Ever sat through an online presentation that failed to strike a chord? If so, you are not alone. Attendees often endure impersonal interactions, during digital presentations, leading to being dissociated from the experience.
Despite access to powerful digital tools that are hyper-customizable, the offerings and strategies employed in such tedious presentations are often generic and better suited to physical engagement, resulting in a lukewarm response.
Face-to-face interactions tend to be inherently persuasive, because of non-verbal rapport and communication. This is why marketers prefer in-person communication over virtual options for a sales pitch. In physical events, presenters have the opportunity to personally remove a level of abstraction from their brand and display strong intent through a commanding presence. After a successful presentation, visual cues from the presenter can leave participants with an obligation to reciprocate.
Video conferencing, on the other hand, is a different ballgame, with its own set of opportunities and challenges. For the most part, presenters cannot physically interact with participants. This calls for the repurposing of existing content and innovative engagement strategies, which overcome the limitations imposed by lack of physical proximity.
Having chosen the most appropriate conferencing app, digital presentations should strive to keep content compelling and interactive. Participants can be prompted to provide details, during the registration process, that help personalize the presentation, based on audience persona, age, preferences, etc.
Most apps allow presenters to mute or unmute a specific participant, to enable one-on-one interaction, analogous to physical engagement. Digital platforms with more advanced features can record responses in real time, to help tailor experiences around specific attendee interests. While it’s true that physical presentations often edge out virtual conferencing in some aspects, data-based personalization and a mixed engagement strategy can successfully counter such limitations.
In a nutshell:
- Impersonal digital presentations typically fail to engage participants.
- Physical interactions are inherently more persuasive because of non-verbal rapport.
- Personalized delivery is the key to getting the most out of digital engagement.
- Effective multi-channel engagement features customized presentations and mixed strategies.