How to Successfully Deliver Online Presentations to Remote Audiences

5 min readDec 5, 2024

In the digital age, presenting online has become a common and effective way to reach large audiences without the need for everyone to be in the same room. Online presentations allow presenters to share their slides, communicate in real-time, and engage with participants from different locations around the world. Whether for business meetings, educational webinars, or public talks, knowing how to present effectively online is key to ensuring that your message is received clearly and professionally.

The Two-Step Process for Delivering a Remote Presentation

Delivering a presentation remotely involves two essential steps:

Inviting the audience to take part
Presenting the material to the audience

Let’s break down both of these steps to ensure a seamless and successful virtual presentation.

Step 1: Inviting People to View Your Online Presentation

The first step in presenting online is inviting your audience. After all, a presentation without viewers lacks purpose. For a smooth and efficient invitation process, it’s important to set things up correctly.

How to Invite Participants

To invite people to your online presentation, follow these simple steps:

Open your presentation on the online platform you are using, such as Zoho Show.
Copy the URL provided in the dialogue box and share it with your audience. You can also input email addresses directly to send invitations.
Customize the invitation message: Zoho allows you to add a personalized message to your invite, making it easier for your audience to know when the presentation will take place. You can also remind them of the presentation time and any specific instructions. Just be mindful that the message box allows for only 250 characters.

Once you’ve added all the recipients to your invite list, simply click Send. This will notify your audience via email, providing them with a direct link to the presentation. The recipients will be able to access the presentation by clicking on the link and logging in with their name.

One of the advantages of this system is that you won’t need to worry about attendees arriving early and viewing your slides before the presentation begins. The presentation will only start once you, as the creator, decide to begin.

Sending Reminders

Not all participants may attend on time, so it’s useful to send reminders. Zoho Show makes this easy with its Re-Invite feature. If someone hasn’t joined by the time the presentation begins, you can click the Re-Invite button to send them a quick reminder. This ensures no one misses out on your presentation.

Step 2: Delivering the Presentation to Your Audience

This step is where things get interactive.

Starting Your Presentation

After logging into Zoho Show and opening your presentation, click on the Remote button and select the Start option. This will activate the presentation view. As the presenter, you’ll see the presentation on your screen, while your audience will be able to see it on their own devices.

Interaction During the Presentation

Zoho Show provides several tools to enhance your presentation experience:

Participants List: On the left side of your screen, you’ll see a list of all attendees.
Chat Window: A chat window will appear below the participants list, allowing you to communicate with the audience in real time. This can be used for answering questions or providing additional information.
Hide or Show the Participants and Chat Windows: If you prefer a cleaner presentation view, you can hide the participants list and chat window by clicking the right-pointing arrow. The audience also has the option to hide these windows on their own screens.
Control Buttons for the Presenter: As a presenter, you’ll have access to several features that are not available to the audience. These include:
End Presentation: You can end the presentation at any time by clicking the button that stops the presentation for both you and your viewers.
Keyboard Shortcuts: These allow you to quickly navigate through the slides or jump to the beginning or end of the presentation.
Notes: If you’ve included notes in your slides, you can choose to display them only on your screen while keeping them hidden from the audience.
Share Your Desktop: If you wish to demonstrate something on your computer beyond the presentation slides, Zoho allows you to share your desktop with viewers.

Exiting the Presentation

Participants can exit the presentation by clicking the upper-right “X” button to close their browser window. If a participant exits the presentation before it concludes, their name will no longer appear in the participants list.

Making Your Presentation Public

Once you’ve delivered your presentation, you can make it publicly available for anyone to watch at their own convenience.

How to Publish Your Presentation Online

After your presentation, Zoho allows you to publish it online so that it’s available for anyone to access.

In the Make Public dialogue box, select the appropriate options. You can choose to automatically re-publish your presentation whenever you make updates, or add it to Zoho’s public presentation list.
Click Make Public to finalize the process. Your presentation will now be available to anyone with the link.

You’ll be provided with a URL link to the published presentation, which you can easily share with others via email or embed in a website. This means that even people who couldn’t attend the live presentation can view it at any time.

Embedding Your Presentation on a Website

If you have an existing webpage, you can embed your presentation directly onto the site. Zoho Show provides a snippet of HTML code that you can copy and paste into your webpage’s HTML editor. This allows your presentation to be viewed seamlessly within your website, providing an excellent way to showcase your content to visitors.

Managing Your Published Presentation

Once your presentation is online, you have full control over its visibility. If you decide that you no longer want it to be publicly available, you can change the settings to Hidden Mode, which removes it from Zoho’s public presentation list. Similarly, you can remove the presentation entirely by selecting the Remove Public option.

Conclusion

Delivering an online presentation allows you to reach audiences beyond your immediate physical location, providing greater flexibility and access. By following these steps — inviting your audience, presenting with the right tools, and publishing your presentation for future access — you can create an engaging and professional online presentation experience. Zoho Show’s features make it easier than ever to connect with your audience, whether for a live session or as an on-demand resource.