online presentation.

Online Presen­ta­tions: Using Tech­no­logy to Increase Productivity

Online Presen­ta­tion Overview

Recent tech­no­lo­gical advances have elimi­nated the need to meet face-to-face to conduct busi­ness or convey other infor­ma­tion in person. Popular tools now allow users to treat their audi­ence to an online presen­ta­tion expe­ri­ence. An online presen­ta­tion can be set up to be live strea­ming, or on-demand to be viewed at the viewer’s conve­ni­ence, and can involve dozens of atten­dees such as in the case of a webinar.

Appro­priate uses for online presentations

• Educa­tional lectures – These days many colleges and univer­si­ties offer distance lear­ning classes, where all of the course mate­rial (inclu­ding lectures) is deli­vered online. Many times the inst­ructor will prepare slides via presen­ta­tion soft­ware and then allow the students to view the lecture online in the form of a webcast.
• Sales presen­ta­tion for products or services – A company’s sales force no longer needs to make every customer call in person, because the product infor­ma­tion can now be effec­tively commu­ni­cated via the Internet.
• Supple­ments to confe­rence calls – An online presen­ta­tion can allow confe­rence call parti­ci­pants to view visual aids during the discussion.
• Staff meetings where the busi­ness has staff in remote loca­tions – Incre­a­singly, busi­nesses are allowing many diffe­rent types of flexible working envi­ron­ments, and online presen­ta­tions can assist in main­tai­ning optimal produc­ti­vity levels while mini­mi­zing travel costs.

Bene­fits of online presentations

• Allows infor­ma­tion to be conveyed quickly and effi­ci­ently – With the on-demand nature of most presen­ta­tions given online, infor­ma­tion can be trans­ferred much more quickly. For instance, there is much less need for sche­dule adjus­t­ments to accom­mo­date last minute online trai­ning needs. In a crunch, a presen­ta­tion can be prepared and disse­mi­nated to the necessary parti­ci­pants quickly and easily using busi­ness colla­bo­ra­tion technology.
• Sche­dule flexi­bi­lity for presen­ta­tion viewers – Whether the viewer is a student, poten­tial customer, or employee, their time is valu­able and elimi­na­ting the need to meet with the presenter face-to-face allows for a more effi­cient use of time.
• Reduced costs for online educa­tion provi­ders – Colleges and univer­si­ties can spend less money on staff, because online presen­ta­tion of class lectures allow for a higher teacher to student ratio.
• Reduc­tion in travel expenses – Busi­ness can elimi­nate a lot of costly travel expenses for trips to and from meetings by parti­ci­pa­ting in online presen­ta­tions more frequently.

Some may suggest that online presen­ta­tions detract from the personal touch of inter­ac­ting face-to-face. However, advo­cates of online presen­ta­tions would agree that utili­zing Internet tech­no­logy to convey infor­ma­tion is not intended as a complete repla­ce­ment for in-person contact with presen­ta­tion viewers. Rather it brings the above bene­fits and more when face-to-face busi­ness presen­ta­tions are infea­sible due to hefty travel costs. And with the right presen­ta­tion skills and presen­ta­tion tools on the part of the presenter, great rewards can be received from embra­cing a colla­bo­ra­tion tool such as online presen­ta­tion or web confe­ren­cing software.