Virtual Presentation Skills Training

Back in the tumultuous days of March 2020, our resident presentation skills team were wondering how to adapt the LDL Presentation Skills programme to the new remote working environment. At the time, we didn’t know if the transition to remote learning would be a temporary, or a permanent change. A year later, it seems like virtual training is here to stay – and so too, the virtual presentation skills and virtual presence programme that the team have been developing.

Before March 2020, a programme focused on developing your virtual presence might have seemed pretty niche. But with almost everyone now routinely using platforms such as Zoom, MS Teams and Webex to communicate with staff, present ideas and pitch new business, ‘virtual presence’ is in high demand.

The skills needed to make engaging virtual presentations are related to those required to make engaging face-to-face presentations: including the focus on verbal and non-verbal skills, structure, content and pacing. But there is also something new and unfamiliar about presenting virtually: how far from the camera do you sit? Where do you look? What’s the best way of using PowerPoint?

Half-day programme

To meet these new challenges, the LDL presentation team has been running a half-day programme focused on presenting in a virtual environment, and developing virtual presence more generally. The programme dovetails with our existing sales training and management training portfolio, and the feedback has been fantastic, with clients reporting that it had helped them feel more comfortable and confident when presenting online.

“I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t looking forward to it” one client emailed our lead consultant Nick Evans shortly after a programme he ran back in August. “Now though” he continued, “I do feel much better equipped… your guidance has given me a toolkit that can help with all the steps involved in putting together a good presentation – so huge thanks for helping me with that.”

Another client said that he had never been given feedback on his virtual presentation skills before, while another noted on her feedback form that the programme had “suggested techniques I had never thought of before and specific ways to deal with things I find difficult”.

Delivered via Zoom – for max 3 people

Like our current sales training and management training programmes, the virtual presentation skills programme is run via Zoom. But unlike our other programmes it is limited to a maximum of three individuals, and is run over a half-day. The objective of the session is to develop, refine and refresh the skills needed to structure and deliver effective virtual presentations, and to boost virtual presence.

The programme is suitable for anyone making presentations online, internally or externally, whether within departments or across functions, and at every level of an organisation. We are able to run the programme either in a group-format or as a one-to-one coaching session.

If you would like to find out more, please complete the enquiry form or email learning@ldl.co.uk