Webinars can quickly turn dry and dull due to a lack of personality from the presenter. Even the most boring topics on the planet (yes, even weather) can be spiced up and made interesting. Think back to when you were in school, you likely remember those teachers who were interesting and animated even when the class took place 15 or 20 years ago.
Participants want to connect with the presenter just as much as the webinar content, so use these suggestions to utilize your best qualities as much as possible.
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Qualities To Focus On
Although you certainly want to be yourself as much as possible, there are a number of traits associated with successful webinars. If you embody any of these traits naturally, try enhancing them as much as possible, and if you do not embody them, then do your best to develop them.
If some traits continue to feel forced and unnatural as you work to develop them (not everyone has a natural sense of humor, after all), then move on to something else – the traits will likely come across as unnatural to your audience as well. You want to smoothly and comfortably embody these traits in your presentations, as much as possible. There is always the option to recruit someone else to present the webinar if you feel that the endeavor is beyond your reach. Some companies hire professional presenters to lead their webinars, so these options are certainly available.
• Enthusiasm – Show your audience that you care about the topic you are presenting. This requires a degree of passion about the topic, and certainly a heightened sense of energy. Enthusiasm is infectious, and it will noticeably rub off on your participants. Conversely, if you present the content in a monotone voice, you will likely find your audience drifting in their attention and leaving the presentation, the worst possible outcome for any type of webinar.
• Authenticity – You cannot have enthusiasm without authenticity. Authenticity is about being genuine. It is about conveying a sense of honesty, about the content of the presentation, as well as who you are. Authenticity is most important in a sales presentation versus “over-hyped salesy” sounding content. The audience wants honest feedback so that they can make an accurate decision about whether to invest in your product or service. Authenticity is not easy, especially if you have no personal attachment to the product and have to “fake” your authenticity to a degree. Spend time practicing this trait, because with enthusiasm and authenticity combined, there is nothing you can’t sell.
• Humor – Break up the tension with a laugh every now and then. The audience likes to know that you are not just a stuffy businessman or businesswoman. Set yourself up with some pre-determined jokes that you can naturally slide in on certain slides.
• Authority – People will only take you seriously if you take yourself seriously. Convey a sense of authority in order to keep participants interested in the product.
• Confidence – Confidence is different from authority in the sense that you need to be able to remain calm when people throw unexpected questions at you or when you suddenly forget your point. Confidence involves the ability to speak smoothly and continuously, without “ums” and other unnatural breaks in thought. Confidence is the ability to maintain conviction when the audience challenges your points, your product, or any part of your presentation.
Determine Your Own Personality Traits
Although the five traits highlighted in the previous section are very important, everyone has their own unique characteristics. In addition to working on the aforementioned traits, work on highlighting your own personality. Take a personality test to determine your strengths, or give a sample presentation to a co-worker and ask for feedback.
If you are a very candid, cheerful person, let that shine in your presentation while also focusing on the five traits above. People can quickly detect when you are not being yourself, so it is important to be natural and to regularly practice your delivery.
Tailor Content To Fit Your Personality
Structure your slides to complement your personality. If you’ve always been the class clown, insert funny images, quotes or video clips into your presentation. Feed off of the presentation content with funny jokes when you can, setting yourself up with what to say.
If you are sarcastic in nature, you could poke fun at competitors’ products, although be careful that you are not creating a negative image of your own products. By tailoring your delivery to match your own style, you have sold yourself to the audience, which is half the battle in selling your product.
Get Feedback
Nothing is more effective than doing a mock up presentation and asking your test audience for feedback, this can help you identify and correct your weak points so when you present to a live audience you can rock the house!
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