Tips for Virtual Presentations
During the virtual portion of Grad Show Preview, you’ll be presenting yourself and your work to creative professionals. The guide below will help you prepare. You may be comfortable on zoom from your classes, but remember that this is a more formal occasion.
Tips for Looking Good on Zoom
Test Your Technology
Test with a friend to make sure your camera, microphone, and speakers on your computer are working.
Make sure you’re able to connect to the internet.
Practice sharing your screen so that you can do it fluidly. It’s especially important to practice if you’re using more than one monitor.
Check to make sure you aren’t showing gray boxes when screen sharing. This article has tips for getting rid of them.
Be aware of sound in the environment around you. You may need to use a headset for the best quality sound.
Create a Good Image on Screen
Use a light source in front of you so your face is well lit. Avoid strong light sources behind you to prevent being backlit.
Elevate your camera so it is at eye level. You want your head and shoulders to be visible and centered on the screen.
Position yourself in front of a neutral background that is not visually busy. Consider using the “blur background” feature on zoom.
If you want to use virtual background, make sure it is not too busy and that it does not distract from what you will be saying. Make sure the contrast between you and the image is not too high so that you appear and disappear against the background.
Avoid wearing small patterns like dots and stripes that can vibrate while on screen.
Eliminate Distractions
Alert members of your household that you will be on a video call to provide you some privacy and limit distractions.
If you have pets, consider strategies to limit barking or walking into the video.
Project Confidence
Be dressed and groomed to create a good impression.
Upright posture will help you convey a sense of confidence through the screen.
To emulate eye contact, look into the camera, not at the screen. Use a sticker or a note placed next to your camera as a reminder to look there.
Use the language of your field and speak at a conversational pace.
DO NOT read from a script. This puts distance between you and the audience and makes you sound stiff.
Set your Zoom Name
Make sure the name that shows while you are on Zoom matches the name on your Grad Show Website profile and your resume and other professional materials. Use the format “First Name Last Name (pronouns - optional)”.
How to Present Your Work to Attendees
Here are some ideas to get you started. You may receive different information from your department and that’s fine. There are multiple correct ways to approach this.
Introduce Yourself
Clearly state your whole professional name, with a pause between first and last. Try to have your name and contact info in the first and last image when you present.
Identify the specific kind of artist/designer you are. Some examples:
Interior or exterior,
transmedia, print, or packaging
sustainability, social impact
hardware, soft goods, athletic shoe
user experience, design research
illustration for consumer goods, surface design, fine art illustrator,
product or editorial photography
visual development, character designer, animator, background artist
cinematographer, director, editor
spatial designer, furniture designer, lighting designer, hospitality
art director, copywriter.
State Your Career Goals
Briefly state your general career goals and what you are excited to do.
What kind of work are you looking for?
What kind of impact do you hope to have?
Don’t focus on specific companies where you want to work. Instead think about the bigger picture.
Share Your Work
We recommend creating a slide deck to use for your presentation. This lets you have the best control over your images and how they show up on screen. It also forces you to carefully choose what you’re going to show and structure your presentation.
Choose from among the sample prompts below to structure this part of your presentation.
What are your three top creative interests or skills? How do a few (3-5) examples in your portfolio or your Grad Show page show those interests or skills?
Which of your projects taught you the most? Show a project and describe the new insights it brought or the new questions it led you to ask.
How do you follow a project from beginning to end? Choose a project where you can quickly explain your design process/how you think as a designer.
Some sample sentences you might use while talking about your work.
I chose this because…
I made this decision because...
Practice, Preparation, & Delivery
Prepare
Create an outline with notes and key words and phrases. DO NOT read from a script.
Practice
Practice your presentation to be sure you have the right amount of content for the time limit.
Pacing
Know your pacing and talk at a comfortable rate that is neither too fast or too slow. A conversational speed works well.
Projection
Make sure you’re projecting enough that your mic is picking up your voice, and everyone on Zoom can hear you. .
Voice
Use pitch (how high or low your voice goes), emphasis (the stress you put on words and syllables) and volume/the amount of energy in your voice to help your listeners follow you and keep things interesting.
Speed
Vary the speed at which you talk, slowing down to emphasize important information.
Relax
Take deep breaths to help keep yourself calm and open up your chest for good vocal sound. Deep Breathing Gif
Warm-Up
Warm up before you talk. Something like this 5-minute warm-up for public speaking is good.
Filler Words
Do you use filler words often? (oh, um, you know, so, like, etc.) Those will often disappear if you do two things 1) relax, 2) practice what you are going to say. We often reach for these words when we’re nervous or don’t know our content well enough. Practice with someone else or record yourself on zoom to help you understand the words you commonly use. Then practice replacing those words with pauses.
Micro Workshop
Get tips for virtual presentations in video form as well.
View this video to learn key basics for virtual presentations from organizing your thoughts, designing your slides, knowing all about working with zoom, to rehearsing and wrapping up your presentation.