How to succeed at speaking in hybrid events

 

Hybrid events it is the future and is here to stay. Hybrid events are becoming increasingly popular with most countries moving to an endemic stage.

 

The future right now is one event operating at two spaces — the physical and the virtual space. I strongly predict that even if the endemic ends, hybrid events will still be here to stay.

 

 

If you prefer to read than watching the video, please continue below.

 

Why hybrid events is here to stay?

This is because it reaches more people in different countries and companies do save a lot of money on flights accommodations, F&B, and event space.

 

Tips for the speaker

How do you succeed at speaking in hybrid events?

Let me share with you my personal experience as a professional speaker who has spoken in many of such events.

 

6 ideas to succeed at speaking in hybrid events

1. Greet everyone

Once you’re on stage, greet everyone who is there with you. Your physical audience and the audience who is in front of you, and the remote ones. For those who are in remote locations, you can even acknowledge them in the locations that they are in.

For example, “Friends in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia! Thank you for coming in!” Or asking those who are joining remotely, “Can you, please type in the country or state that you’re at right now?” This creates inclusion and no one is left behind, not even the virtual audience.

 

2. Audience engagement is key

If you want to move away from a boring presentation and inject life into it, you need to definitely engage the audience when you are speaking.

Most people attending remotely usually have a shorter attention span, because they feel they are just like observers. Once you engage them, they feel part of your audience.

For example, one engagement can look like this. Suppose you are delivering the company’s new year kickoff event and want to stir the audience, “For those who are with us physically, can you please turn to your partner on the left and right and say ‘We can do this! And those who are joining us remotely, type in the chat right now and say we can do this!'”

 

3. Understand camera locations and stage positioning

This is an important thing that not many speakers are mindful of. A good speaker always take note of the camera locations.

Since you are most likely to be an event venue, you need to know where you should be standing or moving around, so that the cameras can capture you effectively.

You don’t want a situation where the side cameras do not have a good angle on you! Most of the time, there will be one camera that will shoot from the front. And when you talk to the audience, you need to be mindful to speak straight into the camera at times. So that the remote audience feels like you’re speaking directly to them as well.

 

4. Most stages tend to be dark and have bright lights on you

I would highly encourage you not to dress in dark colors or you might just fade into the background. Avoid clothing that have lines, because they don’t appear good on camera.

 

5. Be energetic!

Energy is infectious, even for those who are attending online. Audiences can feel you when you are passionate about something and when you move with energy.

 

6. Incorporate other remote speakers into your presentation.

If you are speaking with other presenters who are with you remotely, always acknowledge them and try to bring them into the presentation.

You can reference what they have shared or even have a short dialogue with them during the presentation. This requires a bit more work since there is coordination involved. Every speaker is important.

 

 

I believe that these six ideas will help you deliver a better presentation in the next hybrid event.

Remember your audience wants you to succeed, if you do well they will enjoy your message as well.

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