For better or for worse, virtual meetings have become the new norm. Just because you don’t have access to a conference room doesn’t mean that presentations are cancelled. In fact, using presentations to share your story may be even more valuable than ever. With teams relying heavily on virtual communication, a presentation allows you to share project updates, agendas, pitches, or information in a clear and concise way. Not only can you deliver a virtual presentation during a meeting, but you can send the deck as a follow up to ensure everyone is on the same page after the fact (in case they weren’t following along, it happens). Sure, delivering a remote presentation isn’t the same as doing it in person, but it can be just as effective if you do it right.
You may feel more at ease presenting behind your computer screen, but the same best practices apply as if you were doing it face-to-face. The stakes are just as high, but you’re actually at a bit of a disadvantage presenting remote (plot twist). There are far more distractions for remote audiences than there are with audiences stuck in an auditorium. For example, your audience may have their kids at home, a loud neighbor, or a time-sensitive notification on their computer buzzing in the background. Because of this it’s important to engage said audience, even through a screen. Use the same energy and animation you would on stage or in a conference room. It’s also a good idea to do a few dry runs to make sure the technology works properly. After all, nothing kills a presentation faster than technical difficulties at go-time. Sound easy enough?
Don’t get ahead of yourself. First, you have to prepare your physical presentation. Since your team can’t be in the same room to riff on ideas, collaboration and communication becomes essential for preparing a remote presentation. Being able to upload shared files, make edits, provide feedback in real-time, and comment on slides can cut the design process down by avoiding lengthy email chains or chat threads.
Here are five easy hacks in Beautiful.ai to make creating a remote presentation more seamless and efficient.
Video upload
Some teams have proprietary media that they may want to include in their presentation without putting it out there on the interweb for others to find. If that’s the case, our video upload feature is your new best friend. Upload an exclusive video showcasing your product, a new feature or line, or service, directly from your files and add it to your slide. This cuts out third party video hosting sites, and makes the design process more seamless. Plus, video is a great way to engage your audience and grab their attention (when they may be distracted by their neighbor cutting the lawn out the window).
Workflow integrations
In our new norm, teams are relying on their workflows to keep them connected. Beautiful.ai’s new integrations (coming soon!) will allow you to access company files like brand colors, logos, or images from your current file management system so that your presentation remains on-brand with just a few clicks. This will allow you to quickly apply a brand theme to your presentation without having to email the team’s art director for assets. Collaboration and sharing are essential parts of the presentation workflow and we understand that many people already use tools like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Slack to create, manage and share their documents. We’re excited to integrate Beautiful.ai with your existing workflows so you can continue (or start) using the best presentation tool available without missing a collaborative beat.
Comments and notifications
Beautiful.ai makes collaboration simple and easy with comments and notifications. Now you can work in sync with colleagues or clients on the same presentation. Simply add a collaborator to your presentation, and build the deck together. When a collaborator makes an edit or adds a comment to a slide, you’ll be notified both in the product and via email. This ensures everyone is on the same page, even from afar. Comments and notifications are a game changer when you can’t poke your head into someone’s office with quick feedback or a hot tip.
Audio Recording
Our newest feature, audio recording, allows you to narrate your story. Add a voice-over to each slide and tell your audience exactly what you want them to learn from your presentation. Even if you can’t present live, you’ll still be able to add personality and context to your deck. Since you can’t take cues from a live audience, make an effort to pace yourself and time your speech with any animations in your presentation. Consider doing a sound check before you send your deck off, too.
Editable PowerPoint
Sometimes your work ecosystem lives in Microsoft. We get it (kind of). After you’ve finished your presentation and are ready to send it off or present it to your colleagues or clients, you can export it to PowerPoint. This allows you to create a professional presentation in a fraction of the time in Beautiful.ai, while saving it in a PowerPoint compatible file. Last minute change? Your Beautiful.ai presentation is editable in the PowerPoint software. Make sure all of your fonts and animations transfer over, and do a quick check for any elements that may be out-of-place.
The rest is up to you.
