Strong Virtual Presentation Skills Give Your Team An Edge

Published on June 7, 2021

A strong presentation can be the difference in closing business. People and companies want to engage with you when they have a positive impression and believe in what they see and hear. Crisp content and articulate delivery enhance confidence and trust, which are essential to achieving desired outcomes. Providing virtual presentation training and guidance ensures your team is always screen-ready and presents with impact.

  • A top salesperson, delivering a new business pitch, looks down instead of into the camera when presenting to a potential client. Making a connection with people on the other side is critical to closing business. While harder to do when presenting virtually, the aim is still to build a relationship. Knowing how to simulate eye contact and convey positive body language through a camera helps achieve this.
  • The CFO leads a poorly prepared presentation to potential investors. When executives present materials that have data errors and typos or a bad layout, it raises red flags about their credibility and seriousness of their intent. Critical meetings can fall short when presenters fail to inspire confidence and trust. 
  • While a lead engineer presents a new product at a conference, he sounds nervous and rambles on in responses to questions. Why should a company want to test or implement your product if the chief engineer doesn’t sound sure of himself when responding to technical questions? If a critical presenter seems unpracticed, uses too much filler speech (um, ah, you know) or doesn’t fully answer questions, this lack of confidence in presenting can be mistaken for lack of confidence in the product. 

Negative perceptions derived from poor presentations can cost business, so avoid the costly assumption that anyone can be good on-screen. Instead, ensure your team members come across well by equipping them with tools and support to create and deliver virtual presentations that demonstrate the technical savvy, agility and professionalism representative of your brand. 

Even with many people returning to physical offices in some capacity, virtual interaction is here to stay. A recent McKinsey & Co. study shows 8 out of 10 B2B buyers prefer to engage in omnichannel sales (a mix of traditional, remote and digital self-service) vs. in-person alone. In addition, 64% of B2B companies plan to add more hybrid sales representatives to their teams. It’s not enough to be a skilled road warrior anymore; anyone involved in revenue generation needs to be skilled virtual warrior too.

Fortunately, companies can follow some simple steps to help their teams make powerful impressions when presenting virtually: 

  • Provide a pre-presentation checklist for optimal camera placement, lighting, background noise reduction etc. 
  • Assign a point person to ensure presenters are comfortable navigating platform controls (like screen share and virtual backgrounds). 
  • Design and distribute company branded virtual backgrounds.
  • Establish best practices and standard templates for slide decks and other visuals.
  • Ensure someone other than the presenter closely proofs presentations. 
  • Encourage presenters to do a virtual dress rehearsal with a team member to iron out any technical challenges, practice delivery and possibly receive constructive feedback on the presentation overall. 
More Insights

Pursuing a board seat? Get our Board Director Branding Guide.

Board Director Branding Guide - Get the eBook! - Point Road Group

Looking to drive sales and brand awareness? Get started with our Brand Consistency Checklist.

Brand Consistency Checklist Teaser | Point Road Group

Stay in the Know

Newsletter Sign-up

Ready to Get Started?

Contact Us
1991 Broadway, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10023
(212) 869-1000[email protected]