How To Come Up With Ideas & Structure Presentations/Talks For Online Audiences…

How to structure and write talks for an online audience – those sitting behind webcams with plenty of distractions, rather than those in a room where their sole focus is you.

The structure of your talk, presentation or event is everything. If you’ve promised you’re going to debunk some myths, share some knowledge or answer some questions, then you’ve got to make sure you actually do – and not just with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer!

With the current state of the world meaning all these events, talks, presentations and workshops are hosted virtually online, and with a lot of people doing them, it’s now more important than ever that you make sure yours is best. 

The subject you talk about needs to be relevant and of interest to your audience, and like a real face-to-face presentation, the resources you use, like your slides, and the things you say will determine the value of your live experience.

These are the things that will make you stand out from the over-populated Zoom recording world we live in right now.

Content, the second pillar from the five we found made a kick-ass virtual experience.

1. Personality
2. Content
3. Technical
4. Creative
5. Execution

Let us share some top tips on helping you define your content and structure your online talk:

Finding Content Ideas For Your Talk & Presentation

So, finding things to talk about should be your first port of call really! You don’t just want to deliver a talk or host an event because everyone else is… you need to have something worthwhile to deliver. 

Finding common questions or regularly sought after topics of discussion is a great way to find content ideas that you can generate into talks for social media lives, or event style talks if other content mediums don’t quite cut it. 

For some inspiration we recommend:

• Identify 25 ideal customers on LinkedIn – look at the content they share and engage with – are these things/topics/ideas something you can add more value to? Is live delivery a great idea for these so you can provide further insight into with a live question and answer session?
• Use tools such as Answer The Public to see what questions are being asked in your sector, or based on a topic/product/area you’re particularly interested or knowledgeable in – again if you can provide further value to these audience members in a live capacity, go for it!

Ok, so now you’ve got your idea and are ready to build this bad boy out, let’s talk presentation structure.

What, Why, How?

Another structure for your presentations or events uses the questions “What?”, “Why?” and “How?” to communicate your story to the audience. In a way, this also harnesses the power of three but is more attuned to driving a specific action.

“What?” identifies the key message, issues or dilemmas you wish to communicate. Think about the benefit of your message for your audience. What will they gain, what can they do with the information, and what will the benefit be? In a virtual world, you will need to keep this punchy and engaging.

“Why?” addresses the natural curiosity that arises for the audience. Having been shown the “what”, the audience will naturally then start to think “why should I do that?”, “why should I think that?” or “why should that be the case?”. 

Directly addressing the “why?” question in the second stage of your presentation means that you are answering these curiosities and your talk is following a natural flow through the material. This will ensure that you have the audience on your side from the start.

“How?” is the final question that naturally arises in the audience’s head. They want to know how they are going to achieve this new ideal. Instead of telling people exactly how they should act on your message, offer suggestions as to how they can act, perhaps using real-life examples.

You should always use evidence, case studies or personal examples to try to back up what you say, but try to ensure that you use them in the form of stories. Who doesn’t like a story?

What else is there other than Powerpoint presentations?

And as we’ve alluded, the above advice doesn’t just apply to the classic slide deck or Powerpoint presentation – these apply to most forms of content you chose to accompany your voice when presenting. 

Other content types you could use include: 

• Competitions 
• Live challenges
• Interviews
• Product/Service Reviews
• Screen sharing (not of your slides, maybe a live demo?)
• Quizzes (we recommend Kahoot)
• News Roundup
• Video
• Animation
• Downloadables/Resources

All of these things can accompany a slide deck, or be the primary. If it doesn’t come easily to mind how you could incorporate your story or narrative into one of these, then it’s safe to say it’s probably not the best content medium for your talk – so have a bit of a brainstorm and see what you can produce.

The actual writing of your presentation or talk is really the final stage of your preparation. The subconscious has got to work on it in the background from the get go.

If you have done your homework, you will already be clear about the reason why you are presenting, the subject content and the main points you want to discuss.

Actually putting it down on paper or into a slide deck should, therefore, be relatively straightforward and the last act in the process.

So that was some advice on how to structure your presentation and talk, especially in an online world and virtual environment. And how you can mix it up with different content types.

Remember, whilst we are all at home watching these in our lounges there are a hundred more distractions than there were in an events venue or hall – capturing and retaining the attention of our audiences is more important and challenging than ever before.

Giving them exactly what they want from the get go by providing talks and presentations on topics they’re actually interested in is the first step to success in a world where everyone and their aunt seems to be running a talk of some kind. 

Value. Engagement. Takeaways. Experience – think of these and you’ll be fine. 

And if you’ve got the talk written or ready, but are now panicking a bit about your delivery of the talk from a personal perspective, then here’s some advice on how to public speak online!

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