Public speaking in the digital world

I can remember in the early to mid 90's when I took my first public speaking course as a middle school student. Looking back it was probably one of the best things I ever did in terms of building my confidence and learning how to get my points across to an audience. It was nerve-racking and challenging to say the least, but made me a more well rounded person. Learning how to engage groups of people helped me down the road when I ultimately landed my first job as a social studies and computer education teacher. Fast forward to the present, I use my past public speaking experiences as a social studies teacher, coach, and administrator to help me with presenting on the national stage about my passions in the field of education.

Pubic speaking in the year 2018, goes well beyond engaging audiences in the physical world. Now, there is an expectation for children and adults to convey their thoughts virtually. Whether it's an online meeting, webinar, Skype, YouTube Live, Periscope, Facebook Live, screen cast, or Flipgrid, people must possess a diversified skill set to get their points across through a device.

Here are 12 points of emphasis as it relates to public speaking in the digital world...

1. Acclimate yourself with tools like Google Slides, Keynote, Power Point, PearDeck, Haiku Deck, and Prezi
2. Practice or conduct several takes of your virtual presentation
3. Speak loudly, slowly, and clearly with a pleasant demeanor and correct posture
4. Enhance your digital presentation with images, quotes, creative slide designs, shor video clips
5. Limit phrases and sentences on slide deck
6. Do a dry run of your virtual presentation with someone before going live
7. Watch how others speak on TedTalks, webinars, and streaming sessions
8. Make sure viewers have one or two takeaways from your virtual presentation
9. Provide opportunities to connect in the physical world as a follow up
10. Prepare talking points that can be viewed by you during the virtual presentation
11. Engage audience members and seek real time feedback with tools like Today's Meet, Q&A feature on Slides, Padlet, and Poll Everywhere.
12. Celebrate and bring attention to virtual speaking engagements with social media and blog posts