the webcam you're using — on the other, visible only to you. 

Or you can present your slide show in a window and put a private view of your notes in another window on the same screen. Zoom provides step-by-step instructions for single and dual screens.

4. Practice Zoom presenting as if it were the real thing.

Zoom allows you to practice in the precise environment where you will be presenting. Set up your background, lighting, and screens as you will on presentation day. You can schedule a webinar practice session on Zoom and run through your presentation exactly as you will on the day. You can invite a friend to join you and offer feedback.

Practicing can make the difference between a smooth presentation or an awkward one. Rehearse as often as you can, and visit our page of public speaking tips . 

SEE: What tech jobs don't require public speaking?

5. Minimize clutter on your slides.

Slides are a key part of a virtual presentation and can help you and the audience stay on track. 

Slides should be easy to read and navigate. Avoid brightly colored backgrounds, complicated fonts, and too many graphics. 

Each slide should communicate one concept or idea. Avoid a long list of bullet points on a single slide.

While a slide with few words in readable, bolded font works fine, visuals like charts, maps, and illustrations or photos can be more effective and keep your audience engaged. 

6. Use easy-to-understand visuals.

Visuals liven up your Zoom presentation in ways words don't. Instead of a long list of numbers explaining company statistics, try a graph or pie chart. Visuals aid understanding and keep your audience interested. 

Explaining technical procedures with videos or illustrations rather than wordy descriptions alone enables you to show and tell. They also accommodate different learning styles within your audience.

Microsoft posts tutorials for incorporating visual elements into PowerPoint slides and inserting videos from the web or your computer .

7. Explain your agenda before you begin presenting.

Most people like to know what to expect when logging onto a meeting. Opening your presentation with a slide outlining your agenda sets the timeline for your meeting and reassures your audience. If you plan to allow audience interaction, make sure to highlight when and how in your agenda. 

You can list the points you're going to cover in your presentation on your slide(s) and/or use graphics. You can pose a question on a slide, then show how you plan to answer it. Starting off with a funny (but work-appropriate) photograph or illustration can put you and your audience at ease.

8. If appropriate, encourage your audience to interact.

Unless you have a good reason not to, encourage your audience to interact during or after your presentation. 

Some presenters ask participants to use Zoom's chat function for questions and pause the presentation periodically to answer them or wait until the end. Presenters can mute and unmute the audience and allow time for comments and questions that way. Zoom also allows for engagement through participant polls during the presentation

The size of your audience may dictate how you want to handle audience interaction.

Not allowing participant interaction risks losing your audience to their phones and other distractions.

In conclusion

The hardest part of presenting on Zoom may be the technology for some and the public speaking for others. We hope our tips help.

Online public speaking courses can help with anxiety and discomfort. Developing emotional intelligence skills can also benefit your Zoom presentations. 

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Communications

15 Tips for Engaging Zoom Presentations + Examples

Your next Zoom presentation is a week away. And your mind is racing.

What presentation software should you use?

What if the other attendees can hear your neighbor’s loud music?

Will they find your presentation boring?

Relax and take a deep breath.

You don’t have to figure out the answers to these questions by yourself. This guide will cover everything you need to know about planning and delivering engaging Zoom presentations without stress and anxiety!

After reading this article, you’ll be brimming with confidence and competence on your next Zoom presentation.

Table of contents :

The science behind your Zoom presentation anxiety

  • Downloadable Zoom presentation checklist

Part 1: Tips on how to plan and prepare for your Zoom presentation

Part 2: tips during your zoom presentation.

  • How to share your Piktochart slide deck on Zoom
  • Present with ease on Zoom using Piktochart presentations

meme about zoom presentations

Before we get into all the other Zoom presentation tips, perhaps the most important is to deal with your Zoom presentation anxiety. And you’re not alone – anxiety over Zoom presentations is more common than you think . 

A  2021 paper  on why students have difficulties learning during synchronous presentations over Zoom found that 80 percent of the students polled experienced anxiety and trouble focusing during their virtual classes. But what causes this worry? In a peer-reviewed article, Professor Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the  Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab , highlighted the  results of their research  and cited four primary reasons behind Zoom fatigue, stress, and anxiety:

  • Your brain interprets excessive amounts of close-up eye contact during video chats as an “intense situation.”
  • Like looking at the mirror, you become more critical of yourself as you see yourself on camera.
  • Limited movements while you’re chained in your chair and table.
  • Video chats require a higher cognitive load than face-to-face presentations. 
“You’ve got to make sure that your head is framed within the center of the video. If you want to show someone that you agree with them, you have to do an exaggerated nod or put your thumbs up. That adds cognitive load as you’re using mental calories in order to communicate,” shares Bailenson.

Finally, you have to consider tech troubles and presentation software fiascos, as well as dealing with the pressure of public speaking.

15 Zoom presentation tips and tricks to help you own the room like a pro

Now that you understand why Zoom presentations give you sweaty palms, let’s go through 15 actionable steps to prepare for the slides.

We created a checklist of the Zoom presentation tips so you can cross off each task.

a downloadable infographic showing 15 tips to engaging Zoom presentations

Prefer video learning instead? Watch the video below.

The success of your Zoom presentation is the result of thoughtful planning and preparation.

Get ready for your online class, product webinar, or job interview on Zoom with the following pre-presentation tips:

1. Decide on the scope of your Zoom presentation

Before presenting on Zoom, ask yourself — what one particular idea or insight would you want your audience to learn from you?

“Defining the scope is the most critical step. What are the boundaries, what are the deliverables, what is the topic that you are covering?”, recommends Linda Parry Murphy , CEO of Product Launchers, Inc.

Trying to cover every subject will only make you more nervous.

Remember the Stanford study earlier about too much cognitive load as one of the reasons behind Zoom presentation anxiety?

Limiting the scope of your presentation can significantly reduce your cognitive load while keeping your audience focused on the key points.

2. Plan for the structure of your online presentation

It’s important to master the sequence and structure of your presentation as part of your preparation. Creating a framework guides the meeting participants so they understand what the data means, why it’s important, and what the implications are in this situation.

A solid structure in place also makes it easier to go back to what you’re saying. As a result, you will feel more confident because you can keep track of your talking points with a quick glance at your outline if you lose your train of thought.

Matt Abrahams, a lecturer in Organizational Behavior and author of Speaking Up Without Freaking Out , recommends the following examples of presentation structures that you can use:

  • Past-Present-Future – review a process or share a timeline
  • Comparison-Contrast – show the benefits of a certain idea, insight, product, or service
  • Cause-Effect – explain the rationale behind a decision
  • Problem-Solution-Benefit – motivate or convince your audience
  • What?-So What?-Now What? – convince people to do a specific action after your presentation

Another simple presentation structure you can work on is to start with an introduction, the meat of your presentation where you can highlight 3 points, and wrap up with the summary and call-to-action.

3. Prepare your presentation visuals

Plenty of research and evidence shows that including images is more effective in getting your message across than written text or oral communications alone.

For instance, a captivating visual is  four times more effective  in conveying information than words alone. People remember 80 percent of what they see and do, compared to 20 percent through reading and 10 percent through hearing, respectively.

If your goal is to convince your audience during your Zoom presentation, you’ll also be delighted to know that using visuals can help you become more persuasive.

A Wharton School of Business research found that around a third of the audiences they polled felt that presenters who used visuals were more persuasive.

So remember that well-chosen images, even stock photos, can do wonders to augment your slides.

When making visuals for your presentation, use these questions as your guide:

  • Is there an icon, illustration, or image that could represent your point in a more meaningful way?
  • What types of diagrams , such as a timeline, flowchart, pie chart, arrows, or graphs, will help get your point across to your audience?
  • Who are my target audiences? When choosing visuals for my presentation, are there certain cultural taboos or inappropriate humor that I should be aware of?

One more thing – consider using bullet points if you find slides with walls of text. They’ll be easier to digest without taking the focus away from you.

Present with ease (and minus the stress!) with Piktochart.

You don’t have to worry about how your online presentations will look like. Piktochart’s easy-to-edit templates will take care of the visual aspect for you.

presentation

4. Eliminate clutter in your surroundings

konmari meme remove clutter during virtual meetings

Staying in one place with no room to maneuver probably doesn’t spark joy for anyone. KonMari your environment by eliminating clutter on your desk and in the space around you. This means extra keyboards, unused notebooks, pens, food boxes, and books can go.

Eliminating clutter gives your brain the impression that there’s more room for you to move around during your Zoom event.

If the space you’re presenting in makes it difficult to clear off clutter, you could find a plain wall to present against. And if that’s not an option, you can use a clean virtual Zoom background . Keeping your surroundings out of sight means it’s out of mind for you and your audience; one less thing to worry about while presenting.

5. Do a tech prep

Presenting in Zoom while you’re at home or traveling is a technological wonder in itself. But technology can be frustrating at times too.

Spending some time optimizing your Zoom settings by clicking in the toolbar while you’re in a Zoom meeting. Under video settings, you’ll find a few options that can help with the visuals, such as focus assist.

Before your presentation, double-check the following:

  • Make sure that your laptop, computer, lighting, headset, webcam, microphone, and internet connection are working. Have backup equipment if possible.
  • Familiarize yourself with the Zoom app and other relevant software you’re going to use during the presentation.
  • Close unnecessary browsers, applications, or software before the presentation. Turn off your laptop or desktop notifications. The goal is to optimize and speed up the device to have a smooth presentation.
  • Prepare a PDF version of your presentation slides and have an extra copy of your presenter notes in case of technical mishaps with your slides. It also makes sense to have a short link to your presentation that you can share with the audience.
  • Position your notes in the right spot so you know where to find them while presenting.
  • Check Zoom settings and do a quick audio and video check.

6. Rehearse your presentation

After taking care of your surroundings and equipment, the next step is to prepare yourself.

Practicing your Zoom presentation in advance can help boost your confidence. Here are some tips to help you rehearse well for your presentation:

  • Screen record yourself. Afterward, check your recorded video for technical issues, your body language, and whether or not your voice is audible or not.
  • Practice with a family member or friend who can give feedback on any distracting nonverbal communication habits like too many hand gestures.
  • Rehearse in the same room where you’ll be presenting. Use the same lighting, computer setup, and everything.
  • Practice speaking to the camera, not your computer screen.

If you’re not used to face-to-face presentations, you could record your presentation and watch it back. I know, I know – it can feel so uncomfortable watching yourself. But a quick analysis will reveal if you use too many hand gestures, that can be distracting, and also if you need to reposition your camera so it shows your upper body while presenting.

The time has come for presentation day! You already know the ins and outs of your presentation, and you’ve practiced your Zoom presentation skills to a T. A couple of checks you can do before you start are:

  • Make sure you’re in a quiet area to minimize any potential interruptions.
  • Do a test call with a friend to check the internet connection and if you’ll stay connected.

Take note of the following tips and hacks to make your Zoom presentation engaging and anxiety-free during your webinar or talk:

7. Dress the part

Wear clothes that are appropriate for your presentation and audience. It also helps to be more mindful of your accessories and hairstyle. The outfits and accessories you wear during your Zoom meeting will speak volumes about you as a person.

For example, if you’re presenting to your coworkers, wear work clothes. If you’re pitching to a group of angel investors, wearing a tie can help convey that you’re serious and trustworthy. However, this may not be a good idea if you’re presenting to a group that is more open to change and tends to be more relaxed when it comes to conventional standards.

Another benefit of dressing the part is what you wear actually impacts how you think. Wearing formal clothes can improve abstract thinking and give you a broader sense of perspective, which is influential in helping you make better decisions.

8. Ditch the chair

Standing up when presenting in Zoom rather than sitting down helps you become more confident because you’re not hunched down on your chair.

Standing straight with your shoulders back also enables you to breathe easily, making your voice sound more powerful and confident. Finally, it allows you to move more and make explanatory gestures which is a charisma boost.

The more confident you appear in your presentation, the more confident you’re likely to feel.

“When your mind starts to feel more confident and powerful — it starts to see those challenging situations not as threats but as opportunities,” shares Harvard psychologist professor Amy Cuddy.

If you can’t stand up during your presentation, try to sit straight in your chair and back up your camera a little to show your upper body and not just your face.

9. Have a memorable introduction

Vanessa Van Edwards' tips on the ISSAAQQ method in opening a presentation for your zoom meetings

National best-selling author and founder at Science of People Vanessa Van Edwards specifically recommends opening your presentation with IISSAAQQ to make it more memorable. IISSAAQQ stands for: 

  • I cebreaker
  • I llustration
  • S hort story
  • S tatistic or surprising fact
  • A nalogy or metaphor

Bonus points if you can weave in humor with some background information with a relevant fact. Research found that more popular talks used humor 12.92 times, whereas less popular talks used humor only 3.92 times on average.

You don’t have to force a joke – humor could just be a play on words or surprising the audience with a funny image or meme that contrasts with a statement. Nothing breaks the ice better than laughter.

10. Look your audience in the eye (or rather your webcam)

Looking your audience in the eye is easier during face-to presentations than Zoom presentations. It can be a little tricky during online meetings because we tend to look at people’s faces on the computer screen. Maintain eye contact by looking into your webcam.

“A good idea is to lower the monitor camera a little so that you don’t have to tilt your head back to gaze up at it. If you can’t help looking at someone’s face on the screen instead of their camera, it helps to move the Zoom window to the part of the screen nearest to the camera so at least you’re looking at approximately the right place when you’re looking at their face,” shares Carol Kinsey Goman , Ph.D., executive coach and international keynote speaker.

You could treat the camera as if you were doing a face-to-face presentation. This way, it’ll be a bit simpler to hold eye contact with your audience when you’re not looking at your notes.

11. Think happy thoughts

Find ways to boost your mood before your presentation. Aside from helping you feel good (which in turn can boost your confidence), you’re also likely to smile often with happy thoughts. 

When you smile at your audience, they will also likely “mirror” your action and think happy thoughts. 

“Mirroring is relevant to our tendency to be empathetic. When I see you smiling, my mirror neurons for smiling fire up, and I get your state of mind right away. I feel it as you feel it. We need that mirroring in order to create a full empathic response to other people,” describes Marco Iacoboni , author of  Mirroring People  and UCLA professor. 

When you’re having a good time and sharing enthusiasm with your audience, they’ll reciprocate through their nonverbal communication. This means fewer folded arms and blank stares and more nodding along and smiles.

12. Delegate the chatbox

Have someone else take care of Zoom chat or manage the waiting room to keep you from being distracted. This person could be the meeting host, a colleague, or someone you trust who has your back during your presentation.

13. Engage your audience

A boring presentation is when there’s no interaction, and you’re being spoken at (hello, university lectures). You’ll be able to tell from everyone’s body language in the meeting room.

Make your presentation a two-way street. Here are some ways to encourage interaction and participation amongst your audience during your Zoom meetings:

  • Ask questions. For example, if you’re presenting a team productivity software in Zoom, ask your audience about their top productivity problems at work. You can also use this time as an opportunity to transition to your next presentation slide.
  • If you have a small audience, remember each person’s name and address them using their first names.
  • Use visuals like illustrations, infographics, or a short video clip in your slide show. Tool recommendation : Use Piktochart Video to transform a long video into short clips.
  • Use interactive quizzes while presenting online to change the pace and keep your audience engaged.

14. Talk like a human and avoid too much jargon

Alright, what does talking like a human mean in Zoom presentations?

For a start, avoid talking too much jargon and corporate speak. It makes you more relatable, keep your audience’s attention longer because your points will be easier to understand, and also helps you stand out from other presenters.

Just because you’re presenting in virtual meetings doesn’t mean you’re not talking to people. The only difference is you’re sharing your presentation in front of your camera instead of in front of the lecture room.

Next, improve your visual storytelling skills . Your presentation will be more memorable if you briefly share a story and pair it with visuals. Sign up for our free visual storytelling course . Check out the teaser video below.

15. Slow down

When you’re anxious and not too confident about your Zoom presentation, you’ll tend to speak fast, which in turn will make you more nervous. It’s a vicious cycle.

When presenting in Zoom, be mindful of your pace. Slowing down will not only take the edge off your nerves but also make you appear more confident.

Don’t be scared of pauses or gaps between your statements. Sometimes, you might need a sip of water to hydrate your throat. Other times, you could use the pauses as extra emphasis to drive key points.

Slowing down and changing up your talking pace will help you deliver an impactful presentation because you’ll have more control and be better able to drive the point home.

5 presentation examples and templates

To make presenting your Zoom presentation easy, here are some presentation templates and examples for inspiration.

Quarterly finance update

Have a big meeting coming up where you need to share sales performance and revenue figures? We’ve got you covered with this template.

It’s equipped with graphs where you can easily drop your revenue figures in and share performance with customizable graphs. There are also template slides for customer feedback and if your team is planning to introduce new processes.

financial update template

Marketing strategy plan template

This marketing strategy slide deck is perfect if you’re onboarding a new client and want to walk them through your research, analysis, and proposed actions.

marketing strategy plan template

Group project

Presenting your collaborative project in a Zoom meeting to your classmates? Take the worry off so you can focus on sharing the results by using this science group project template .

Despite the name, you can use it for any kind of school or university project because the structure works for any type of research presentation. The template has slides for:

  • Group introduction
  • Your hypothesis/basis for the project
  • Your theory
  • How you tested the theory
  • Key takeaways

piktochart template of science group project

Buyer persona template

The customer buying journey is always evolving, and you might need to present a case study to leadership or your team on recent findings. Our template makes it simple to share your customer’s story, as the template has slides for:

  • The customer profile
  • Motivations/goals
  • Personal insights
  • Responsibilities

Piktochart template for buyer personas

Team update in the all-hands meeting

It’s common for managers, or project leads to update the company with their results in company meetings. In these cases, you might just need a single slide to share your progress.

This work breakdown structure template does the job, giving you space to share what your team’s objectives were, what the key results were, who was involved, and what the shipping date was for these goals.

single-slide work breakdown structure template for online presentations

How to share your Piktochart slide deck on Zoom 

Step 1 : On the Piktochart editor, click Share to get the link to your presentation. 

By default, your presentation is not publicly visible.

Step 2 : Copy and paste the link into your browser bar. Then, click the Show Presentation button. This will launch in fullscreen presentation mode, and now you’re ready to shine. 

Step 3: Click Share Screen on your Zoom account and choose the browser with the Piktochart link.

For a visual demonstration, watch the short tutorial below with detailed instructions.

Ready to deliver your presentation? 

That’s it for our Zoom presentation tips; now over to you.

You have a brilliant idea or insight to present, and you need to share them with your audience in your next Zoom presentation. It’s high time you nail it with the virtual presentation tips we outlined in this guide. 

Take Piktochart for a test drive  today and create your next presentation slide minus the stress using our free presentation maker .

Kaitomboc

Kyjean Tomboc is an experienced content marketer for healthcare, design, and SaaS brands. She also manages content (like a digital librarian of sorts). She lives for mountain trips, lap swimming, books, and cats.

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The Ultimate Guide to Giving Virtual Presentations on Zoom

Part 1: an introduction to giving virtual presentations on zoom.

PART I Introduction 1 – Cool Zoom Features 2 – Virtual Presentation Do’s 3 – Virtual Presentation Don’ts PART II 4 – Presentation Purpose 5 – Structure & Flow 6 – Slide Design PART III 7 – Connect with the audience 8 – Audience Participation 9 – Sharing Content PART IV 10 – Video & Audio Recordings 11 – Post-production 12 – Your Phone as a Webcam PART V 13 – When Things Go Wrong 14 – How to Ground Yourself PART VI 15 – Advanced Techniques 16 – Zoom Webinars vs Meetings 17 – 23 Essential Settings

There are three things I hate about Zoom…

#1 the super awkward must-click-two-buttons-to-leave-the-meeting debacle.

You say goodbye, search the bottom-right corner of the screen for the red button, click the red button, continue to stare awkwardly at the corner of the screen because the call is still open and you need to click a second red button.

the awkward attempt to leave a zoom meeting

Never fear, this can be turned off. In General Preferences simply uncheck the “Ask me to confirm when I leave a meeting” setting and poof! One-click exits. You’re welcome.

How to exit a Zoom meeting without clicking two buttons.

#2 Inviting someone and never knowing what the difference is between these two options: “Copy invite link” and “Copy invitation”.

I can sense you nodding along with me.

How to automatically copy a Zoom invite link.

Just remember that it’s “invite link” you want 99% of the time vs “invitation”, and you can set an option that copies the link to your clipboard as soon as you start a meeting.

#3 The dropdown to change video settings is part of the “Stop Video” button. What the actual?!

Are you trying to make me screw up my presentation?

Why is the Zoom video settings dropdown part of the Stop Video button?!

I also love Zoom.

Why? Because it works.

A year into our forced isolation, Zoom fatigue has set in. We’re avoiding calls and talking about concepts like Zoom holidays, just to get a break.

But the answer isn’t fewer Zoom calls, it’s better Zoom calls. Almost every Zoom presentation is boring, ugly, terribly structured, poorly executed, and designed to make you fall asleep.

In this guide I’ll show you

  • How to create beautiful slides that communicate with clarity and class
  • Unknown and awesome features of Zoom that you can use to your advantage
  • How to overcome your nerves and survive technical problems
  • And how to look like a total pro every time you give a presentation—or run a meeting—on the platform we all love to hate.

Note: for the sake of brevity, unless I’m talking about Zoom-specific functionality, these tips are applicable to any platform that offers meeting and presentation software such as GotoMeeting, Google Meet, Webinar Jam etc.

There are instructional videos throughout the guide to demonstrate the best parts in more depth. You can binge watch the videos on the “Presenting on Zoom” video channel here , or read on for the word and pictures.

If you want to stand out from your peers it’s good to understand the full power of the platform and know the features most people don’t know about.

#1 Set up your own configurable ‘personal meeting room’

It can be really distracting to hear a bunch of people talking over one another when you kick off a meeting. A good solution is to use what’s called a Personal Meeting ID (PID) which gives you control of the Zoom environment right from the start.

Zoom Virtual Meeting Personal Meeting Room ID (PMI) Feature

Features of your PID include:

  • Using the same invite ID and URL whenever you start a meeting, bypassing the need to repeatedly check the settings. Note: because it’s a permanent URL,you should uncheck the “Allow participants to join anytime” setting to prevent randoms dropping in unannounced.
  • Placing participants into a “waiting room” which lets them in when you are ready to begin– either individually or all at once.
  • Automatically recording your meetings on your computer. Having a video of your presentation is always a good idea so you can re-use your content.

#2 Press the ‘spacebar to temporarily un-mute yourself’

You can help to ensure a quality audio recording by placing everyone on mute by default. And while this feature is more appropriate for meetings vs. presentations, it’s a great thing to know about – and to tell your audience about. It’s easy to use, hold down the spacebar to un-mute yourself and let it go to turn your audio off again. It prevents people from forgetting to re-mute when they walk off to do something else forcing you to listen to their snoring dog or screaming baby.

Temporarily unmute yourself on Zoom by holding the spacebar

Even if it doesn’t get used during your presentation (unless it’s a workshop you won’t want people to randomly chime in), many of your audience will thank you for learning this tip.

Note: You may need to enable it in your Zoom Preferences.

#3 Record ‘separate audio files’ for each speaker, host, or panelist in the presentation

If you have a host or a co-presenter there will be content in the session that’s not yours. Having separate audio recordings lets you use only the audio that was from your part of the presentation.

You can enable this in Preferences > Recording.

Zoom lets you record separate audio files when you have multiple speakers.

#4 Enable the ‘non-verbal feedback’ feature to allow audience interactions

Cool zoom feature #4 – enable non-verbal feedback.

To make your presentations interactive you can enable the non-verbal feedback feature. This allows participants to express reactions to your presentation.

This is not to be confused with ‘meeting reaction emojis’ which are temporary reactions that disappear after 5 seconds. To be honest, it’s hard not to be confused when there are two sets of interactions with different names.

Non-verbal feedback is for direct feedback to the speaker or host that others can agree with by clicking the same icon. The result is that the speaker can see how many people are expressing the feedback.

The options for non-verbal feedback are shown in the image below:

Zoom non-verbal feedback feature lets your audience react to your presentation

An example of how this would be used in a presentation is to ask the speaker to speed up or slow down. This might seem like a weird thing to be told during your talk, and if it’s just one person asking you’d most likely ignore it. But if 50 people are saying to slow down, that’s a pretty good indication that your current presentation style isn’t working for them.

It provides a pretty amazing insight – something I wish I’d had that feedback during an on-stage talk.

You can also use it to ask binary questions to the audience that they can respond yes or no to – a great way to segment the audience so you can tailor your content based on their responses.

Combine this feature with a QTINTA audience participation question for a really engaging experience. You’ll have to watch the video to know what QTINTA means.

#5 Use the Zoom ‘beauty mode’ to soften your appearance

Zoom includes a “Touch up my appearance” filter in the “Preferences > Video” settings, which gives your skin a softer appearance. There’s a slider that lets you control how much it applies the effect. It can look weird if you crank it too much, but having just a little can really help – especially if you’re looking a big bedraggled.

Settings are maintained when you quit so you can expect to look the same way every time.

#6 Use Zoom ‘video filters’ to add a cinematic high-contrast appearance

We’re all familiar with Zoom backgrounds, but a more impressive feature in my mind are the video filters. You can access them via the “Stop Video” dropdown arrow. Yes, there are some silly ones which can be funny when in a meeting, but for presenting stick to the non-silly ones. They can help improve the quality of your on-camera look. I particularly like the first option “Boost” which kicks your contrast up a notch removing any bland washed out lighting, it also removed some warmer tones which I like as it reduces the redness I often have in my skin.

Zoom video filters can add some nice contrast to your webcam view.

You can see that it increases the contrast but also cuts down on the redness in my face.

Unlike the “Touch up my appearance” feature, your video filter settings are not maintained between sessions, which is a frustrating extra step each time if you found a setting you like.

#7 Encourage attendees to use ‘side-by-side mode’ to view you and your slides

This can be a good setting if you want to make your talk feel more personal. It shows your camera video beside your slides, and viewers can resize the videos as they see fit.

Zoom side-by-side mode allows attendees to control the size of you and the slides.

It can be a good idea to point this out as not everyone will know.

E.g. “You should be viewing this presentation in side by side mode so you see me and the slides. If you want to make the slides bigger (or smaller) you can resize them by dragging the slider between my video and the slides.”

#8 Use Zoom ‘annotations’ to mark up your slides live, or a ‘whiteboard’ for a blank canvas

A really cool feature of Zoom is Annotations. This lets you write or draw on top of the screen you are sharing. Once the feature is activated , you can access it from the menu at the top when you are sharing your screen.

The Zoom annotation feature lets you mark up your slides.

This is really helpful when you have a complex slide and you want to focus people’s attention on different areas of the screen as you talk. When presenting live on a stage you can gesture towards a particular area, but it’s not as easy in a virtual presentation which is why it’s handy.

There is also a Whiteboard feature that gives you, well, a whiteboard. This could be useful if you find that you need to dig into a point you’re making in a more detailed way or discover during your talk that you need a different way to explain it.

You might want to take a quick screenshot when you’re done if you happened to get some interesting ideas marked up.

The Zoom whiteboard feature gives you a blank canvas whiteboard to sketch on for your audience.

Rock open a whiteboard and sketch a diagram. Having a tablet and pen would be very helpful for this, versus trying to draw with a mouse. It might be wise to use the non-verbal feedback feature to get folks to say “Yes” to a “Let me know if you’re ready to move on” question.

Note, this is a screen sharing feature, so in order to get to the whiteboard, you need to stop sharing your screen, then share once more but choose Whiteboard as the option. Then you’ll have to stop sharing and share your slides again. Make sure you’ve practiced this if you think you’ll be using it.

#9 Use ‘closed captions’ to increase the accessibility of your virtual presentation and video recording

Zoom has transcription features that let you add closed captions to your session. You can do it manually for free, but that means someone will have to type them live, which is a pretty specific skill to have, and requires someone to do it for you.

If you have a paid Zoom account (roughly $20/month) live transcriptions are included. An alternative is to integrate with a platform like Otter.ai, to add closed captions in real time. You can also use Otter for transcribing any other audio or video files you have which makes it a much better value.

There are several reasons why closed captions are a good thing to do.

  • No headphones: if an attendee doesn’t have or forgot their headphones and they’re in an environment where they can’t have the volume on, closed captions are a life saver that could be the difference between them staying or leaving.
  • Accessibility: Captions allow meetings to be accessible to all. For the deaf, hard of hearing, or non-native speakers, they are an absolute necessity to understand what’s going on.
  • Attention and recall: closed captioning can increase the amount of your content that an attendee comprehends and remembers. This is because they are getting it using two senses, and you have to focus more intently when you are reading.

You can check out Otter here to set up live captions.

#10 Use Zoom ‘breakout rooms’ to split workshop participants into groups

Without question, one of the most popular Zoom features is Breakout Rooms. They are exactly as they sound, allowing you to break out attendees into separate rooms. This could be for hosting a multi-track event where there is a speaker in each breakout room, or more commonly it is to allow groups to work together away from the “Main Room” and then come back in to rejoin you as the speaker.

This is a wonderful feature if you are running workshops that require groups to work through some of your worksheets or tasks for example.

There’s a good demo of how to use Zoom breakout rooms here.

#11 Use a Zoom ‘waiting room’ to hold attendees before you let them in at the same time

Nobody shows up at the same time to a presentation, and you don’t always want to start until an acceptable threshold of attendees have arrived. Particularly if the beginning of your talk is fundamental to your big idea.

The waiting room is basically a holding area where attendees are listed as they show up. They get to see a simple welcome screen (annoyingly simple really – I’d much prefer to have the options to have a fully custom slide in there), and you can admit them one by one, or all at once, when you are ready to begin.

It also allows you to block people from entering, although for the most part there’s not much reason to do this when you are presenting to a large audience. Useful if someone becomes disruptive for any reason.

Caution: it’s very easy to forget about the waiting room and have people sitting around unable to get in after you’ve started. I recommend assigning this task to your co-host.

Cool Zoom Feature to Avoid – ‘Present with your PowerPoint or Keynote slides as a virtual background’.

This is an interesting feature that’s worth discussing both for why it’s cool and why it’s uncool.

What it does

Instead of a regular screen share, it takes your slide deck and sets it as the background much like any other Zoom background. As such it places a ‘mini you’ floating on top of the slides in cutout mode which is kinda fun. Kinda.

To access the feature (beta at time of writing) click the “Advanced” tab in the “Share Screen” popup, and select “Slides as Virtual Background”.

This is what it looks like from the attendee’s perspective. And yes, you appear twice on the screen. Once on top of your slides, and again beside them. Silly.

Image showing how to use Zoom's slides as background feature.

Note: you must download a local copy of your slide deck to your computer as it doesn’t connect to cloud-based slides.

If you have audio and video in your slides, checking the “Share Sound” option at the bottom-left of the share popup should make that transmit to the audience. However, it doesn’t. In fact I couldn’t get any video or audio to play at all.

There’s also a second “Split Video from Slides” option which kinda defeats the purpose. As you can see below, you are back with your regular background in a separate window, and you are only on the screen once.

With the split setting in place, it would be a fair to wonder why you’d use this feature as it looks just the same as the regular view.

There are however, a few key differences.

The major difference is that you don’t need to have your slides in fullscreen mode on your computer. In the screenshot below you’ll see that I’m looking at a Zoom window with my slides inside it. I can now move through my slides while having other windows open such as the chat and participant windows. This is actually pretty great as the audience doesn’t see your layout, they see what they would normally see.

A nice side effect of this setting is the audience won’t see the awkward moment at the start of your talk where your whole screen is visible until you start the slides.

Zoom panels popped out to the side in slides as background mode.

Looking at the main window, you can clean up the view a bit by having attendee video off by un-checking “More > Allow Participants to Start Video” in the Participants panel, and then selecting “Hide non-video participants” from the “…” menu on one of the participant video boxes.

You can take it a step further if you select “Hide self view” from the … on your video thumbnail. This will give you a view of just your slides. As much as the layout annoys me (I’d rather pop the self view out to the side with the chat), it can be important to see yourself to make sure you’re not moving out of frame – particularly if you are speaking standing up.

However, at this point in the beta it’s just not usable enough to be a serious and professional solution because of a few technical failings:

  • It’s buggy like most beta features are
  • It doesn’t show any animations or slide transitions
  • If you are recording the screen, the merge view while fun, is a little unprofessional looking
  • Audio and video didn’t work at all for me, despite there being a setting to allow slide audio to work. I think this might be because the videos didn’t play.
  • When you start the share it has to process the slides before it starts which causes a delay if you aren’t expecting it.

Overall, it’s a feature with some exciting elements, although to be perfectly honest, the good aspects are nothing to do with the feature itself, but are side effects. I’d prefer to see a new feature that allows you to avoid presenting in fullscreen to allow a much greater degree of presenter screen setup.

The chapter title says it all. Do these things and your virtual presentations will be better. If you don’t, your presentation won’t be better than the last one you did, missing an important opportunity grow your skills as a virtual presenter.

Seriously. Do these things.

#1 Test your slides from the ‘attendee perspective’ using another laptop or tablet

Your slides might look amazing on your retina laptop or 5K monitor, but not all screens are alike, and your super-detailed tiny-text “revolutionary new marketing method” process diagram might look more like a dot-matrix printout to someone with a lesser screen.

Viewing your slides on a smaller or alternative screen isn’t enough. You also need to view them on Zoom on that screen, because virtual presentation software tends to change things you wouldn’t expect.

The golden rule of presentation QA is to run through every slide on the platform you’re going to be delivering on (Zoom, GotoWebinar, etc.) watching out for the things below:

  • Any virtual presentation platform will add small visual artifacts to the video stream—they’re imperfect degenerative medium where some quality will be lost in transmission. As a result, your slides will never be quite as sharp as directly viewing your slides.
  • If you have audio in your slides, check that the audio levels are balanced and not too loud or quiet. Remember to also test it with headphones on as that’s a common listening scenario for your audience.
  • If you have video in your slides it may not come across well when presenting virtually. There’s usually some lag or choppiness that makes it skip frames. This can make the audio look out of sync.
  • If you have multiple slides with audio, set them at the exact same level so people don’t get deafened. A common problem in that scenario is that the attendees will turn down their audio if you blast them, and then the next time you have audio it’s too quiet to hear properly. Your presentation software will have a setting for the audio or video volume. The best way to make sure they are the same is to move your slides to be one after the other (you can reorder them afterwards), then step through them to gauge the balance.
  • If you have complex animations or transitions, they may render more slowly or less smoothly when piped through Zoom and a wifi connection. If they don’t work the way you want them to, consider simplifying them (fewer animations) or removing them altogether – replacing them with static slides. You can still use a technique like the Progressive Reveal to create a pseudo animation effect.

To prevent an audio feedback loop when testing your audio and video slides, have your partner/friend/colleague be on the viewer/attendee side in another room.

Whatever your specific case is, there’s a good chance that on the viewer’s side it’s not as perfect. So double, triple, and quadruple check.

I guess you should also single check. Why does nobody say that?

“You should single check your work to make sure it’s awesome.”

The best way to QA is to record some video of it from the viewer’s perspective. Have your QA buddy record their screen (with audio). If you don’t have anyone to help you, just set up your extra laptop (hopefully you have one somewhere) in another room and record the screen from there. If you’re using a Mac, Quicktime is an easy way to get a recording. On a PC, you can use PowerPoint to do a screen recording (more on that later), or find some free screen recording software for a test.

If you do have a helper, you can also reverse roles where they present and you observe on their machine. This will give you the truest sense of what might need to be fixed. It’ll no doubt be quite hilarious to watch, unless they turn out to be better at it than you.

#2 Remove all hashtags from your slides

My typical advice regarding hashtags is to make sure you update them to use the current event’s hashtag if you’ve used this slide deck before. If you don’t it looks awful to the audience and makes them feel like you didn’t put in the effort to make a presentation just for them.

However, the main goal of this entire guide —primarily covered in chapters 10 and 11— is to ensure you create a professional-grade recording of your virtual presentation that you can repurpose over and over for multiple virtual events.

If you leave event hashtags in your slides they will be forever embedded in your recording, rendering it useless for re-use. And trust me, once you’ve created a high-resolution awesomely edited recording of your talk, you will feel amazing about it.

It may feel counterintuitive, but you should delete all the hashtags from your slides.

If the event mentions it and asks you why or asks you to include them, just politely let them know your rationale. I’ve found that many virtual events have interactive chat in the interface they use which tends to dilute the number of people hanging out on a Twitter hashtag anyway.

#3 Have a wired Internet connection

If attendees have a poor connection they can always leave and download the video and slides later on.

But the presenter is the one person who absolutely must have a great Internet connection, and the best way to do that is to have directly wired Ethernet.

A side benefit of this is that it will help you end the endless debate over who’s connection is causing the problem. I’m sure you’ve been in a meeting where someone suggests your Internet is slow, and you say yours is fine, and they say that theirs has been working brilliantly all week.

Just say “Yeah, but I have a hardwired Ethernet connection.” End of conversation.

If you don’t have a wired connection, work on getting one set up, and in the meantime tell your eager tech wannabe roommates NOT to reset the ******* wifi while you’re presenting.

#4 Have a backup audio input device

“Is this mic on? Can you hear me at the back?”

Sometimes your mic will stop working, and it’s one of the most uncomfortable panic-ridden things that can happen to a speaker (see When Things Go Wrong ). It could be a dead battery issue, or your headphone cable could be old and the internal wiring failed.

Apple earpods cheap virtual presentation microphone

Whatever the cause, you need to have a way to deal with the problem.

If you are using a posh external mic that stops working, ditching it for the internal microphone of your laptop will likely degrade the audio quality significantly, but it’s better than nothing.

In a later chapter I do a deep dive comparison video about microphone options for virtual presenting .

Probably the simplest backup is another set of headphones. The classic Apple headphones are only $25 now. Make sure you get the ones with the 3.5mm jack, and not the lightning cable, (especially if you’re not an Apple person) as that’s only useful for your iPhone. And if you aren’t an Apple person, there are a million other options on Amazon.

However, be warned that these headphones are rife with audio problems such as noisy cables (you’ll need to sit still which sucks), and they should only be used on Zoom. When using them with any other audio recording software they have a horrific background hiss that destroys your audio, but Zoom’s noise removal feature (on by default) actually does a fantastic job of removing it, making them a viable last minute solution. Hopefully, you’ll never need to use them.

#5 Have a slide dedicated to encouraging non-verbal feedback

The non-verbal feedback feature of Zoom is a great way to make your talk more dynamic. But you don’t want to try and explain it in the middle of your talk as it’ll break the flow and screw up the fluidity of your recording.

Instead, consider which aspects of the feature you want to use, and have a slide at the start of your presentation (slide 2 for example) that focuses on this. You can quickly walk people through how it works, and tell them how you’ll be using it throughout.

#6 Have everyone muted by default

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. You don’t want attendees, whether it’s 5 or 500, to be chatting before or during your presentation. So this one is simple. Make sure you mute everyone. If you’re using your Personal Meeting ID you might have this already set up.

You can mute everyone in the Participants sidebar, or as a global default setting in the web portal administration settings “Settings > Schedule Meeting > Mute all participants when they join a meeting”.

Mute zoom participants by default for virtual presentations

#7 Wear confidence clothes

Just because you can present in your PJs it doesn’t mean you should present in your PJs. Treat it like an on-stage talk and get ready in your mojo outfit. You’ll gain confidence and look more professional.

Something I like to do when I’m on the road presenting, is lay out my clothes the night before. It helps me get in the right mindset and also saves time the next day when you might be stressing out.

#8 Close all of your other software to prevent your machine slowing down

Take a look at your computer right now and count A) how many different apps are running, and B) how many tabs you have open in your browser.

Here’s a screenshot of mine, for reference.

Having a lot of browser tabs and apps open can slow your computer when doing virtual presentations

Tabs open in Chrome? 39. Apps open? 20

You need to be concerned about two things, the amount of memory and processing power being hogged by all the apps you have open, and the number of ways you might receive a notification during your talk.

For PCs running Windows 10, there’s a built-in function to silence notifications when presenting . But if you’re a Mac user the settings for this are horrendous (slightly better in Big Sur). Fortunately there’s a free app called Muzzle that silences all of your notifications as soon as you share your screen.

Turn off all MacOS notifications using the Muzzle app when giving a virtual prtesentation

#9 Have two pre-made slides ready for Q&A at the end of your virtual presentation

It’s common for your host to ask questions that the audience has submitted in the chat window (or the Q&A window for Zoom Webinars) at the end of your session. The best way to utilize this opportunity—if you’re still in control of the screen—is to have two slides prepared.

The first slide should simply have Q&A written on it, really big.

The second slide should be a promo slide with a special offer you have.

I like to leave up the Q&A slide until the questions start, then flip it to the promo slide so it can sit there for the next 5-10 minutes. It’s a great way to have it visible for a long period of time without actually having to be salesy in your presentation.

It’s fairly common that an event organizer will ask you if you have something to promote, but if they don’t, ask them if it’s okay that you use a slide at the end like this.

#10 Build a background set to make your virtual presentations look professional

If you spend a lot of time on Zoom, instead of using a Zoom background, start thinking about how you can built a bit of a set where you do your presentations. Not only will it look more professional, but it will fill you with confidence and make you feel like you’re in presentation mode when you’re there.

I’m fortunate to have a space for my office/studio, and I’ve seen and felt the difference a well-designed environment makes when I show up to work. It took me months to get it right, so don’t think you have to suddenly have something perfect. Just chip away at it over time, turning on your webcam every day and giving a little thought as to how you can make the space more special. Small shelves with plants or books can work great, and Pinterest is definitely your friend for this type of thing.

Many folks won’t have a dedicated workspace to claim as your “stage”, but I’m pretty sure your significant other won’t complain if you make your home that little bit nicer.

Speaking of “stages”, I actually built a stage in my studio—almost burning down the house in the process —but that’s a story for another time. Like I said, it took months to get to this stage. I keep saying stage.

Build a background set to make your virtual presentations and webinars look more professional

#11 Reboot your computer the night before your virtual presentation

Restarting your computer can help speed it up a bit, especially if you haven’t done it in ages. Any little performance advantage you can get is valuable for a live presentation. It will help clear out any processes that are stuck or hogging the CPU.

However, it’s best not to do this right before your talk, as you risk it doing some weird software updates that take hours to complete.

#12 Do a test Zoom meeting to check your camera angles and lighting

As Springsteen said in Dancing in the Dark—”I check my look in the mirror, I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face.”—you should always check how you look on camera before the presentation starts. Adjust the angle of the camera for your most flattering look and the best view of your background, which of course is a well-decorated wall, and not a zoom background of a beach or mountaintop.

Make sure to turn on the lights you’ll be using to light your lovely face, wick away any sweat using blotting wipes, and apply some simple makeup to remove shiny reflections from your head. More details on those techniques in the lighting section .

Here’s the smart part, record your test meeting and play it back to make sure there are no weird things in the background, it’s often easier to analyze a recording as opposed to your webcam view.

#13 Double-check your audio for background noise

At the same time as your camera check, watch your test recording and listen very carefully for any noise in the background. You’ll be surprised at how oblivious you can be to background noise when you’re busy and/or nervous.

Sounds to watch out for:

  • Laundry sounds: Depending on where your washer/dryer are it may not be an issue, but the low hum can travel far. Start a Zoom recording, making sure to use which ever audio (mic) input you plan on using, go turn on your washer or dryer or dishwasher, then come back and replay the recording to see if it’s discernible. Crank the volume to make sure. There is NOTHING worse than doing a badass presentation then finding out the recording is ruined by a persistent hum in the background, or the sound of someone’s hoody zip clattering round and round in the dryer.
  • Tube lights: If you have any tube lights where you are recording, or even in a nearby room, turn them off. They can be soooo noisy. Then put in the effort to replace them with silent LED tube bulbs when you have time. It does require some rewiring, but it’s not that hard—I did it recently and I made sure to choose bulbs with the same colour temperature as the lights I’ll be using to light me up in the video–more on that in the A/V chapter .
  • Ceiling fans: Another subtle and repetitive sound. Turn ’em off unless the resulting heat will make you sweat to the point of scaring the audience.
  • Heating: Not all heating is noisy, but many houses in North America use what’s called forced air. It’s noisy. A low hum, yes, but it’s an audio killer.
  • Noisy clothes: Your clothes can cause bad scratching sounds—even if you use a shotgun microphone that’s not attached to your clothes—which is an audio killer. What happens is that any loose clothing rubs against you when you gesticulate with your arms. Tighter clothes like a t-shirt are the solution to this. I go into more depth including a comparison video in What to do When Noisy Clothes Ruin Your Audio .
  • Noisy shoes: if you’re wearing any kind of heels, they will cause irritating sounds if you shuffle your feet (while presenting standing up, which you should do). The simplest solution is to take them off and present in your socks (or bare feet).
  • Analog watches: I’m kidding.

And make sure everyone in the house knows not to bother you while you’re presenting. If you are in a room with a door, hang a sign on it with the time of your event, and say not to disturb you until you take the sign off the door.

Guess what? Not every thing you can do as a virtual presenter is something you should be doing—I’m talking about you, speaker who likes to take a bathroom break while mic’d up, two minutes before the session starts.

Similarly, not every feature of Zoom has a positive impact on the audience or speaker experience. In this short and not-so-sweet chapter I’ll give you some tips about things to avoid so your talks go more smoothly.

#1 Don’t use a free Zoom account for your presentation

If you’re running the show yourself this is an important one. The free Zoom plan allows up to 100 attendees which is great, and more than enough for a small event, however there is also a 40-minute time limit, which would be very embarrassing if you didn’t know that and all of a sudden everyone gets kicked out of your virtual event.

#2 Try to avoid saying “Can you hear me?”

This is a classic intro statement that nervous presenters ask, but it makes you sound unprofessional. Instead, make a subtle change to how you position it, like this:

“Thanks {host name}, let’s get started, and let us know in the chat window if you have any issues hearing my audio.”

#3 Don’t use your laptop’s microphone if your webcam is sitting on an external monitor

When you do this, the laptop will be off to one side and your audio will be really quiet and sound like you’re in a different room.

#4 Don’t use stock photos in your slides

Just as you shouldn’t use a stock photo as the header background on your website, you shouldn’t use them in your presentations. To illustrate my point, it’s way too common for software companies to think it’s cool to use an overhead shot of a laptop and a coffee cup. It’s actually hilarious how prevalent it is. I recommend entering the URL of any image you’re considering using into tineye.com which will tell you how many times it’s been used.

How to use Tineye to see how many times a stock photo has been used online

If you absolutely have to use one, try hard to find one that’s not so widely used. Unsplash.com is a good resource for free photography that’s typically got less of a stock feel to it.

But all in all, the best way to avoid using stock photos is to develop an original content mindset (in chapter 6) .

#5 Don’t use a Zoom background. You heard me.

Zoom backgrounds can be fun in meetings, but when you’re presenting it can look unprofessional and can be really distracting. It can also make some of your head/hair disappear and speaking for myself, I need all the hair I can get.

#6 Don’t record the call without permission

This is a big no-no on certain types of call. For a presentation you can make a statement that it’s being recorded, as this is always helpful information for attendees to know (no permission needed) but if it’s a meeting with a client, customer, or coworker, you should be explicit that you are recording and why: “If it’s okay with you I’d like to record the call so I don’t miss any of the details.” This is important when you are a guest in an interview too. Asking for permission will add a level of trust and respect in the eyes of who you are asking – and in the very rare occasion that they say no, be graceful and say okay no worries. Then follow up with,”I may be taking notes throughout so bare with me if I’m scribbling”.

Also be aware, that if you  are recording the session, everyone on the other side will see a blinking “recording” signal in the top-left corner, so there’s no creeping allowed.

To recap, remember these rules when it comes to recordings:

  • Meetings: Ask for permission, and don’t record if your guest is uncomfortable with it.
  • Presentations: Let people know that it’s being recorded and that you will be making it available after. Ideally after some post-production enhancements in chapter 11.

#7 Don’t be the host if you might leave early

This is a nightmare as the other participants are suddenly without a meeting and they might not know why. Then they have to re-coordinate to set up a new meeting, which is always a chore and often involves Slack or text messages or even worse, emails.

Intro Introduction to Virtual Presentations on Zoom

Chapter 1 18 Cool Zoom Features You Should Know About

Chapter 2 12 Things You Should Do in Your Zoom Presentation

Chapter 3 8 Things You Shouldn’t Do in Your Zoom Presentation

Chapter 4 Defining Your Presentation’s Purpose

Chapter 5 How to Define Your Talk’s Structure, Story, & Flow

Chapter 6 41 Slide Design Tips for Virtual Presentations

Chapter 7 6 Ways to Make Eye Contact With an Invisible Audience

Chapter 8 How to do Audience Participation in a Virtual Presentation

Chapter 9 How to Share Content during a Zoom Presentation

Chapter 10 How to Create a Stunning Video and Audio Recording

Chapter 11 Using Post-Production to Add Value to Your Zoom Recording

Chapter 12 How to Use Your Phone as a Beautiful Webcam

Chapter 13 What to Do When Things go Wrong in Your Presentation

Chapter 14 How to Ground Yourself and Get Ready to Present

Chapter 15 Advanced & Creative Zoom Presentation Techniques

Chapter 16 The Difference Between Zoom Meetings and Zoom Webinars

Chapter 17 23 Zoom Settings to Enable or Disable for a Smooth Presentation

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How to Be Effective and Keep Participants Engaged When Presenting Remotely

Posted august 23, 2021 by eleanor hecks.

zoom presentation tips reddit

Whether you’re doing a more traditional presentation via Zoom , giving a live interview, or conducting a webinar, the experience is very different from doing so in person. There won’t be a physical audience in front of you, and sometimes timing is extremely challenging to sync up — people often try to talk over others during conference calls. What’s more, it can be just as difficult to convey the appropriate emotions and body language, especially when just the top half of you — or sometimes even just your head — is visible.

It makes one wonder: What are some things you can do to prepare for the presentation or conference? Are there any tips you should keep in mind during the live event? What else should you know?

How to prepare your Zoom presentation

The planning phase is one of the most critical, as it’s where you’ll decide your topics, your major discussion beats, and where you’ll elaborate. You may not be using a teleprompter, but you will be creating a loose script. In addition, you’ll need to create the media that will go along with your presentation, which should be error-free, captivating, and on point.

Here are some tips to improve planning and design:

1. Design for everyone

While creating your media — the slides — understand that you are creating for a wide audience who will likely be tuning in from multiple devices and platforms. The media is going to look very different on a large, HD-ready computer monitor than it will on a smartphone or tablet. Design the content, images, and layouts so that they are compatible and friendly for all. Someone browsing on their phone should be able to see precisely the same information as someone on a laptop or computer.

Be sure to test out your presentation on different devices and resolutions. Also, try to remember that too much screen time can cause focus and stimulation problems in both children and adults. Try to limit the total presentation time, so that it’s accommodating for everyone.

2. Tone down the visuals

Yes, every presentation needs captivating visual content to go along with the text and audio. But you don’t want it to take away from the meat of the experience. It’s okay to use maps, charts, graphs, videos, photos, including stock images, GIFs, memes, and more.

Just don’t overdo it on a single slide. Try to keep it relatively confined so your audience doesn’t go into a stimulation overload. If they’re trying to read a ton of text, listen to you speak, and process several images — especially animated ones — things can get really hectic.

3. Get your area ready

On a live stream, everything around you is as much the star of the show as you. Figurines, pictures on the wall, and even clutter will all feature prominently unless you alter the background — which Zoom allows you to do. Be sure to tidy up your space before the event and remove anything from the frame that you don’t want your audience to see.

4. Brighten up the room

Webcams, even UHD cams, tend to work much better in bright conditions. If you haven’t already, open your blinds to let in some natural light. Test out the camera conditions beforehand to see whether it’s too bright, or not enough. If you’re using a laptop, you can move around your home to find the best spot.

Audiences should have a clear view of your face. Most importantly, they should be able to see when you’re speaking and what gestures you’re making.

5. Test your equipment

You can make a test call to a friend or family member, or just test out the equipment locally, but make sure everything is working. Check your audio and your microphone, be sure the video is clear and bright, check your internet signal and speeds, and ensure all equipment is plugged in and not running on battery power. You should be doing this as close to the conference or event as possible. It doesn’t help if you check out your equipment days in advance and then run into issues the day of.

People do not like to encounter technical errors. For instance, when a page’s load speed increases by just 1-3 seconds, the bounce rate also increases by 32% . A 5-second increase boosts that bounce rate to 90%. So, the longer it takes to set up your presentation and get things moving, the more likely it is that people will tune you out or leave altogether.

6. Rehearse

Practice in front of a mirror, or hop on a call with friends and family and allow them to provide feedback. Never go into a presentation unprepared, especially if you’ve never given one before via Zoom or anywhere.

7. Create a checklist

A checklist is always a good way to review what you need to get done before an event or activity. Professionals use them to avoid costly mistakes , and you should be taking inspiration from that.

Try to remember every small detail or requirement that you need to complete before the presentation. You can even create a multi-tier checklist that deals with before, during, and after the big event.

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Hosting the Zoom presentation

So, you’re all ready for the big event? Now, it’s time to make sure everything goes smoothly during your presentation. Here are some helpful tips.

1. Speak plainly

It helps if you write the script or guidelines similar to how you will be presenting, however, you should speak plainly and enunciate as much as possible. Unless the subject matter explicitly calls for it, try to avoid industry or specialized jargon. That will also mitigate how much you need to explain or move off-topic. Furthermore, it ensures your entire audience can follow along, regardless of skill level or expertise.

2. Minimize potential interruptions

You can’t control what happens on the other end of that presentation, but you can certainly control things on your side. Try to mitigate potential distractions as much as possible. Put your phone on silent. Wear headphones so there’s no audio echo or distortion. Close your door or isolate yourself so no one comes in to interrupt. You might also consider turning on Do Not Disturb mode on your computer to pause notifications during the meeting.

3. Keep your materials handy

Two points. First, you want to keep your notes or script handy so that if you get stuck you can continue with little to no pause. Second, those materials should be in a place that has you facing the camera. If you have a document up on a monitor, for example, you don’t want to be glancing sideways all the time to read what’s next.

Situate the screen and camera so they’re at the same angle, so you’re constantly looking at the camera while you read. It’s a lot easier to do with a laptop because the camera is usually in the top bezel. With a desktop, you might have to move your display(s) around, or reposition your webcam. If you’re using a phone or tablet, you should have those propped up on a stand or tripod to keep them stable.

4. Dress to impress

Dress just as you would if you were paying a visit to the office or making a presentation in public. Put on the whole outfit too, and not just the shirt, because you never know what’s going to happen. If the camera falls, you don’t want it to expose that you’re just wearing underpants along with that collared shirt.

5. Have your media ready

It’s a simple tip, but a crucial one. Have your slides and other media ready to go and queued up for sharing. Don’t wait until the presentation to get things in order. You should be able to swap to the necessary screen, share the content, and go. Have all hyperlinks, videos, and interactive elements prepared beforehand, as well.

6. Pause for effect and questions

After each major beat, pause for a moment to allow your audience to ask questions, raise concerns, or ask for you to reiterate the message. This is much more difficult when you’re dealing with a large audience, but most Zoom meetings are relatively intimate with a local group.

7. Pay attention to chat

Alongside every Zoom event or meeting, there is a live chat window that can sometimes be forgotten if you’re busy focusing on your presentation. Don’t neglect it. Your audience may be asking more questions, providing valuable feedback, or even pointing out something wrong — like your mic cutting out.

8. Record your presentation

Make sure you’re recording the presentation to reference later, not just for everyone else but for yourself too. It allows you to rewatch the feed to review questions and commentary, and also to perceive your mannerisms and dynamic content. You can use that information to build a better presentation later.

9. Leverage the Zoom tools

There’s a host of tools you can use with Zoom , including screen sharing, annotations, live polling, and much more. Incorporate them into your presentation whenever possible, and don’t forget they exist! They can help make the experience more fun, engaging, and memorable.

10. Keep it interesting

It’s easy when you’re talking, especially about dull subjects, to lose your audience. One way to keep them invested and interested is to add the occasional “boom” moment. It’s an impactful instant, like a shocking statistic, joke, or alarming point, that ties together everything you’ve been talking about up until that moment.

The follow-up

After the presentation is completed, don’t make the mistake of thinking your work is all done. The first thing to do is make the media and the recording of the presentation available so that anyone who wants to can go back and review the experience.

Next, you need channels in place to collect feedback. People will have follow-up questions and concerns, and they may want you to clarify certain points. Also, you’ll want people to share their experiences. What did they enjoy? What did they dislike? How could you have improved as a presenter? Don’t be too scared to ask these questions, as they’ll help improve your Zoom presentation skills.

Finally, consider wrapping it all up with a nice bow by giving away free content or materials to those who attended the event, like a free e-book written by you or your colleagues, or a promo code to your storefront.

With these ideas in mind, you’ll be ready to knock your next Zoom presentation or remote meeting out of the park!

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11 Essential Tips for Presenting on Zoom

January 24, 2022 - Dom Barnard

A boss unwittingly disguised as a potato during Zoom meetings, cries of “you’re on mute!” and guest appearances by kids and pets, are among the hilarious anecdotes attached to this hugely popular app.

However, it becomes serious when you need to make a good impression in a virtual meeting, job interview or presentation.

Zoom became a massively popular communications tool for business, education and social meetings during the Pandemic. In 2020, there were  485 million Zoom downloads , which is 30 times more than the year before!

Of course, some of the top Zoom presentations tips apply equally well to in-person or online delivery. Such as establishing your end goals, preparing a flowing framework and strong content, then practising your speech more than once. However, there are particular advantages and disadvantages to Zoom, to get the right results for presenting online.

These Zoom presentation tips will help grow your competence, confidence and success.

1. Put some trousers on!

One of the great things about Zoom presentations is there is a degree of informality and comfort.

You can dress just your top half smartly, have a hot beverage just off-screen, and do your best public speaking in familiar surroundings.

One of the worst things about Zoom presentations is …there is a degree of informality and comfort!

You can find yourself easily distracted, lacking in focus and slower in your responses.

The best way to present well on Zoom – when the stakes are high – is to create a wholly business-like environment and attitude. Use a space in your home or field location that’s as bland and clinical as possible, with no potential noise disturbance. Dress smartly from head to toe to create the best mindset.

Site your technology in front of you and imagine it’s a lectern and a set of multi-media tools in a meeting room or lecture theatre.

2. Use the superpower of data

While you’re using technology to communicate or collaborate, it’s common sense to optimise ways to enhance your presentations.

As part of your extensive preparation for important Zoom meetings, consider what documents, images and graphics to share, to add credibility and professionalism to your pitch. Or, simply to hold the attention of a Zoom audience from start to finish.

Familiarise yourself with the Share Screen option on Zoom, and the best ways of displaying videos during a Zoom call, including advanced share methods for online presentations.

There are good Zoom share screen tips here, including how to add a video to presentations on Zoom.

Zoom presentations with visual content are  43% more persuasive . Also, 90% of the information we process comes from visual input. So your Zoom presentation materials could be what gets you that job, funding or agreement.

3. Non-verbal communications tips for Zoom

Don’t assume that online presentations release you from many of the body language pitfalls and best practices. The opposite is true, as you need to focus on non-verbal cues even more.

If you deliver your Zoom presentation in a rigid, static and clinical way, you are missing out on some of the best ways to be successful in communications.

People respond to people. Effective communication requires warmth, authenticity and establishing a strong personal connection with your audience. Being robotic when presenting online won’t help you to succeed.

If this is an intense online meeting, then showing empathy can also increase the engagement and openness you achieve.

How do you communicate non-verbally on Zoom?

Without going over the top, be purposeful and slightly exaggerated in your body language. Sit straight and lean subtly towards the screen. Never away from it and certainly no slumping, crossed arms or chin/elbow leaning!

Smile, nod and keep strong eye contact, including showing your attention passing from person to person across a split-screen. Use hand gestures and show subtle movement in your upper body to add emphasis to key points.

4. Verbal communications skills

Zoom presentations also make it too easy to slip into a monotone voice or race through a presentation. You may even find the process of talking to technology – not live people – causes you to ramble, or get lost in your ad-libs or Q&A responses.

Make sure you articulate clearly, add emphasis when needed, and generally modify your tone regularly but logically.

Don’t be afraid to leave small pauses to drive a point home, or to take a deep breath while you construct your next point. If you look directly at the screen and hold eye contact, this ‘white space’ is perfectly acceptable.

5. Is everyone listening?

One of the most important presentation skills, in general, is reading the room. Is your potential boss or buyer looking bored? Are the panel of decision-makers getting confused? In contentious presentations, being able to spot your biggest dissenter from their non-verbal communication can help you shift your focus to winning them over.

It’s challenging to gain that sort of body language intel from online meetings. So, the best Zoom presentations compensate for that.

It can be as simple as adding more direct questions to your content and literally pausing regularly to ask your audience about queries or concerns. Make your questions open-ended, not a yes or no response.

“Let’s take a minute. What else do you need to know about that part of my presentation?”

Also, keep Zoom presentations succinct, flowing and animated. Your audience will drift away subconsciously if your delivery is pedestrian or you talk for too long without involving them.

Remember, attention spans are even shorter on technology!

Practice your video presentation and get feedback on your performance with  VirtualSpeech .

6. Opening Zoom presentations with pizazz

No, this doesn’t refer to grabbing your audience’s attention with a juggling trick or wearing your most colourful or glamourous finery.

How you start a Zoom presentation sets the tone. If you instantly engage their interest with a compelling opening, the attention and engagement last.

This should primarily be 100% clarity on the purpose of your presentation and the desired outcome. As well as establishing your credibility and methods to achieve the end goal.

Vague introductions and slowly revealing your key points drains your time and your audience’s attention.

What makes a good opening for Zoom presentations?

7. Icebreakers

You can’t shake their hand, but you can issue a quick, warm greeting and a short, relevant fact about yourself that helps them to warm to you.

8. Storytelling techniques

These work for a myriad of business communication tasks. Give a short (that word again) anecdote or illustration, to give context to your Zoom presentation. That could be about you, your product or the outcome you are requesting, for example.

9. Meaningful quotes in presentations

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw.

Good quotes can work!

10. High impact fact

Another great opening for Zoom presentations is a little known fact or ‘behind the scenes’ secret that grabs attention. Did you know,  one-third of adults still sleep with a ‘comforter’  like a soft toy or blanket? (Not relevant to many presentations but it’s a memorable statistic that caught OUR attention.)

Wake your audience up with something they want to remember – and share with others – and they will be alert and ready to listen.

11. End Zoom presentations correctly

One last piece of advice on Zoom presentations. Don’t get so relieved when you get to the end, that you forget your call to action.

All communication should include an invitation of some kind, in clear language. What would you like your audience to do, now your Zoom time is over? Tell them that and thank them for your attention, with one last warm smile.

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22 tips for effective video presentations

Mannerofspeaking.

  • September 22, 2018

These days, an increasing number of presentations are delivered, not from a stage, but in front of a computer screen. The audience is live but dispersed across offices and cities or even countries and time zones.

Presentations via videoconference on platforms such as Skype and Zoom are now a normal part of work and will only increase in popularity. They are cheap, relatively simple to set up, and save people time and travel expenses. While they are not bug-free, the quality of videoconferences has improved significantly in recent years.

Effective video presentations - Zoom

However, when it comes to presentations, these advantages come at a cost. Because they are not in the same room, presenters face an increased challenge to engage with their audiences. They are usually limited in their movements and the audience can only see the presenter’s face or upper body. Indeed, sometimes, audiences only hear the presenter’s voice while slides are shown on screen.

Furthermore, even if there are 50 people listening to a presentation, there is a good chance that each one of those 50 people will be behind his or her own computer at home or at work or in a coffee shop or on public transportation. Not only do speakers have to compete with the distractions found in these locations, the fact that people are not together in one place means much less energy for the audience.

And so, in order to make effective video presentations, speakers need to up their game. Seth Godin recently wrote a post in which he offered eight tips for videoconferences. While those tips are directed at people who are having a conversation or meeting, they also apply for presentations, especially where the speaker can be seen.

Seth’s eight tips for effective video presentations are immediately below. They are followed by an additional 14 tips from me.

Seth Godin’s tips

1.  Sit close to the screen. Your face should fill most of it.

2.  Use an external microphone or headset.

3.  When you’re not talking, hit mute.

4.  Don’t eat during the meeting.

5.  When you’re on mute during an audio call, you can do whatever you want. But when you’re on mute on a video call, you need to act like you’re truly engaged. Nod your head. Focus on the screen. Don’t get up and feed your dog.

6.  Don’t sit with the window behind you. A little effort on lighting goes a very long way.

7.  When you’re talking, spend some time looking at the camera, not the screen. You’ll appear more earnest and honest this way.

8.  When you’re talking, go slow. No one is going to steal your slot.

Additional tips for effective video presentations

9.  Send an agenda to the audience members beforehand that contains the following information: (a) date and time (and your time zone if presenting to people around the world) of the presentation; (b) clear instructions how to connect; (c) outline of the topics to be discussed; and (d) any pre-reading material.

10.  Test the platform beforehand, especially if you are going to show slides. For major presentations, consider having a tech person help with the broadcast.

11.  Choose a quiet room, put your cell phone on mute and take whatever steps necessary to ensure no disturbances.

12. Be aware of what is behind you. Make sure there is nothing distracting in the background.

13.  If feasible, stand up when you present. Place your computer on a bookshelf so that it is eye level. Standing up opens the diaphragm and allows you to breathe more deeply than if you are slouched over your computer. It also helps you feel more energetic which will be transmitted through your voice.

14.  If you stand up and your audience cannot see you, it is OK to move about if that helps with your delivery. Just be mindful of not moving too far from the microphone if you are not wearing a headset.

15.  If you sit, sit straight and keep your feet flat on the floor. This will help your breathing and will keep you anchored in front of the screen.

16.  If people will be able to see you, dress appropriately. At least as far down as they will be able to see! Solid colours are best; fine patterns might “flicker” on the screen. Avoid any jewelry that clinks.

17.  Make sure that your hair is neat and that your face is not shiny. Get some camera-friendly makeup — for men and women — if necessary.

18.  Warm up your voice beforehand just as you would for any presentation.

19.  Have a glass of water within reach. It should be still water and room temperature.

20.  Make sure that your gestures don’t extend beyond your audience’s field of vision.

21.  If you use slides, you should be the one who advances them. Ideally, you should use a remote; however, if you use the keyboard, press the key gently to avoid a noisy clicking sound.

22.  Unless you are delivering bad news, smile!

Now you have a basket of ideas for effective video presentations.

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In my previous job, meetings were routinely held via Webex, as the company was global. (My boss was based in the US, and I was the only person on my immediate team in APAC.) So I’ve strong opinions on this topic.

I agree with almost all the points you list. There are a couple of Seth’s I’m less sure of though:

I used to think filling the video feed with the speaker’s face (tip #1) was a good idea – to help convey emotion. But as you say (#20), their gestures should be visible. So these days I prefer a “torso shot”.

Also, speaking slowly (#8) is often a bad idea, as it conveys less passion and conviction. And why does Seth assume no one will talk over you? That really depends on the company culture, and who happens to be on the call with you. Recently I reviewed a videoed talk where the speaker used gestures, smiles, and shot composition really well. He did speak very quickly, but that helps to convey passion, and so tends to engage people more. See if you agree with the review…

Thanks for sharing your insights and experience, Craig.

I think the face / torso issue is one of personal preference. The key thing is to be in the frame and in focus. As for speaking slowly, I agree with Seth, but this is based on my years of working in the United Nations system with well over a hundred different cultures. It is critical to speak slowly in English when English is not the mother tongue of the audience members.

It is even more critical when communicating by webinar because the importance of your voice is accentuated. Add the inevitable bad connection / sound issues that often arise and the issue is compounded.

For an audience where everyone is a native speaker of the language being used, you can speed up. But in today’s interconnected world, those situations are the minority of webinars. Fortunately, I believe one can convey passion and conviction when one speaks slowly; it just takes a bit more effort.

On the subject of speed, you might find what Jean-luc Doumont had to say thought-provoking. (I certainly did.)

“Speaking fast is not a problem – doing it all the time is the problem!” 

I used to agree with you on that topic, but since then he’s persuaded me otherwise.

If you’re interested, you can find more details here.

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John delivered a keynote address about the importance of public speaking to 80 senior members of Gore’s Medical Device Europe team at an important sales event. He was informative, engaging and inspirational. Everyone was motivated to improve their public speaking skills. Following his keynote, John has led public speaking workshops for Gore in Barcelona and Munich. He is an outstanding speaker who thinks carefully about the needs of his audience well before he steps on stage.

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TA Leader, Gore and Associates

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I first got in touch with John while preparing to speak at TED Global about my work on ProtonMail. John helped me to sharpen the presentation and get on point faster, making the talk more focused and impactful. My speech was very well received, has since reached almost 1.8 million people and was successful in explaining a complex subject (email encryption) to a general audience.

CEO, Proton Technologies

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John gave the opening keynote on the second day of our unit’s recent offsite in Geneva, addressing an audience of 100+ attendees with a wealth of tips and techniques to deliver powerful, memorable presentations. I applied some of these techniques the very next week in an internal presentation, and I’ve been asked to give that presentation again to senior management, which has NEVER happened before. John is one of the greatest speakers I know and I can recommend his services without reservation.

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Senior Data Scientist, Expedia Group

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After a morning of team building activities using improvisation as the conduit, John came on stage to close the staff event which was organised in Chamonix, France. His energy and presence were immediately felt by all the members of staff. The work put into the preparation of his speech was evident and by sharing some his own stories, he was able to conduct a closing inspirational speech which was relevant, powerful and impactful for all at IRU. The whole team left feeling engaged and motivated to tackle the 2019 objectives ahead. Thank you, John.

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Secretary General, World Road Transport Organization

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I was expecting a few speaking tips and tricks and a few fun exercises, but you went above and beyond – and sideways. You taught me to stand tall. You taught me to anchor myself. You taught me to breathe. You taught me to open up. You taught me to look people in the eye. You taught me to tell the truth. You taught me to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I got more than I bargained for in the best possible way.

Thuy Khoc-Bilon

World Cancer Day Campaign Manager, Union for International Cancer Control

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John gave a brilliant presentation on public speaking during the UN EMERGE programme in Geneva (a two days workshop on leadership development for a group of female staff members working in the UN organizations in Geneva). His talk was inspirational and practical, thanks to the many techniques and tips he shared with the audience. His teaching can dramatically change our public speaking performance and enable us as presenters to have a real and powerful impact. Thank you, John, for your great contribution!

HR Specialist, World Health Organization

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John is a genuine communication innovator. His seminars on gamification of public speaking learning and his interactive Rhetoric game at our conference set the tone for change and improvement in our organisation. The quality of his input, the impact he made with his audience and his effortlessly engaging style made it easy to get on board with his core messages and won over some delegates who were extremely skeptical as to the efficacy of games for learning. I simply cannot recommend him highly enough.

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National Education Director, Association of Speakers Clubs UK

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John joined our Global Sales Meeting in Segovia, Spain and we all participated in his "Improv(e) your Work!" session. I say “all” because it really was all interactive, participatory, learning and enjoyable. The session surprised everybody and was a fresh-air activity that brought a lot of self-reflection and insights to improve trust and confidence in each other inside our team. It´s all about communication and a good manner of speaking!"

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Thank you very much for the excellent presentation skills session. The feedback I received was very positive. Everyone enjoyed the good mix of listening to your speech, co-developing a concrete take-away and the personal learning experience. We all feel more devoted to the task ahead, more able to succeed and an elevated team spirit. Delivering this in a short time, both in session and in preparation, is outstanding!

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CFO European Dairy Supply Chain & Operations, Danone

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Thanks to John’s excellent workshop, I have learned many important tips and techniques to become an effective public speaker. John is a fantastic speaker and teacher, with extensive knowledge of the field. His workshop was a great experience and has proven extremely useful for me in my professional and personal life.

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Senior Sales Manager, Sunrise Communications

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Be BOLD. Those two words got stuck in my head and in the heads of all those ADP leaders and associates that had the privilege to see John on stage. He was our keynote speaker at our annual convention in Barcelona, and his message still remains! John puts his heart in every word. Few speakers are so credible, humble and yet super strong with large audiences!

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Top 9 Zoom Presentation Tips and Tricks to Ace It Like a Pro

In 2020, we witnessed Zoom take the world by storm . Millions of folks are using Zoom because of its easy-to-use interface and packs amazing features. Today, many job interviews, seminars, music concerts, and even several casual calls between friends and family, and more take place on Zoom. Apart from video calling, Zoom’s key feature for professional use is Presentations. And our compilation of tips and tricks for a Zoom presentation will help you cover the bases and impress the audience.

Zoom presentation

People prefer Zoom to deliver presentations. After all, the software comes with superior screen sharing options, a whiteboard add-on, air-tight security protocols, and more.

If you don’t take the necessary measurements, your flawless presentation can be mediocre. This post will talk about the best tips and tricks to ace Zoom presentations like a pro.

1. Set or Change Meeting Password

During your Zoom presentation, you won’t want any random person joining the meeting with an insecure Zoom meeting link. Before hosting the Zoom presentations, it’s recommended to go to PMI Settings and enable passcode for a meeting.

Zoom meetinig password

Before starting the Zoom presentation, don’t forget to share the passcode with the participants.

2. Use Relevant Zoom Background

Zoom offers the users to change the background using any random wallpaper. However, you shouldn’t pick any wallpaper as a background as it won’t look professional during the presentation.

Zoom backgroind

You can go to sources like Pixabay and Unsplash and download relevant wallpapers to use as a Zoom background. For example, you can use Wall Street wallpaper to deliver a sales pitch or explain earning reports to board members.

3. Touch Up Appearance

If Snapchat filters seem way too extreme, but you still want to add an effect to your video, you should try the native touch up feature in Zoom. To use it in your video, launch the video settings in Zoom. Then, check the box next to Touch up my appearance. The option also takes care of bad lighting in the room.

Touch up apprearance

4. Enable Meeting Duration in Zoom

You won’t want to go overboard with the presentation. It should be within a fixed time limit. However, Zoom doesn’t show the meeting duration by default. You need to enable the option from the Settings.

Step 1: Open the Zoom app on Windows or Mac.

Step 2: Tap on the profile icon at the upper right corner and go to Settings.

Step 3: Navigate to General > Show my meeting duration and enable the option.

Enable meeting duration

From now on, whenever you host a Zoom meeting, you will notice the meeting duration at the upper right corner.

5. Enable End-to-End Encryption

Zoom offers end-to-end encryption to all users. It’s always advisable to add a layer of security to your Zoom meetings. Follow the steps and make sure to enable the option for Zoom.

Step 1: Go to the Zoom Sign-in page. Log in with your Zoom account details. You will be taken to the Zoom account page.

Step 2: Click on Settings from the left panel. Under the Meeting tab, click on Security.

Enable zoom encryption

Step 3: Scroll down and enable the toggle next to Allow use of end-to-end encryption.

6. Use Whiteboard

Whiteboard is useful during situations like brainstorming plans with a team, explaining a subject in detail, sharing your ideas, and you can always get more creative with it.

Zoom offers a bundle of useful features for the presenter on the Whiteboard. You can use text, draw, annotate, stamps, and more tools during the presentation.

Use whiteboard

If the single Whiteboard is too small, you can tap on the tiny icon below the Whiteboard to open a new Whiteboard. After that, you shuttle between them using the arrows.

7. Share Your iPhone or iPad Screen

The feature can be useful when you want to showcase something on iPhone or iPad screen to Zoom participants. During Zoom meetings, navigate to Share Screen > Basic and select iPhone/iPad via AirPlay or iPhone/iPad via cable.

Iphone screen share

Tap on the Share button below and go back to your iPhone/iPad. On your iPhone/iPad, swipe down from the upper right corner to open the Control Centre.

Now, from the Control Center, long tap on the Screen Mirroring option.

8. Master Keyboard Shortcuts

With these keyboard shortcuts, you can boost your productivity by cutting down on clicks and speed up your work with the Zoom presentation. These keyboard shortcuts will certainly help you save a few seconds a day.

Keyboard shortcuts

Read our dedicated post on Zoom keyboard shortcuts to find the best Zoom keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac.

9. Use Breakout Rooms

Breakout rooms allow the host to divide a meeting into smaller rooms and assign participants to each room. Participants in separate virtual rooms keep the discussions and chats separately. There is no overlap giving the host much-needed sanity.

Open the site, sign in using your ID, social media, or SSO and click on My Account. Click on Settings > Meeting and then select In Meeting (Advanced) menu option to find the Breakout room setting.

Breakout rooms in zoom

Once you enable the setting, you will get the ‘Allow host to assign participants to breakout rooms when scheduling’ option. That will let you create breakout rooms and assign participants to the same even before the meeting begins in advance.

Read the post below to find more about Breakout Rooms in Zoom.

Master Presentations on Zoom

By implementing the tips above, you can deliver a professional presentation on Zoom. Try out these tips and get ready to improve your Zoom presentations.

Next up: Are you facing issues with the Zoom microphone not working on Windows 10? Read the post below to troubleshoot the issue.

Last updated on 02 February, 2022

The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

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Parth Shah is an evergreen freelance writer covering how-tos, app guides, comparisons, listicles, and troubleshooting guides on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and smart TV platforms. He has over five years of experience and has covered 1,500+ articles on GuidingTech and Android Police. In his free time, you will see him binge-watching Netflix shows, reading books, and traveling.

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Productivity

19 Zoom tips and tricks for better video meetings

Before, during, and after a zoom meeting—here's everything you need to be a pro zoomer..

App tips Zoom

For better or worse, Zoom has infiltrated almost every aspect of my life. From work meetings and conferences to night classes and virtual workouts, I Zoom all the time. You'd never know it, though, by the way people constantly have to remind me, "Jess, you're on mute," and then patiently wait while I fumble around for the unmute button. 

But no more. I've found the foolproof trick to quickly mute and unmute myself. Plus, I've rounded up 18 other tips to make me—and you—look like pro Zoomers.

To make things even easier, I've listed the tips in order of how they're likely to be used (before, during, and after a Zoom meeting). 

Before a Zoom meeting 

Mute Zoom audio when joining a meeting

Turn your Zoom video off by default

Give attendees a waiting room

Automatically schedule meetings—and let people know about them

Schedule recurring meetings with the same URL

Let someone else schedule your meetings

Collect information from attendees

Learn a few of the most useful Zoom keyboard shortcuts

During a Zoom meeting 

Record a Zoom meeting as a video

Use live transcription

Co-host calls

Pin participants' videos

Turn on Zoom gallery view

Mute and unmute with the space bar

Raise your hand (and give other non-verbal feedback)

Have a collaborative annotation session

Brainstorm ideas on a Zoom Whiteboard

After a Zoom meeting 

Check who attended a Zoom meeting

Note: Some of the tips include Zap templates (what we call our pre-built workflows at Zapier). Simply click on the Zap template to get started. You'll need a Zapier account if you don't already have one. 

Zoom web portal vs. Zoom desktop client 

Let me clarify one thing: The Zoom web portal refers to your web account (e.g., CompanyName.zoom.us), which is mainly used for customizing your profile and updating your meeting settings. The Zoom desktop client refers to the Zoom app. 

Zoom desktop client with menu icons for new meeting, join, schedule, and share screen displayed prominently on the left half of the screen.

For reasons unbeknown to me, the Zoom desktop client and mobile app have different features than the Zoom web portal. Additionally, you need to select Save for any edits made in the web portal whereas Zoom automatically saves most changes made in the Zoom desktop client or the mobile app. 

Here's hoping that by this time next year, Zoom makes it so you can update all your settings directly from the web portal or Zoom desktop client. But until then, let's dive in!

1. Add a profile picture

While Zoom is designed for video calls with live feeds of participants' faces, there are plenty of occasions where you'd rather not show your face . For me, it's when I'm eating sushi, which must be done in one large bite—and no one needs to see that. This is why Zoom lets you add a profile picture , which will display whenever your camera is turned off . Here's how. 

Log in to your Zoom web portal. 

Click Profile . 

In the main section with your name, click the pencil icon in the picture frame.

Jessica Lau's profile page on her Zoom web portal. An arrow points to a pencil icon in the middle of her profile picture.

Click Choose Files to upload your picture. 

Click Save.

2. Mute Zoom audio when joining a meeting 

No one wants to be that person who joins a meeting late, only to have their dog bark and interrupt the speaker because of course that's when your mute button disappears from view. Here's how to mute your audio by default. 

Log in to your Zoom desktop client.

Click the gear icon to open your Zoom settings. 

Select Audio > click the Mute my mic when joining a meeting checkbox.

3. Turn your Zoom video off by default 

Despite my best efforts, I always remember to check for food in my teeth after I've joined a meeting. If, like me, you regularly need an extra moment before you're camera ready, here's how to join Zoom meetings with your camera automatically turned off.

Select Video > click the Stop my video when joining a meeting checkbox.

4. Give attendees a waiting room

When I teach, it might be considered poor form for my students to be waiting in our virtual classroom without me there. That's why I give them a waiting room so they can hang out until I let them into the main room. You can also automatically move attendees to the waiting room if the host is unexpectedly disconnected from the meeting. 

You can create a waiting room by selecting the Waiting Room checkbox when scheduling a meeting. 

A portion of the Zoom meeting settings page, specifically the security portion. An arrow points to a checkbox that's been selected beside text that reads, "Waiting room."

You can also enable or disable waiting rooms during a meeting by selecting Participants > More > Enable Waiting Room (or Disable Waiting Room ).

5. Automatically schedule meetings—and let people know about them

Scheduling meetings , especially if you run a lot of them, can be an unnecessarily time-consuming task. Thankfully there's a Zap for that. By connecting Zoom to your scheduling app and calendar, Zapier can automatically create a new Zoom meeting and add it to whatever app you use for your personal calendar. Here are some pre-built Zaps to power this workflow.

Create Zoom meetings for new Calendly events

Calendly logo

Create detailed Google Calendar events from new Zoom meetings

Google Calendar logo

Update Google calendar events with Zoom meeting links when new bookings are made via OnceHub

OnceHub logo

To make this automation even more powerful, you can add a step that shares the meeting details with your team via a messaging app like Slack. We use this automation all the time here at Zapier—any time a new team meeting in Zoom kicks off, the Zoom link gets posted to the appropriate channel in Slack automatically.

Get Slack notifications for new Zoom meetings

Slack logo

Zapier is a no-code automation tool that lets you connect your apps into automated workflows, so that every person and every business can move forward at growth speed. Learn more about how it works .

6. Schedule recurring meetings with the same URL

To minimize last-minute messages of "Where's the meeting link?", Zoom lets you schedule recurring meetings with the same URL. Here's how. 

Log in to your Zoom web portal.

Select Meetings > Schedule a Meeting. Edit the meeting options as needed.

In the Time Zone field, check the Recurring meeting box. 

Edit the recurrence, including the number of times the meeting occurs and how often it occurs. 

Click Save.  

If you export the meeting to your Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, or Yahoo Calendar, the recurrence pattern and meeting URL are automatically included in the calendar event. Plus, the meeting settings remain locked in, so you don't have to update it for every meeting. 

Additionally, if you meet with the same group but on an irregular schedule, you can also set your recurrence to No Fixed Time. This lets you use the same settings and meeting URL no matter when you get together. When I teach, I use this option to host open office hours for student meetings. 

Note: You can't schedule recurring meetings with your Personal Meeting ID (PMI) since this ID is reserved for you and the link never changes. Also, meeting IDs expire after one year, so you'll have to generate a new one then. 

7. Let someone else schedule your meetings 

If someone else manages your calendar and bookings, here's how to give them Zoom privileges, so they can schedule meetings on your behalf. 

Select Settings.

Under the Meeting tab, select Other.

Under Schedule Privilege, click Add. 

Add your scheduling assistants by inputting their email addresses, and then click Save.  

Once done, your assigned scheduling assistant must log out of their Zoom desktop client and log back in for the feature to take effect. 

This feature is also helpful if your assistant has scheduled a meeting, but the meeting host needs to be changed from you to someone else. Here's how to transfer a meeting between Zoom users . 

Requirements: The primary Zoom account holder and everyone who receives scheduling privileges must share the same account or have linked accounts. Everyone must also be Licensed or On-Prem. And for webinars, everyone must have the webinar add-on. 

8. Collect information from attendees

For any number of reasons, you may want to ask attendees to share a few details about themselves prior to joining the call. For example, you might want to require that attendees provide their name, company affiliation, or industry. 

Registration page for an example Zoom meeting.

Here's how to collect this information.

Log in to the Zoom web portal. 

Select Meetings > Schedule a Meeting. 

In the Registration section, select Edit.

In the Registration window, select the Questions tab. Here you can add standard fields, such as name and organization, by selecting the checkbox to the left of the field name. To make specific fields mandatory, select the Required checkbox to the right of the field name. You can also create your own questions under the Custom Questions tab. 

Click Save All.  

If you're using Zoom to run a digital event like a webinar, however, you might want to let attendees register using a form on your website or an event management app. Here are some handy Zaps that automatically register all attendees, regardless of where they sign up.

Add new Eventbrite attendees as Zoom webinar registrants

Eventbrite logo

Create Zoom registrants from new contact activities on ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels Classic logo

Add new Leadpages leads as Zoom registrants

Leadpages logo

Generate Zoom registrants for new Gravity Forms form submissions

Gravity Forms logo

Enroll new Mailchimp subscribers as Zoom webinar registrants

Mailchimp logo

You can make this automation even more powerful by making sure that any registrant information collected is also added to your CRM or email marketing tool, so you can easily follow up with potential leads or customers.

Add new Zoom registrants to Mailchimp as subscribers

Update activecampaign contacts from new zoom registrants.

ActiveCampaign logo

Add new Zoom webinar registrants to Keap Max Classic as contacts

Keap Max Classic logo

Requirements: To require attendee information in Zoom, the host must have a Pro account. Additionally, the meeting cannot be your Personal Meeting ID.

To enable registration for Zoom meetings, you must 1) be the host, and 2) have a Pro, Business, Education, or Enterprise account. Additionally, the meeting cannot be created using your Personal Meeting ID and it cannot be a No Fixed Time recurring meeting.

9. Learn a few of the most useful Zoom keyboard shortcuts 

Zoom has quite a list of keyboard shortcuts , but here are my go-tos that I think are worth learning. 

M is for mute. Press Cmd + Ctrl + M (macOS) or Alt + M (Windows) when you are the meeting host and want to mute everyone else on the line. If using windows, press Alt+M again to unmute. For mac, press Cmd+Ctrl+U (macOS).

S is for share. Press Cmd + Shift + S (macOS) or Alt + Shift + S (Windows) to share your screen.

10. Record a Zoom meeting as a video 

Zoom lets you record your web conferencing calls as videos, a handy feature for sharing the meeting with people who may have missed it or for reviewing what was said.

When you record, you must choose whether to use the local or cloud option. Here's the difference: 

Local means you store the video file yourself, whether locally on your computer or in another storage space that you provide. 

Cloud means Zoom stores the video for you in its cloud storage. One major convenience of the cloud option is that people can stream the video in a web browser once it's ready. This option is available for paying users only. The amount of available cloud storage will vary depending on the account type. 

If you record meeting attendees' video or audio, it's common courtesy—and in some places a requirement—to inform them before you do. Once you begin recording, Zoom will also notify all participants that the meeting is being recorded. 

When creating a video from a conference call, it makes a big difference in the final quality if you optimize a few settings in advance. For example, some calls might be broadcast-style, where only the host appears on screen. In that case, set Zoom to only record the audio and video of the host. Other calls might be in the style of a collaborative meeting, in which case you want to record everyone. Be sure to check out Zoom's local recording settings and cloud recording settings at least a few minutes before starting a call. 

Requirements : To record videos, you need Zoom on macOS, Windows, or Linux. If you don't have the option to record, edit your recording settings in your Zoom web portal or have your account administrator enable it. 

If you need to share the recording later, try one of these Zaps to automatically share once the recording has finished.

Send Slack channel messages for new Zoom recordings

Send gmail emails for new zoom recordings.

Gmail logo

Send emails from Microsoft Outlook with new Zoom recordings

Microsoft Outlook logo

11. Use live transcription 

Let's nerd out on a few terms for a second: 

Transcript: Text that's been converted from another medium, such as speech or audio.

Caption: A text form of audio information, including speech and non-speech, in video and animations. In some regions of the world, " captions " and " subtitles " are used to mean the same thing. For the purposes of this article, I also use these terms interchangeably. 

Closed caption: Captions that can be hidden or shown as selected by the people watching the video. 

Caption frames: Chunks of text from the transcript that run synchronously with the audio of a video.  

Zoom offers a few options for adding closed captioning during meetings: third-party closed captioning integrations or Zoom's live transcription feature, which automatically populates machine-generated captions. 

Tip: Whether you're hosting a meeting for two or 200, don't wait for someone to request closed captioning. Always enable Zoom's live transcript. While this feature isn't 100% accurate, it's a positive step towards making meetings more accessible. 

If you're hosting a meeting, you can turn on closed captioning by selecting Live Transcript from the Zoom control bar > Enable. If you don't see it, you may need to click More first. 

If you're participating in a meeting, you can view closed captioning by selecting Live Transcript > Show Subtitles. This will populate caption frames. As closed captions can be visually distracting, you can also view a running transcript on the side of your screen by selecting Live Transcript > View Full Transcript. 

12. Co-host calls 

Double the hosts, double the fun! That's a saying right? Here's how to co-host a Zoom meeting with another person.

Ensure this feature is enabled in your meeting settings in your Zoom web portal. Look for Co-host under the In Meeting (Basic) section. If the toggle is gray, click the toggle to turn the feature on. 

Once your co-host has joined the meeting, select Participants from the meeting controls > name of your co-host> More > Make Co-Host . Alternatively, you can hover over their video box, click the menu (...), and select Make Co-Host. 

Then, when you start a meeting, wait for your co-host to join, and add the person by clicking the three dots that appear when you hover over their video box. 

Requirements : To use co-hosting, you need a Pro, Business, Education, or API Partner account with Zoom, and you need to run on macOS, Windows, Android, or iOS. 

13. Pin participants' videos

If you join a meeting with your camera on and your dog in the background, I will privately message you to ask your dog's name, nicknames, and quirks. That is to say, I'm very easily distracted. But when I need to reign in my focus, I pin the speaker's window, so everyone else is hidden. Here's how. 

During a Zoom meeting, hover over the video of the participant you want to pin.

Click the menu ( … ) > Pin. You can pin up to 9 total videos. 

14. Turn on Zoom gallery view

Let's say you're teaching a class or taking a class—it can be helpful to see everyone in the meeting. Here's how to turn on the gallery view in Zoom.

During a Zoom meeting, click View in the top-right corner. 

Select Gallery . If the meeting has 49 or fewer attendees, you may need to adjust the size of your window to see all windows displayed on one page. If your meeting has more than 49 attendees, you'll have the option to navigate through multiple pages. 

Ninety-nine percent of the time, my gallery view is on, but apparently it's creepy when I meet someone in real life and say, "Tell me more about the posters I saw displayed in your office that one time on Zoom"?

15. Mute and unmute with the space bar 

I have no problem playing favorites, and this Zoom tip is inexplicably my favorite.  

If you're on mute and need to speak, press and hold your spacebar while in the Zoom app to quickly unmute. Be sure to hold the spacebar down while you're talking.

Note: This push-to-talk feature won't work if you're actively using another application (which is great if you're multitasking!).

16. Raise your hand (and give other non-verbal feedback)

So you've asked a question in the chat, but it looks like the speaker may have missed it. You don't want to interrupt, so what do you do? Raise your hand!

In the control bar, select Reactions > Raise Hand . This will pin a 🖐🏼 to the top of your video and move your thumbnail to the top of the gallery, which will hopefully catch the attention of the speaker. To lower your hand, select Reactions > Lower Hand.

Another neat way to communicate without interrupting is by giving non-verbal feedback (e.g., yes, no, slow down, and speed up) and meeting reactions (e.g., thumbs up, heart, and clapping hands). These can all be found in Reactions . If you don't see these options, you may need to ask the host to enable non-verbal feedback . 

17. Have a collaborative annotation session

When screen sharing, it can be immensely helpful to point participants to specific areas of your screen or to let everyone draw on visual materials, such as mockups or graphic designs. To do this, try using one of Zoom's handy annotation tools, which can be found in the Zoom control bar during a screen share. 

Spotlight: Turn the host's cursor into a red dot (only available if you started a screen share or whiteboard).

Arrow: Turn your cursor into a small arrow with your name on it. Click anywhere on the screen to "stick" your arrow. Any subsequent clicks will remove the previous arrow placed. 

Vanishing pen: Mark up a shared screen or whiteboard. The markings will fade away within a few seconds, so you don't have to erase or undo your previous drawings (only available if you started a screen share or whiteboard).

To disable attendee annotation altogether, select More (...) from the control bar > Disable Annotation for Others . 

18. Brainstorm ideas on a Zoom Whiteboard 

Zoom's annotation tools are useful for a simple collaborative experience. But if you need more advanced capabilities—like sticky notes, flowchart builders, and the ability to upload images directly to your shared screen—try using Zoom Whiteboard. 

Click Whiteboards in the Zoom control bar. 

Click New to create a whiteboard from scratch. Or click Templates to choose from Zoom's library of prebuilt templates. From basic flow charts to project retros with sticky notes, there's a template for almost everything. If you go with the template option, click the template you want to use, and then click Use Template . 

Click the way you want to share the board (allow meeting participants to edit the board or view only). Then click Create . 

Zoom will automatically share your screen, showing only the whiteboard and editing tools. You can even add a timer to the screen, which is helpful if you want to give participants a time limit to contribute ideas. 

To add more pages to your whiteboard, click the Page icon in the whiteboard toolbar in the bottom-right corner, and then click Add Page . Note: You can only add blank whiteboard pages—not templated ones. 

19. Check who attended a Zoom meeting

Say you're using Zoom to hold a mandatory event, like a university lecture or a training session. You probably want to know who attends. You can get that information from a report once the meeting is finished. Here's how.

Select Reports > Usage Reports > Meeting .

Edit the Meeting Report fields, including the date of the meeting and type of report you want to create (registration). You can search for a meeting using your meeting ID. 

From the list of available reports, click Generate for the report you want. 

Requirements : To generate an attendee list, you need to be 1) the host of the meeting, 2) in a role with Usage Reports enabled, or 3) an account administrator or owner. You also need a Pro, API Partner, Business, or Education plan.

Not enough for you? For more inspiration on how to use Zoom effectively, here's every other tip we have:

Working with sound 

How to DJ a Zoom call

Zoom noise cancellation: How to block background noise on Zoom

How to play background music on Zoom—without sharing your screen

How to join a Zoom call by phone

Updating your background or display

How to win at Zoom backgrounds, from a first-place winner

How to blur your background in Zoom—and the case for not doing it

How to not see your own face during Zoom meetings

How to add your pronouns on Zoom

Facilitating meetings 

How to facilitate workshops on Zoom

How to share a presentation on Zoom without sharing your browser tabs and address bar

4 tips for getting the most out of Zoom chat

How to make Zoom the default video call app in Google Calendar

How to quickly find links to your Zoom meetings

Oh, and one last gift for you: Here's how to automatically close those annoying "Launch Meeting" tabs from Zoom .

This article was originally published in November 2018. The most recent update was in August 2023.

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Jessica Lau

Jessica Lau is a senior content specialist at Zapier. Outside of writing, she likes to snuggle her dogs, and provide unsolicited podcast and book recommendations.

  • Video conferencing
  • Video & audio
  • Remote work
  • Event management

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10 Zoom Presentation Tips for Your Next Big Meeting

Come off looking cool, not a fool

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After you learned how to set up and use Zoom , you might feel you’re ready for your first big online meeting. However, a good host knows that a successful Zoom presentation requires a lot of preparation, as well as following a few rules. 

If you’re looking to ace your next big meeting in Zoom, here are some tips that you can use to make sure everything runs smoothly and you come across as a confident and engaging presenter.

10 Zoom Presentation Tips for Your Next Big Meeting image

Check Your Equipment

The first thing to do to avoid hiccups during your Zoom presentation is to check your equipment. There are various tests you can perform to check if your webcam is working as well as fixes that you can perform if your mic doesn’t seem to work properly. 

After you test the webcam, make sure you position it so that people can see your face rather than just your forehead or your shoulders. To do that, first decide whether you’re giving the presentation standing or sitting and then adjust your camera level. 

Check Your Equipment image

A few other important things to check include your laptop battery. Plug it in if you’re not sure the battery will last the entire duration of your presentation. Also check your internet connection. Lagging video or audio will make it harder for the participants to stay focused. 

Dress to Impress

Once you’re done with the technical side of things, take a critical look at yourself and your environment. If you’re planning to have your video on, it might be wise to change out of your PJs even if you’re at home. Dressing up will help you feel more confident and give you the right motivation. 

Dress to Impress image

If you’re not happy with your surroundings, you can always use Zoom’s excellent virtual background feature and make sure there’s nothing behind or around you that can distract the attendees from your Zoom presentation. 

Rehearse Your Presentation Beforehand

Even if you’re a confident public speaker, it never hurts to rehearse a few crucial moments of the presentation. It’s impossible to predict every single issue that might arise, especially with Zoom presentations, so it can be difficult to improvise on spot if you haven’t rehearsed the whole thing in advance. 

A good idea is to do a demo presentation at home with a family member, or with a friend over the internet. It’ll give you an idea of what to expect from your future meeting and what kind of challenges you need to overcome before doing your presentation. 

Turn Off Meeting Entry Notifications

One way to minimize the distractions during your Zoom meeting is to disable the entry notifications for attendees. Not everyone will show up on time, and depending on the size of your team, hearing that ring and seeing the notification for every new entry pop up might not just disrupt your presenting process but also annoy you. 

Turn Off Meeting Entry Notifications image

To disable these notifications, go to your Zoom account Settings > Meeting > In Meeting and toggle the Sound notification when someone joins or leaves setting off. 

Ask Someone to Monitor the Waiting Room

Zoom has a Waiting Room where every participant gathers before entering the meeting. It’s an effective strategy to avoid random people joining in and ruining your presentation. The downside of this system is that you have to manually approve every request from the Waiting Room. If someone is late or tries to rejoin the meeting after it’s already started, you might not notice the notification and leave the person stuck in their personal Zoom limbo. 

To avoid that, you can ask one of your colleagues to watch the Participant window to allow other attendees in from the Waiting Room. 

Learn Essential Zoom Shortcuts

Learning the most useful shortcuts in Zoom can help you ace your presentation and become a pro host. Plus, some of them will help you quickly resolve any unexpected issues and save time during your presentation. Here are some of the most essential Zoom shortcuts you need to know.

  • Alt + M (for Windows) or Cmd + Ctrl + M (for Mac) 

This shortcut will mute everyone at once except the host (you). 

  • Alt + M (for Windows) or Cmd + Ctrl + U (for Mac)

This will unmute everyone for everyone except the host. 

  • Alt + Shift + T (for Windows) or Cmd + T (for Mac)

A handy shortcut for when you need to take a screenshot of your Zoom meeting.

  • Space (for Windows, Mac)

If you’re on mute and need to quickly answer a question and then go back to mute, hold space while talking to temporarily unmute yourself. 

Learn Essential Zoom Shortcuts image

You can learn the rest of the useful Zoom keyboard shortcuts in the app’s Settings. Open the Zoom app on your desktop, log into your account, and go to Settings . Select Keyboard Shortcuts to view the full shortcuts list. 

Ask the Attendees to Mute Their Audio

Asking people to mute their mics during your Zoom presentation might seem like an obvious tip. However, if you have people that aren’t used to this format of online presentations on your team, we’d recommend making a point out of this before you start presenting. 

You can help them by pointing out how to do this in Zoom. 

Ask the Attendees to Mute Their Audio image

You can mute your audio using the shortcut Alt + A (for Windows) or Cmd + Shift + A (for Mac), or through the Zoom app’s Settings by following the path Settings > Audio > Mute my mic when joining a meeting . 

Pause Your Presentation to Answer Questions

No matter how detailed you think your presentation is, your audience might have questions or remarks throughout it that they want to share with the team. It helps to pause your presentation frequently to clarify if the information is clear to everyone and if your colleagues have anything to add. 

Save the Chat Log for Follow-Ups

It’s important to take notes during the presentation even when you’re the one hosting it. Important questions and remarks that your attendees make throughout the meeting can be great for a future follow-up. Luckily, Zoom can do it for you with the feature that allows you to save your chat log. 

Zoom won’t save your chat history automatically though, you have to enable this function in advance. 

Save the Chat Log for Follow-Ups image

To do it, go to your Zoom account Settings and follow the path Meeting > In Meeting (Basic) > Auto saving chats . This will automatically save all the messages in the chat, even the ones sent privately between the attendees. 

Record Your Zoom Presentation

One final tip is to record your Zoom presentation . It can be beneficial on more than one level. You can send the recording to the people who couldn’t make the meeting, as well as to the attendees who wish to go over certain parts in more detail. You can also use the recording to analyze your presenting skills and improve your skills as a public speaker. 

Record Your Zoom Presentation image

If you’re worried that you’ll forget to record your meeting, you can go to Zoom Settings > Recording and enable Automatic recording of your Zoom meetings as they start. 

Time to Improve Your Zoom Presentation Skills 

Holding big work meetings in apps like Zoom is the new reality. Whether we like it or not, we have to adapt to it. The good news is, Zoom is pretty intuitive and easy to use. As long as you perform all the tests and checks in advance , your presentation is certain to run smoothly. 

Have you ever hosted a big meeting in Zoom? What are some tips that you’d like to share with someone who’s about to hold a presentation in Zoom for the first time? Share your Zoom knowledge with us in the comments section below. 

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Anya is a freelance technology writer. Originally from Russia, she is currently a full-time Remote Worker and Digital Nomad. With a background in Journalism, Language Studies, and Technical Translation, Anya couldn't imagine her life and work without using modern technology on a daily basis. Always looking out for new ways to make her life and location-independent lifestyle easier, she hopes to share her experiences as a tech- and internet-addict through her writing. Read Anya's Full Bio

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    zoom presentation tips reddit

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  1. Zoom Defense and Presentation Notes (Tip!) : r/GradSchool

    Hi everyone! I defend next week so I've been scouring the older posts on this sub for thesis defense tips. I notice that a lot of people are recommending that you have a second monitor, print your notes, etc. so that you can still read your speaker notes when you screen share your presentation in presentation mode.. You don't have to!!! When you go to screen sharing, the top has a "basic" and ...

  2. r/Zoom on Reddit: Tips to make my zoom presentations look as

    r/Zoom • by S_J_Emerald View community ranking In the Top 5% of largest communities on Reddit I was recently hired by a large company to do a lecture series over zoom. Right now, my set up is a Logitech webcam, ring light that reflects in my glasses and airpods.

  3. Any tips for giving a presentation? : r/GetStudying

    Any tips for giving a presentation? I have to give a 10 minute presentation at my university and for some reason it's gotten me really nervous. I'm worried about addressing my course to give my talk and I wondered if here was the right place to ask for any advice or tips on what makes a good presentation?

  4. 8 tips on how to present over Zoom like a pro

    1. Plan out your Zoom background/location ahead of time. You can use a location in your home or a virtual Zoom background. If you select a place in your house, make sure it is uncluttered and...

  5. 13 Zoom Presentation Tips to Ace Your Next Online Meeting

    1 Design a Great Online Presentation The first thing you need to do is make sure your presentation is designed to look its best on your audiences' tiny computer screens. Follow these three rules to create an effective Zoom presentation. Create your own infographic today! Try It For Free Keep it simple.

  6. 15 Tips for Engaging Zoom Presentations + Examples

    Make sure that your laptop, computer, lighting, headset, webcam, microphone, and internet connection are working. Have backup equipment if possible. Familiarize yourself with the Zoom app and other relevant software you're going to use during the presentation. Close unnecessary browsers, applications, or software before the presentation.

  7. The Ultimate Guide to Giving Virtual Presentations on Zoom

    Kinda. To access the feature (beta at time of writing) click the "Advanced" tab in the "Share Screen" popup, and select "Slides as Virtual Background". This is what it looks like from the attendee's perspective. And yes, you appear twice on the screen. Once on top of your slides, and again beside them.

  8. 17 Zoom Tips for Effective and Engaging Remote Presentations

    1. Design for everyone While creating your media — the slides — understand that you are creating for a wide audience who will likely be tuning in from multiple devices and platforms. The media is going to look very different on a large, HD-ready computer monitor than it will on a smartphone or tablet.

  9. 11 Essential Tips for Presenting on Zoom

    1. Put some trousers on! One of the great things about Zoom presentations is there is a degree of informality and comfort. You can dress just your top half smartly, have a hot beverage just off-screen, and do your best public speaking in familiar surroundings.

  10. 22 tips for effective video presentations on Zoom

    Solid colours are best; fine patterns might "flicker" on the screen. Avoid any jewelry that clinks. 17. Make sure that your hair is neat and that your face is not shiny. Get some camera-friendly makeup — for men and women — if necessary. 18. Warm up your voice beforehand just as you would for any presentation. 19.

  11. Tips for looking confident during a ZOOM presentation?

    1 2 comments [deleted] • 1 yr. ago Hide your face by minimising the window or you can use paper and blue tack. 3 dikkie91 • 1 yr. ago Just be sure you prepared your presentation well enough and try to anticipate on some questions you might get. Also don't stress too much when you make a mistake, it happens.

  12. Best Practices For Virtual Presentations: 15 Expert Tips That ...

    Here are 15 expert tips to set you up for success in your next virtual presentation: 1. Get the Lighting Right: As a presenter, it is essential that people can see you well.

  13. 10 Zoom Presentation Tips for Your Next Big Meeting

    After you learned how to set up and use Zoom, you might feel you're ready for your first big online meeting. However, a good host knows that a successful Zoom presentation requires a lot of preparation, as well as following a few rules. If you're looking to ace your next big meeting in Zoom, here

  14. Top 9 Zoom Presentation Tips and Tricks to Ace It Like a Pro

    Step 1: Open the Zoom app on Windows or Mac. Step 2: Tap on the profile icon at the upper right corner and go to Settings. Step 3: Navigate to General > Show my meeting duration and enable the ...

  15. 7 Zoom Presentation Tips to Make You Look and Sound More Professional

    Use these seven Zoom presentation tips to help you sound and look more professional. As a Zoom veteran, I offer these seven Zoom presentation tips to make sure your online presentations look and sound highly professional. ONE: Do your homework. Zoom's Website provides instructional videos for novice users and for more experienced professionals.

  16. Any tips for successful presentations over Zoom? : r/marketing

    Any tips for successful presentations over Zoom? Used to pride myself in my presentation skill but over Zoom I fumble hard.

  17. 19 Zoom tips and tricks for better video meetings

    To enable registration for Zoom meetings, you must 1) be the host, and 2) have a Pro, Business, Education, or Enterprise account. Additionally, the meeting cannot be created using your Personal Meeting ID and it cannot be a No Fixed Time recurring meeting. 9. Learn a few of the most useful Zoom keyboard shortcuts.

  18. How to Present on Zoom: Google Slides and Powerpoint Presentation Guide

    Featured, Tips How to Present on Zoom: Google Slides and Powerpoint Presentation Guide & Tips Sushan October 29, 2020 Presenting in front of your peers and superiors has to be one of the most daunting tasks ever. You're never quite sure about the feedback you'd be getting, which only adds to the tension.

  19. How to make a long Zoom presentation to an international ...

    9 Empty-Possible-2904 • 2 yr. ago Now that's too much :). malparido_hdp • 2 yr. ago No complaints so far calmpigeon4 • 2 yr. ago Why not give 2 45 min talks of subtopics of your big topic, with a break in the middle? Then you aren't making one big presentation, just two normal ones. tucktuckgoose • 2 yr. ago

  20. 5 TIPS FOR DELIVERING GREAT ZOOM PRESENTATION

    5 TIPS FOR DELIVERING GREAT ZOOM PRESENTATION / If you follow these 5 tips, you will ace your online presentation- and it'll be memorable too! Sometimes (lik...

  21. 10 Zoom Presentation Tips for Your Next Big Meeting

    Here are some of the most essential Zoom shortcuts you need to know. Alt + M (for Windows) or Cmd + Ctrl + M (for Mac) This shortcut will mute everyone at once except the host (you). Alt + M (for Windows) or Cmd + Ctrl + U (for Mac) This will unmute everyone for everyone except the host. Alt + Shift + T (for Windows) or Cmd + T (for Mac) A ...

  22. 10 ZOOM PRESENTATION TIPS EVERY USER SHOULD KNOW!

    10 ZOOM PRESENTATION TIPS EVERY USER SHOULD KNOW! / Everyone is using Zoom at the moment. Most business meetings, presentations and pitches are being forced ...

  23. Tips for 10 minute Zoom presentation : r/socialanxiety

    I have a 10 minute zoom presentation for my final project next Tuesday. Do any of you have some tips to help me? I get so nervous for some reason. I… Advertisement Coins 0 coins Premium Powerups Explore Gaming