How to deliver your best talk to a hybrid audience
At long last, we’re seeing a slow return to in-person events.
As speakers, most of us are thrilled by the prospect of once again being in the room with our audiences… to feed off the virtuous energy cycle and be able to more effectively respond to their non-verbal cues. Hooray!
Yet lower costs and higher attendance make virtual events likely to be permanent fixtures; some events have grown their audiences four-fold because of the virtual setting. What virtual events can’t do, though, is replace the many boons of in-person events, so trends indicate that hybrid events will become the norm.
What does this mean for speakers?
- We need to finesse the skill of making eye contact with our live, in-person audiences while also looking into the camera in order to be inclusive of both audiences. We’ve had practice looking into our webcams over the course of this year+ but will now need to be conscious of not inadvertently prioritizing the in-person attendees. Your rehearsals should mimic the hybrid format: have friends or colleagues act as your audience while also having your webcam “seated” near them. Hit record and watch it later to see whether you’ve made eye contact with the camera as well as your audience.
- We need to balance our movement to account for use of the stage while not moving out of the frame for the virtual audience. We’ll need to lean more heavily on gestures and vocal cues than we used to even when we’re in person. Frankly, I hope this curbs the habit many speakers have of pacing like a caged tiger in the name of “movement.” Movement should be purposeful. Choose deliberately when you will move and provide cues to the camera crew. (Need to work on that? Let’s talk.)
- Get back to knowing your content inside and out. I’m not saying it needs to be memorized, but if over the last year or so you’ve relied on “presenter view” to skip a few hours of rehearsal/preparation, it’s time to invest yourself in the effort.
- Play with using interactive tools like polls that fold in both audiences irrespective of whether they’re in the room or attending remotely.
- Keep dressing for the camera. Dress appropriately simply and in contrast to your backdrop. Your in-person audience won’t be as affected by wardrobe issues the way stripes and loud prints can create distracting visual “noise” on camera. (Related tip for event planners: when planning your set/stage, account for what the backdrop will look like when it will be framed narrowly for the camera. I’ve seen some designs that were magnificent on large scale but weren’t effective for the narrow field the virtual audience saw. Here’s a relatively benign example.)
Everything we do on stage–no matter what type of audience we’re addressing–needs to be in service of their needs. In a hybrid setting, we need to evaluate our content, slides, appearance, and delivery through the lens of both audiences, not just one. Put yourself in their shoes (one persona at a time) to ensure you’re creating the best possible experience for them. They deserve it. And so does your message.