Screen sharing essentials
During the last period, video conferencing tools have been used extensively. Due to quarantine measures, we were all obliged to stay at home. However, thanks to state-of-the-art technologies, we haven’t stop communicating.
Today, for many countries, quarantine has come to an end. However, many people keep working remotely. Thousands of teachers, also, continue to educate their students online.
Personally, I don’t know when this strange period will end. What I really believe though is that we will continue to use video conferencing tools for a long time. For this reason, I thought it would be a good idea to share with you some good practices to prepare an online presentation.
Tips before sharing your screen:
When you plan for a video conference, prepare yourself as much as you can for unexpected issues.
Firstly, close any apps that you are not going to use during your presentation. This is important for many reasons. Your audience will find difficulty in focusing on what you present. Secondly, you will have difficulty finding the material that you need. Lastly, it’s highly possible that your pc will crash.
Likewise, you should open only the documents that you are about to use. Otherwise, you can create a folder, where you can save these documents in numerical order, based on the order in which they will be used for the purposes of your presentation.
Secondly, you could create a separate user account on your computer. You can use this profile only when you want to share your screen. In this way, you will not bother tiding up your messy desktop. Select, also, a neutral background colour for your desktop.
A good idea would be to deactivate any notifications on your computer. There’s no doubt that your audience will lose their attention when a notification will pop up.
You might also want to check that you have a reliable internet connection. You can find many apps online that can help you estimate your internet speed.
I would suggest you to test your speakers to see if they are working properly. It is also preferable to use a headset to optimize your audio quality.
Lastly, you can enlarge your cursor. In this way, you will help your audience to follow your steps easier.
During your presentation:
When you share your screen, move your cursor only when you want to show something. Moving your cursor without a reason, will only distract your audience.
Avoid adding audio or video in your presentations. Usually, because of poor connection, sounds and videos are displayed in poor quality.
Unexpected problems always occur. Whatever happens, stay calm!
Extra tips:
– Choose the presentation program that best fits your needs.
– Before your meeting, prepare and send a small “manual” to your audience. In this manual you can write anything you think is important for them to know.
– Rehearse your presentation. This way you can prevent some possible problems.
