It's a Zoom World After All.

One of the debates now bubbling is what the business world will look like once the pandemic leaves us. One huge change is that I think Zoom conferences, Zoom meetings, and Zoom presentations are going to become how businesses prefer to conduct gatherings.

As someone who studies communications, I've been taken with how using Zoom requires lots of small changes in order to communicate effectively.

The most significant change to consider when using Zoom is focus.  The audience is less focused when they listen. They have too many distractions at their desk and give you only fleeting attention. The presenter is less focused because of a lack of a strong feedback loop. Getting and holding attention is task #1.

Zoom Changes the way we use PowerPoint

Imagine a PowerPoint slide with 4 bullets.  On Zoom that's a problem because people will be reading the 4th bullet before you finish talking about the first one.  The remedy is to animate information one bullet at a time. Thoroughly discuss it before you move to the next.

Another issue related to PowerPoint is audience focus.  Because the presentation is competing for the attention of the audience in a Zoom meeting, it is helpful to have slides that are repetitive.  You don't need to re-present them again, but you want the audience to see them again in case they missed it the first time.

If you can find appropriate graphics to represent the point you're making, all the better. Be warned. Gratuitous graphics are worse than no graphics.  The visual must make logical sense to the point you're making. For example, if I'm making a point that PowerPoint slides need to be more powerful than before, showing a graphic of Superman does nothing to help the audience get the point.  However, showing a before and after comparison with two PowerPoint slides side by side speaks precisely to the point.

Zoom Changes Audience Participation

If you were running a meeting or giving a presentation in person, it's easy to have audience participation.  You notice that someone doesn't seem to be getting it.  Or someone raises their hand slightly and you call on them.  With Zoom it is easier for the audience to hide behind a smiling face.  It's even more important in Zoom to have audience participation than in a live situation because it gets the audience focused on the task again. It refreshes the audience. I think of it as pulling people back into the screen. It is also from Q&A and other comments that people learn.  Ask for comments twice as often as you would in a normal presentation. Have them use the "raise your hand" feature.  Zoom helps by providing chat buttons and breakout rooms, as well.  I prefer just asking people to raise their hands to answer questions.

Zoom Changes Content

In a normal presentation, the audience gives their peak attention during the presenter's opening. Granted, it might only be two minutes of attention, but it's something. In Zoom, the attention in the opening is shorter. In fact, the attention through the whole presentation is less focused.  In Zoom, much more time must be spent crafting an opening that communicates what the key benefits to the audience are. A Zoom opening needs to be front-loaded.  But, it shouldn't be boring or onerous.  It still needs to be creatively packaged.

Another content device for getting and holding audience focus is storytelling.  We all love stories. We love to tell them and audiences like to listen to them.  Tell more stories.  Make sure they are apropos of the subject you are telling. Keep them short.  This pulls the audience back into the screen.

A powerful speaking trick takes on new prominence with Zoom and that is The Rule of 3.  This was made famous by Steve Jobs who always described new products as having 3 important features.  Human beings like the structure of 3 related points.  It helps them remember and understand the message better.  Look to see if you can put all of your information into 3 buckets. It makes it easier for the audience to hear.

But Wait, There's More...

This article touched on some of the main changes you should consider when using Zoom.  For a more in-depth discussion of this and other points, go to www.jackerossin.com.

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Jack E. Rossin is an instructor at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. He teaches presentation skills. Presentation training is Jack’s 2nd career. His main areas of focus are: speaking with Confidence, one-on-one consulting, business development teamwork, and storytelling dissected. To hire Jack for one of your events or for additional information please contact Kirsten Singleton.