Once you create a stage to present your ideas, projections, or teaching courseware, it can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially when you are new to the online learning platform. But apart from being nervous, you can simply be scared of the shortcomings that you might experience because of technological or content challenges. Many presenters have visions of crashing or failing when they are delivering a speech or a presentation. These nightmares may seem real, and yet while you may not be presenting and may have some blunders like many big occasion presentations, it would be wise to understand these challenges. For example, as a teacher, between broken clickers, out-of-sync teleprompters, unplayable videos, and unexpected questions from the students. There are lots of things that can catch you off guard while you're presenting before a classroom.
You can actually spend a lot of time practicing your online classroom session- but how can you prepare for the unpredictable?
TECHNICAL FAILURES:
We all can admit that technical challenges are most scary whenever we are presenting something new. As presenters, we would have less exposure and practice to handle such situations. A popular instance is when on-stage tech failed for famous Hollywood director Michael Bay, to which he simply exited from the stage anguished and dejected. Now, we do realize that this was with no fault of this but he could have tried to tackle things a little more positively. On the side note, Microsoft's spokesman decided to power through presentation despite the technical glitch. He confidently talks though his speech despite having tech issues, quickly grabs another device – and his composure during the entire episode was highly admirable.
So the takeaway from the above instances is that while technical issues are unavoidable, as a presenter you should be ready to tackle any awkward moment. So when there is a glitch while you are presenting to an online classroom, you can give a short exercise to your students while you try and fix the issue. Edmodo Classroom lets you create various gamified exercises from many different subjects for your teaching lessons.
BEING WELL PREPARED:
Nothing beats the old saying of keep practicing to defeat any odds. This just doesn't mean practicing with software and hardware, but also content and delivery speech. Many presenters try to equate their presentations by simply completing their PowerPoint slides. Having just slides isn't preparation, just the cost of admission of future error. You need to practice thoroughly, think through, and rehearse your speech. For example, when presenting to your online students, you can potentially think of talking points, discussion topics, and questions that might arise from the audience.
FOCUS ON OPENING:
One of the most crucial and critical aspects of any presentation is the opening. You might want to keep a focus on what you speak or how you speak. This is important for a few reasons, including: A well-composed and crafted opening is one of the most highlighted segments of any presentation. If you can get it right, the flow of audience attention would be easier to follow for the later parts.You also build momentum when you start your opening more fluidly. Later, even if you encounter glitches, you can be more confident because of having good first impressions.If you have a better knowledge of what you would say in the first 1-3 minutes, you would have genuine confidence in not failing.
FACING TOUGH QUESTIONS FROM AUDIENCE:
As a presenter, you would naturally have a lot of knowledge and expertise in your subject. Especially if you are a teacher and you want to provide a lesson to your online students. But many times, you might come across a question that can be out of the box. In a situation, when you are not quite confident in the response, the best way is to take a moment to think through an answer. You can also make a note of the question, and tell them you would get back to them after the classroom. A brief pause if much less damaging to your credibility of knowledge, compared to nonsense and incorrect answer.
So, if you follow our above guidelines, you might not stop your presentation nightmare, but you would be a lot more confident and prepared to confront awkward scenarios.
