It’s one thing to be clear, concise, and in control of your message when you’re speaking to a group of people in a live conference room setting. It’s an entirely different thing to keep audience members attentive and engaged when presenting virtually.
 
It’s not just learning how to run the meeting software. That’s the easy part. The real issues are (1) getting people to want to participate and (2) communicating well using the technology so that what you say is actually heard and understood.
 
In this practical session, delivered virtually, we’ll explore the skills and techniques it takes to communicate effectively in virtual settings no matter whether you’re conducting meetings, presentations, product demos, or video conferences.
 
Topics include:
 

• Transferring face-to-face skills to the virtual environment
• Engaging people you can’t see
• Keeping people focused
• Developing visual aids for online delivery
• Planning and executing interactions that people want to participate in
• Using video conferencing tools
• Pros and cons of muting attendee phones
• Using tools such as polls, chat, hand raising, and more
• Using a host to manage the technology so that you can focus on content

Greg Owen-Boger (Vice President) started with Turpin Communication, a presentation and facilitation training company, as a cameraman in 1995. He quickly moved on to the roles of instructor/coach, project manager, account manager, and now VP. Trained in management and the performing arts, he brings a diverse set of skills and experience to the organization. Greg delivers live workshops and is an executive coach, he has also taken the lead in the design and development of Turpin’s eLearning courses. Greg is the co-author of the upcoming book The Orderly Conversation: Business Presentations Redefined, and is among many thought leaders who contributed to the book Master Presenter: Lessons from the World's Top Experts on Becoming a More Influential Speaker. Greg is currently the Director of Technology for the Chicagoland Chapter of ASTD where he was recently elected 2014 President-Elect.