Public speaking course online | presentation skills courses online
Have you ever felt like your personality vanishes the moment the webcam turns on?
You’re not alone. Online presenting is now a regular part of business life. Unfortunately most people are still figuring out how to do it well. Whether you’re leading a team meeting, pitching to a client, or speaking at a virtual conference, the truth is this: you can absolutely be engaging, clear and persuasive online. It just takes the right skills.
And the good news? These are skills you can learn.
Here are 5 simple ways to improve your online presentation effectiveness this week:
1. Look into the lens
It’s tempting to stare at faces on your screen but to your audience, that looks like you’re looking down. Try this: stick a post-it with a smiley face next to your camera to remind yourself to connect with your audience through the camera. You’ll instantly come across as more confident and trustworthy.
2. Light yourself properly
If your audience can’t see your face clearly, they’ll switch off. Sit facing a window or use a soft ring light. Avoid strong backlighting that casts you in shadow. People need to see your eyes to connect with your message.
3. Ditch the slide deck (sometimes)
Too many online presentations are just screen shares with someone reading bullet points. Boring! Mix it up. Stop sharing your slides regularly so people can see you and connect with you.
4. Use names and questions often
When people hear their name, they pay attention. Try using your audience’s names more often and asking direct questions to keep them involved. “What do you think, James?” works better than “Any questions?”
5. Use the chat
The secret to nailing your next online presentation isn’t more time in PowerPoint, it’s all about engaging people so they pay attention, participate willingly and achieve a result. Think of as many ways as possible to get people to put their thoughts into the chat while the meeting is happening.
The truth is that great online presenters have thought through the best ways to engage online. They use clever linguistics to draw people in and they use their eye contact, body language and engagement strategies to hook people and compel them to action. Maybe you’d like to learn more? Please consider signing up for our public speaking course online? Yes! This presentation skills course online has been tailored to help you present online with influence and confidence.
In fact, many clients say the online version of my presentation skills courses online is even more useful than the in-person one because it helps them shine where it matters most right now: in Zoom/MS Teams meetings, hybrid events, webinars, and digital pitches.
Seriously, if you’d like to feel more confident, persuasive and memorable in your next online presentation we’d love to help you.
Let’s turn “Ugh, another Teams” into “Wow, what a presenter!”
Happy Presenting!
Would you like to participate in our presentation skills training courses?
We have a 26-year proven track record in developing people’s business presentation, public speaking and pitching skills. We will help YOU stand out for all the right reasons!
Master the art of public speaking and persuasive presenting in business with our life-changing public speaking training in Sydney LIVE and ONLINE via Zoom or MS Teams.
One presentation skills training course once is all you need. Become a more confident, engaging and persuasive business presenter & stay true to your natural style! We promise no hand holding and we will not video your presentation for feedback purposes because it’s not necessary for awesome improvement!
©2025 MICHELLE BOWDEN is an authority on persuasive presenting in business. She’s run her Persuasive Presentation Skills Masterclass over 1000 times for more than 13,000 people over the past 26 years and her name is a synonym for ‘presentation skills’ in Australia.
Michelle Bowden is a multi-million-dollar pitch coach to her client list that reads like a who’s who of international business: banking and finance, IT, pharmaceutical, retail, telecommunications plus many more.
Michelle is the creator of the Persuasion Smart Profile®, a world-first psychological assessment tool that reports on your persuasive strengths and weaknesses at work, the best-selling internationally published author of How to Present: the ultimate guide to presenting live and online (Wiley) and her new best-selling book is called How to Persuade: the skills you need to get what you want (Wiley).