Crush Your Next Virtual Presentation: Conversation with Rick Altman

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    Rick Altman is the author of over a dozen books on presentations and graphics and is the host and creative director of the Presentation Summit, the world’s most prominent learning event for virtual presenters. He owes the success of this book to his daughter who allowed him to take over her childhood bedroom and convert it to a Zoom studio.

In this conversation, Rick talks about his new book, Crush Your Next Virtual Presentation.

Geetesh: You’ve spent years watching how people communicate through both screens and rooms. At what point did you realize there was a bigger story worth telling about stepping away from the rooms, and how did that realization turn into Crush Your Next Virtual Presentation?

Rick: It is Covid’s silver lining, because I’m not sure that virtual presenting would have penetrated our customs and habits this much if it were not forced upon us. But now it’s here; it’s here to stay; and those of us who present for a living must up our games.

Geetesh: With more people now presenting through a screen instead of across a table, what’s the smallest change you’ve seen make the biggest difference in how audiences actually pay attention online?

Rick: Paying attention to a virtual presenter might be the most challenging part of being a virtual audience member, and presenters who appreciate that can make a world of difference to the overall experience. It starts with not shaming or guilting audience members for their multitasking. It is far better if virtual presenters respect and accommodate this reality and I offer specific strategies for how to do this.

Geetesh: When someone picks up Crush Your Next Virtual Presentation and flips through a few pages, what kind of presenter do you hope they see themselves as? Also, what’s the one reason you’d give them to keep reading instead of closing the cover?

Rick: I hope they begin to see themselves as authentic presenters. That, of course, is the gold standard for all presenters, but it is particularly challenging to find your most authentic self when you can’t feed off of the faces and the energy of in-person audiences. You must learn to warm to the camera and become comfortable with the notion that staring into a cold piece of glass is how you engage and connect with your audience. That’s not so easy and across 275 pages, I try to keep that thought top of mind.

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