Remote presentation design tips

You probably have many remote presentations or remote pitches scheduled on a variety of topics these days. Whether on the receiving or host end, the number of online activities is flourishing with the current global pandemic. Yet, you might, more importantly, be wondering how to create an excellent presentation that keeps people focused while they’re at home. So many things can be distracting in that setting! So here are the best design tips for effective remote presentations that we put together for you. 

Effective presentations start with superb planning

Before we begin, remember that the setting is everything when it comes to remote presentations. Be sure to check as many features related to your equipment before you join or launch a meeting. For example, make sure your video and audio are working. Check their quality. If you need to, reposition cables, check software or look for a less disturbing background, for instance. 

Also, make sure everyone will be able to see your presentation deck. Click the “share screen” button and make sure it’s doing the trick right. Get as familiarized as you can with the platform you’ll be using. Let your curiosity run you through every button or feature you can see. That’s how you can make the best of it! 

And now that we’re discussing planning, please start with a sound introduction. The start of the presentation should be strong, so the audience feels compelled. 

Set your meeting etiquette ahead of time

Encourage your audience to come to your meeting early. Doing so should let you and any other party go over any possible technical trouble before the clock starts running on your time. Don’t worry; it happens all the time! 

And, if you want people to enter the online room before you do or early concerning the agreed meeting time, you can put up a countdown slide to the time when the presentation is programmed to start. 

Your audience will most probably appreciate being able to prepare for the start of the meeting, anyhow. And if chaos happens on your watch, know you can be patient, set an example, and be courteous. 

We tend to take failure harshly when we’re on the spot. Yet and again, remember those kinds of tech-related incidents happen all the time! Especially now, when so many people are forcefully learning about these online platforms. Most aren’t frequent users of this kind of technology, so be considerate about troubles that come up. 

And, also, if any setbacks push you way too late into your meeting start time, risk the one or two users with the trouble if the rest of a broad audience is ready and available in your online meetup space. It’s hard to admit, but the best solution to such a complicated tech situation is to solve it outside the realms of an ongoing group video call.
Exercise the power of recording

While we’re at it, remember to click on the recording option if you’d like to keep track of the conversation or gathering. The recording part of this is a wise one in terms of the best design tips for effective remote presentations. Doing so will ease letting those who miss your meeting feel at ease that they’ll still have access to what happened in some way. And you can then study your material, share it via social media or other platforms or keep coming back to it for whatever business purpose. 

The courtesy of the background image

If you’re using video, make sure your backdrop isn’t distracting your viewers - or yourself. Instead, work on creating the most conference-like atmosphere around you. 

And rehearse!

Of course, do test runs of your presentation to be 100% ready. Not only in terms of content, but on approach and manner, going over a trial of your pitch might be an excellent idea! This practice will let you remember any details you might have missed or spot any issues that need addressing. And that all can happen with the perfect time for solutions if you plan well. 

Facts on the actual presentation deck

Now that all your technology tools are ready, it’s time to get down to business. Let’s go over the actual presentation material and the best ways to create those. 

First of all, think about those to whom you’re presenting. Your audience is your primary focus, so create your deck with the people that come to your mind, body, and soul, especially if they’re investors. In case you’re working on a startup pitch deck, please take a look at our startup pitch deck templates and all our related articles on the topic. 

Resort to storytelling

As with any presentation, turn your pitch deck into a story. And look to keep that flow that storytelling gives throughout your entire business presentation. Your slides should support that mission entirely. 

The above doesn’t mean taking out or putting in any significant changes to the standard structure for the type of presentation you’re giving. If you’re pitching an investor, respect the most well-known sequences to an investor pitch deck, for example. Nothing calls for a massive change in that. 

However, as you deliver your lines and craft your deck, think of your story in the general scope of business matters. And then focus every time finer on detail to improve the sequence of the story you’re sharing. Enhance your audience’s engagement, rather than drop their attention to the ground. 

Visual stories count

Also, link the visual feel to your slides to the story you’re telling. Your presentation slides should have a visual identity to which you commit fully. They should speak of your company branding if you’re into doing business with them. And now more than ever, virtual pitch decks need to stand out to the top of the line kind of quality. The online remote tool market boom in response to this crisis is creating fierce competitive waters.

When you use images, which we hope you do, make sure they fulfill a definite purpose. If you choose to show any people in those images, for example, be considerate of human diversity and harmful stereotypes.

Expanding on a topic per slide

As these design tips for effective remote presentations can serve any person on any business or other kind of matter, we can think about slides as each presenting an individual set of information. 

So give each slide a purpose. You can think about this as critical concepts that you want to include as one per slide, for example. That practice of presenting this way allows the audience to quickly get back on track if they get lost in what you have to say for whatever reason. Say someone checked their email or phone instantly. Or maybe they run to get some coffee or a bathroom break. In those cases, they can always come back to the current slide you’re presenting and grasp the new content you’re introducing. It just helps connect ideas quicker, too, and keep a cleaner outline to your entire business or other types of presentations as a whole. 

Foster interaction via chat

Although many of the online meeting platforms have a chat feature where people can post their questions during presentations, you can also use your slides to hold that interaction. Insert a comment or question slide in the middle of the display, for example. Such an action can help you encourage participation from your audience. The plus to not leaving comments or questions until the very end is that it’s an effective means to get people to pay attention, focus, and foster our understanding of audience engagement.

‍ Consider tech means for screen-sharing 

Remember, your presentation will exist through each of the user’s screens. That means you’ll be working with a diverse set of audience equipment in terms of hardware and software. In this sense, it helps to think about a design that will look good on a computer, tablet, or phone to consider the least of devices. 

Give presentation slides an excellent contrast to help with the above, as well if you consider the golden rule of concise text, large font, and contrast colors when you craft your presentation material that will especially help cellphone or mobile device users. 

Slidebean has cool features for remote working, collaboration, and live presentation you can check out and, of course, our presentation design team is always available to help in case you need more personalized guidance.