The audience was watching Arjun, and I was watching them, the audience on the screen. Their eyes were wide with interest, and I could see his message was going straight to their hearts.

This was a tough audience. It was another team that had been asked many times to collaborate to increase the security of the product for customers. They never thought it was essential and brushed it off as a nuisance.

Arjun had come here for coaching, saying, “I’ve tried everything.”

Watching Arjun’s initial presentation, I could see he was rational, professional, very corporate. But it was not compelling. You might walk away liking Arjun, but not much moved or influenced by him.

Virtual presentations had always thrown Arjun off, especially with people that he didn’t work closely with and didn’t see that often.

We worked on many skills. I’m going to talk about two that really made a big difference. They both have to do with your state of mind.

Arjun was making mistakes that many virtual presenters make. The first is that he didn’t really have the concept that he was talking to REAL people. If he had invited the same people to dinner in his home, he would treat them VERY differently.

The second is that he had the idea that they were “far away”, that he was alone in a room and these people were many miles away.

These two ideas firmly fixed in his mind caused Arjun to come across aloof, detached and cool (as in not warm).

This caused his audience to be aloof, detached and cool (not warm) toward Arjun.

What Arjun was doing is what a lot of virtual presenters do, and that is holding himself back from his audience.

What was missing was a real human connection.

It’s impossible to get things done without a real human connection. It’s vital connect with your audience. And this is especially true in a virtual presentation.

I first worked with Arjun to get the idea that he’s not talking to “strangers”, that he’s talking to real people. As soon as he got that idea, Arjun felt differently about them. He saw them as REAL PEOPLE! Suddenly he cared about them.

You might think, well it’s obvious that he’s talking to real people. But it didn’t FEEL that way to Arjun. Like many virtual presenters, faced with their computer monitor, a camera they’re uncomfortable with, not being able to fully see the other person, and other technology barriers, they forget they’re talking to real people. They forget there’s a REAL PERSON there.

This interrupts their ability to communicate effectively.

The second thing we worked on was for Arjun to get the idea that they were NOT far away, that they were CLOSE to him, that they were right there with him, as close to him as his camera was, no farther. When Arjun got this idea, it’s like he flipped a switch. His body language and his communication became personal, intimate. He CONNECTED with them.

Despite all the technology and distance barriers, with just these two skills, believing they were real people who were right there with him, Arjun created a real human connection. You could feel it all the way to where you are.

When he did that, Arjun’s words flowed. He said, “I was saying all kinds of things I didn’t even prepare to say! They were just coming out!”

He simply KNEW the right words to say.

That always happen with a real human connection. That’s what really great connection looks like.

As I was watching Arjun’s audience, their eyes were wide with interest and I could see his message was going straight to their hearts.

When you make a real human connection with your audience, they listen to you VERY differently. They open their minds and best yet, they open their hearts. Then your words can pour in and really reach them.

Be the cause!