Preparing Presenters to Ace Virtual Events

Over 15 events and summits hosted

Approximately 60 people at each event

Breakout sessions ranging from 3-10 breakout rooms

Average of 20 presenters at each event

We worked with the client to manage several 2-day external summits featuring different speakers and scientists from all over the world. These annual events – previously held in person – were formatted to begin with the presenters speaking for 15 minutes each, then brought them together into a panel discussion. After the discussion, a Q&A session was facilitated between the speakers and small groups of participants where each speaker went to a breakout room with a moderator, and opened the floor to discussion for half an hour. The group was then brought back together for final comments, thank yous, and good-byes.

The biggest challenge for these events was the amount of preparation and support that the speakers needed to prepare engaging presentations in a virtual context. Most had limited experience presenting virtually, and were uncomfortable with the technology.

One challenge we ran into was how to get people excited to register for a virtual event, and not just assume that it would be boring and unengaging.

The biggest challenge for this event, however, was the amount of preparation and help that the speakers needed to prepare their presentations, as they all had differing levels of experience presenting virtually.

In order to help the speakers of the events feel comfortable and prepared, we took several measures to ensure speakers would ace their presentations. We held several open office hours before the events and had run-throughs and rehearsals in advance.

Rehearsals were set at times where presenters could meet with our team, troubleshoot, familiarize themselves and practice with the new technologies they were learning, prepare themselves, and feel more confident and at ease about the upcoming events.

Our team supported them to figure out computer settings, present slides, cues and what to expect at the event, as well as how to set up their lighting, background, and sound, and to maximize engagement with their content. We also held run-through calls with the client’s team, as well as the different presenters. Run-throughs centralized information around the live session and made sure that everyone was on the same page, and rehearsals were an opportunity to practice the event in its entirety so that everyone knew what to expect.

Finally, we created detailed run-of-shows (kind of like an agenda, but more robust) which we coordinated with the client’s MC’s on to execute and ensured we had backups of all the presenter’s slides so that if one of their tech components glitched during an event, the show could go on.

The client was able to hold several successful virtual workshops, summits and symposiums, without the stress. Event speakers were well-prepared and were able to deliver seedless and successful virtual presentations. Even better, there was an uptick in the number of participants at these events than in previous years.