Mastering Virtual Engagement: Captivate and Connect Like a Pro

Struggling to engage your audiences virtually?

You’re not alone.

A space where our audiences typically:

• Have shorter attention spans
• Are more distracted
• Feel more exhausted

But, it’s part of everyone’s day-to-day.

In this week’s episode of With INTENT: we break this challenge down and share some simple guidance that will transform your online delivery and audience engagement level.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hey, Chris here from FROM:TODAY. And this week I want to talk about how to engage clients virtually. It's something that comes up a lot. It's happened a lot within our recent masterclasses on public speaking, which happened to also be virtual. And the reality is, It's tough. It sometimes feels like having to communicate so much online goes against our natural instincts.

It feels like we're not designed to do so much of this, but it is part of our worlds and we need to get comfortable with doing it effectively more and more. So why is it so difficult? Well, sometimes we might be speaking to some slides and we can't actually see our audience. Maybe you can just see that little picture of you in the corner.

Even when you come away from your slides, a lot of the time people have got their screens switched off. If you're delivering a webinar, quite often people are muted and they don't have the facility to switch on their screen. And it also begs the question, so what are people doing? And you don't have [00:01:00] control over that.

There are more distractions. People could have you on just in the background as they do another bit of work. They could be doing some exercise, could be having their breakfast, could be doing another piece of work, anything could be happening. And all of the time you, as you're trying to have a genuine conversation and build a connection with your audience, all of the time you're brought into this slightly more technical, above the shoulders, stressful space, which isn't the most conducive for building a genuine connection.

It's tough. Overall, I would say that it's more exhausting both for the speaker and the people listening. There are more distractions and we have a shorter attention span. So what do we do? Well, my answer when people ask this, I always do refer to the fact that the fundamentals of great communication will be the same regardless of the context.

So just a reminder of those. You are enough. It's absolutely crucial that you're authentic. If you're looking to [00:02:00] build a genuine relationship, it's not about you. It's about them right from the moment that you're looking to put your content together. Think about serving their needs. Number three, care more, find a way to connect with your content on a deeper level and find what's going to really resonate for the audience.

Number four, know who you are. Why be really clear about how you want your audience to think, feel or act as a result of you sharing what you have to share. And number five, it's just a conversation. Go and have it, take the pressure off, be present, be in the room. All of this stuff absolutely applies.

Online, but it is harder. It is less organic. Uh, often the interaction happens less naturally so it requires us to be just a bit more intentional in advance in planning how we're going to factor in that interaction. So this is my guidance right here. So number one Given the fact that we have shorter [00:03:00] attention spans, we find it exhausting and there are many more distractions online, make them be online for less time.

It's very rare that somebody would say, I'll tell you what, that webinar was good, but I wish it was half an hour longer. We have to acknowledge the fact that people are spending a lot of the time on the screens. So take that into account and make it shorter. Number two, screens on 

If it's at all possible, encourage people to have their screens on and set that expectation in advance. People don't want to suddenly be ambushed and feel that, Oh, well, I didn't think we're going to have to have screens on for this. Let them know that will give them a chance to, I don't know, maybe have a shower, put some actual clothes on and tidy up in the background.

But it sets that expectation that they are expected to be involved. It's going to be two way. Number three. Come away from the slides. So, think of it much more as a conversation punctuated, where necessary, with some targeted slides that [00:04:00] support your point, as opposed to it being a slide deck where you occasionally check in with them.

That will stop people from just passively listening. Number four, multi channel communication. This is really important. Let people know that they can speak up if that's possible for them and they're not muted, that they can speak up and interrupt any time. When you're doing that, make sure you factor in time for that to happen.

So you might want to reduce the amount of content, but at the same time, be aware that not everybody will necessarily want to speak up. So be explicit about the other ways that they can interact with you. in the webinar or the online presentation that you're giving, whether it's the chat, whether it's the Q& A, whether it's being clear that you will be using some polls or making sure that you're going to spend 10 minutes at the end.

So if they have a question, you're going to be staying online. As other people drop off, you'll be able to talk about their question in a more intimate setting. Number five. Use [00:05:00] breakout rooms that will allow people to engage with your content right away It also gives you the opportunity to drop in Sense check give them some guidance and improve that level of interaction Finally number six Give people work to action right away.

So opposed to them simply passively listening to your content, you're getting them exercising or giving them exercises to engage with it independently. And it redresses that balance between listening and doing. So overall, the advice is. It's hard. We need to accept that. We need to embrace it. It is less organic doing it online.

So whilst those natural, um, tips that we share for communication, for exceptional communication, absolutely apply. We do have to be a bit more intentional in preparing those pockets of interaction in advance. I hope that you found those helpful, those tips. Um, if you [00:06:00] want to continue this conversation or you've got a webinar and an online presentation coming up, please do get in touch with me at chris@fromtoday.com

or you can simply email me. Um, that is my email or get in touch with me on LinkedIn. Sorry. Um, I will speak to you soon. Cheers.