Develop your online presentation skills

Online events are a great way to present. They can connect you with like-minded people, which may help uncover ideas and spark further inspiration. Presenting online is also a valuable and practical skill, especially for your own professional development.  

For those new to presenting online or looking for a little guidance, this four-part video series originally created for Navitas Professional trainers offers some tools and ideas to deliver engaging and effective online sessions.  Thanks goes to the presenters, Pamela Murray-Jones and Leanne Courtney, whose creativity and humour make it a great prompt to reflect on webinar practices.


Video #1:  Overview

The overview covers three key skills:

  • Communication strategies like recording yourself to listen out for distracting habits, and avoiding having too much on the slides.
  • Technical essentials (that’s the PC, internet, headset, quiet room) and slide templates, like those freely available from SlidesCarnival.com
  • Monitoring the time, yourself and your participants.


Video #2: Story-telling

Crafting your presentation using story-telling techniques:

  • Define your objective. What do you want your audience to Think, Feel and Do?
  • Make a plan. Explore a structure that starts with an attention-grabber.
  • Develop a memorable message.
  • Write and edit content using storyboards. Remember, online webinars are not the place for all the details; keep it simple and visual.


Video #3: Designing

This video explores how to design your online presentation, including:

  • Slide design: how to use templates, including free decks from SlidesCarnival and SlideSmash
  • Colour, movement and flow: unpacking ideas using visuals and multiple slides
  • Aligning style to the content: who is your audience and how can you keep them highly engaged?


Video #4: Presenting

It’s Go Time!

This video provides some advice on how to manage the opportunities and surprises that come with presenting online, including:

  • How to manage participants
  • Pacing and timing
  • Recovering from mishaps and keeping a smile in your voice


Got something ready to go? Read about the kinds of events shared on this website, or submit your event details to get started. If you would like to chat with someone about your idea first, drop a note to learningandteaching@navitas.com.