Mastering Virtual

Communication
Everything you need to know about creating
impactful content, design, and delivery in our
new world
VIRTUAL COMMUNICATION

Work Hard to
Grab Attention
Getting your virtual audience to focus is challenging.
Virtual audiences often feel overloaded, distracted, and fatigued.
In a 2020 study by Forbes, 90% of participants said they were
significantly more distracted when working from home. As a virtual
presenter who wants results, you need to work even harder to grab
and keep their attention.

It is possible to bring the same kind of experience to a virtual

presentation as you would to an in-person one. Doing so will not only
leave your audience feeling empowered and inspired, it might just
improve their productivity and engagement, too.

2 © 2020 Duarte, Inc. www.forbes.com/sites/vickyvalet/2020/03/12/working-from-home-

during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-what-you-need-to-know/#725e66ca1421
VIRTUAL COMMUNICATION

Empathy Moves People

From Ideas to Action
Message Strategy
Leaders that must influence change

Instead of starting with what you’re going to

say, start with how you want to make your
audience feel. Delivery Story
Delivery that Empathy A story
After many years of creating thousands of presentations, we compels that moves
action audiences
learned that the richness of an audience's experience happens
at the intersection of story, design, and visuals.
At the heart of that intersection is empathy, where you imagine
what people need to hear and how they need to hear it.
Empathy is more important than ever in our virtual world if you
want to motivate your audience and inspire them to act. Visuals
Design that amplifies your message

3 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL COMMUNICATION

Motivate
Your Virtual In this ebook, you’ll learn:

Audience 01 How to determine the 04 How to adjust the way

right virtual Strategy to you speak to improve
set you and your your virtual Delivery
audience up for success
Write, design, and deliver
virtual communication that
How to write virtual How the right Technology
incites action and maintains 02 05
Content that keeps and Setup can optimize
an audience-first focus. your audience interested your virtual engagement
and engaged

How to alter your

03
Visuals for an audience
that’s participating on
their personal devices

4 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

Virtual Strategy
Set yourself and your audience up for success
Never deliver a
presentation you
wouldn’t want to
sit through.
DUARTE'S GOLDEN RULE
VIRTUAL STRATEGY

Before You Begin

Choose the Right Medium Set Expectations Prepare to Collaborate

Email, audio, or video Technology, engagement, goals Tools, discussion, input
The type of message you’re Your audience won’t know what you It’s challenging, but not impossible, to
going to deliver and the amount expect from them unless you tell them. work together virtually. Whether it’s a
of engagement you desire should Guide participants to be involved in presentation or meeting, engaging
determine the virtual medium a way that makes sense for each dialogue and collaborative tools can
you choose. virtual engagement. help you reach your goals as a team.

7 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL STRATEGY

Choose the Right Medium

We believe that the goal of What kind of interaction Tips for Live
Virtual Interactions
any live interaction is to move do you need?
Consider whether audio or
an audience to think, feel, or video makes more sense.

do something differently. If no While video is often the

preferred method for
Simple Complex
audience participation is interaction, too many
video calls can result in
required, earn some goodwill Video Collaborative
audience fatigue. Consider
Message Document
by sending a video or email using a blend of technology
(email, audio, and video)
update. Email Video Call
without sacrificing
communication integrity.
Audio Call
Think about what your
Rich Media Theory
Rich media (i.e. video conferencing) audience needs to absorb
supports more complex interactions your message and choose
among virtual teams than lean media the technology that gets
(i.e. email) does. them there.

8 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL STRATEGY

Set Expectations
To achieve maximum effectiveness, Expectation-Setting Checklist
tell your audience what you expect Agenda: Did you send one ahead of time?
from them, and practice what Or include one in your meeting invite?
you preach. Meeting Prep: Is there pre-read material? What
Clear expectations reduce uncertainty should participants do if they can't get through it?
and anxiety, and that’s something everyone Should they still attend or send you feedback offline?
in your audience will appreciate. Showing up: Is this a video call or is audio okay?

Interaction: Should people unmute to interrupt you?

Or post questions and thoughts in the chat box?

Feedback: Can people make virtual annotations on

the slides you are showing?

9 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL STRATEGY

Prepare to Collaborate
Collaboration tools can help you facilitate
Poll Breakout
brainstorming and form deeper connections Annotate Chat
between all participants.
Many meeting platforms have built-in collaboration tools with live
slide annotations, quick polls, and digital whiteboards. You can also
move meetings forward by asking participants to fill in a shared
document so they can see everyone’s contributions live.

If collaboration tools aren’t available to you or they aren’t your style,

consider opening up your virtual engagement for some good old-
fashioned discussion. Ask questions and promote others’ ideas. Keep
it free-flowing and organic, not overwhelming.
Only use collaboration tools when
The method isn’t as important as the inspirational work you create they provide value, and when you
together; it’s simply the canvas with which you explore those ideas. understand how to use them.

10 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

Virtual Content
Keep your audience interested and engaged
“
Creating great ideas is what we
were born to do; getting people
to feel like they have a stake in
what we believe is the hard part.

NANCY DUARTE
VIRTUAL CONTENT

Writing Best Practices

Keep It Concise Make Your Use Stories Implement Offer Helpful

Intention spans are short in Intro Memorable to Engage Contrast Transitions
a virtual setting. The length Grabbing their attention Stories, more so than Mixing the type of content Connect the dots for
of your engagement, as
up front can be the key to straight information, keep you present virtually will your audience to help them
well as the length of your keeping it throughout your audiences focused and help your audience pay follow along from beginning
sentences, will impact virtual engagement. interested. Implementing attention. Their ears will to end. Transitions ensure
your audience’s ability to
stories into your virtual perk when they hear that each segment of your
focus.
communication is likely to something unexpected.. message is seamlessly linked.
hook them.

13 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL CONTENT

Keep It Concise
Keep your presentation—and your
sentences—short.
Presentation Length
Work-from-home distractions mean your virtual
presentation must be shorter than 60 minutes.

Choose only the details you really need, and offer

your message more concisely. Your audience will not
only appreciate getting time back, they’ll be more likely
to hear everything you say.

Sentence Length
Your audience will absorb your ideas if they’re delivered
in shorter bursts. Write sentences with 10 words or fewer
and remove conjunctions such as “and” and “so”.

14 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL CONTENT

Make Your Intro

Memorable
You have about 30 seconds to capture your
audience’s attention.
Rather than starting with your name, title, and agenda, try writing
something unexpected:
• A stat that wows them
• An interesting quote
• An analogy that ties to your content
• A powerful visual
• A story
Try something immensely different from the cliché introductions they
typically hear, and your audience will choose to listen to the rest.

15 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL CONTENT

Use Stories to Engage

When we can’t be in the room Consider one of these story types for

55 %
your next virtual communication:
together, stories make us feel
A personal story: Audiences connect
as if we are.
well with vulnerability.
There’s a reason we liked bedtime
A customer story: Let the audience of business professionals
stories as kids and ghost stories around see themselves in the shoes of people say a great story captures
a campfire—they’re engaging. They’re that have been there before them. their focus and keeps them
also likely to keep your audience’s
A leadership story: Talk about a time engaged with content
attention no matter how many virtual
distractions surround them. when you faced a similar challenge
and describe how you overcame it.
A vignette: Story snippets are
impactful and sometimes all you need
to make your content feel story-like.

16 © 2020 Duarte, Inc. prezi.com/resources/2018-state-of-attention-report/

VIRTUAL CONTENT

Implement Contrast
Give your audience something they weren’t Types of Contrast in Content
expecting, and their ears will perk.
Solution After
Imagine driving the same route from home to work. The same car.
The same music. The same route. When all the elements are familiar,
you give yourself permission to tune out. But when there’s an un- Problem Before
expected accident, or a detour, or heavy traffic, you’re forced to
maintain attention.
Your audience, especially a familiar one, is on autopilot when you Present Possibility
speak. They expect the expected. But when you surprise your
audience with how you talk about your topic, their ears perk. Past Reality
They lean in and pay attention.

Data Point What Could Be

Story What Is

17 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL CONTENT

Offer Helpful Transitions

Transitions are short Make your transitions natural
Unique, unexpected transitions
and conversational. A slide change
sentences that tie one will grab your audience’s
doesn’t mean your content has to attention and get them ready
content segment to the next— feel separated and siloed. Think of
to hear what’s next.

and they’re critical to your your content as one, seamless,

audience’s understanding. connected story—even when you’re Finally, make your transitions
advancing slides. interesting. Rather than using the
If you don’t connect messages for Helpful transitions answer the same, expected transition, think of a
them, they’re likely to miss something way to build some suspense for your
questions your audience is asking in
important. Be sure to make them next slide by teeing it up before you
their heads. For example, if your
natural and conversational, helpful, click on it. For example, “We’ve been
audience might be asking themselves,
and interesting. waiting for months to reveal this new
“How are we going to implement
that?” your transition could be, “We’re plan to the team, and we’re excited to
going to implement this in two ways.” unveil it now.”
Answering the assumptive questions
are a great way to connect the dots.
18 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.
Virtual Design
Alter your visuals for online viewing
“
Design is not solely about
making things aesthetically
pleasing. Design, at its core,
is about solving problems.

NANCY DUARTE
VIRTUAL DESIGN

Design Best Practices

Limit One Reduce Use Design Create Vary Your

Idea per Slide Visual Noise Consistency Visual Contrast Slide Type
There’s no need to fear Don’t allow your design There’s no question that Similar to virtual content, Humans are wired for
slide count in a virtual to prohibit audience virtual design must contrast rules when novelty. New and different
presentation. Your connection or capture your audience’s designing slides for virtual things capture our
audience’s understanding understanding. Keep attention. But too much communication. Use visual attention. Change a slide’s
is more important. Limit things simple and stick to flash can divert their hierarchy and contrast to design and your audience
each slide to one main the basics to ensure attention. Maintain design highlight what’s most will notice.
point and they’ll easily they’re not distracted. consistency to help your important.
follow along. audience focus.

21 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL DESIGN

Limit One Idea

per Slide Glance
Contrary to popular belief, the number
Media
Processable in 2 seconds
of slides in your presentation does not
necessarily correlate to the length of
your presentation.
You can present for an hour on 1 slide or five minutes
Why does this work?
on 20 slides. We’ve seen both, and the latter is much
Consider the “glance media
more interesting. Busy slides cause confusion, theory”, which states that shoppers
especially if you’re showing charts or tables. in time-limiting environments (such
as grocery stores) can’t give media
When you change your slides often, you limit the more than a quick glance as they
time your audience spends looking at one visual, pass by. The media must therefore
and they’re more likely to stay interested. deliver a message and create a
call to action in 2-3 seconds.

22 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL DESIGN

Reduce Visual Noise

Visual noise describes Visual noise may include too much
information on one slide, bedazzled
anything happening on the Reliable Animations
graphics, or poorly applied animations
slide that prohibits audience- + Appear
and transitions. To ensure your
presenter connection or audience will maintain attention, keep + Fade / Dissolve

negatively impacts your animations and transitions simple + Float

by sticking to the basics.
audience understanding. + Simple Motion Paths
These animations and transitions also + Zoom
tend to be reliable in lower bandwidth
environments. The more complicated
the graphic, the more likely you’ll Reliable Transitions
experience slowdowns when
+ Cut
presenting. The suggestions on the
right are less likely to be affected by + Fade
low-res environments that tend to + Push
accompany virtual platforms.
23 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.
VIRTUAL DESIGN

Use Design Consistency

Color and Fonts Imagery Style Item Emphasis

Titles, headings, and body text should Icon style, photography, and shapes Emphasize the same objects or
each have their own size, style, and should be consistent. Apply a family text across slides. Be selective
color unless you need to cue the style to icons or use closely-resembled about emphasis. If too much is
audience to something special (think icons. For photos, use similar lighting to emphasized on a slide, then nothing
quote or intro slide). Consistency will create a consistent tone. If you are will seem emphasized.
help the audience recognize content using shadows in your shapes, use the
types in relation to other visuals. same shadow across each one.

24 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL DESIGN

Create Visual
Contrast
Direct attention to what matters most.
Your virtual audience is viewing on smaller screens,
so turn up the contrast more than you would for in-
person meetings. That way, your audience will see
what you’re trying to show them.

On each slide, guide their eyes by highlighting

what’s most important. Ask yourself, ”What’s
popping on my screen?” If the part you want to pop 75K
isn’t doing so, adjust your design. Use color, font type
or size, italics, or a graphic that guides the audience’s
eye toward what’s most important.

25 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL DESIGN

Vary Your
Slide Type
Slide variation helps increase your
audience’s interest.
While staying within the same color system is critical
to maintaining visual consistency, your audience will
likely tune out if they see the same type of slide
repeatedly. Keep them interested by varying the slide
background and choosing some photography, icons,
graphics, and text. Changes in slide design alert your
audience to topic changes and can cue them that
something new and important is happening with
your content.

26 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

Virtual Delivery
Adjust the way you look and sound
“
Your idea's perceived value
will be judged not so much on
the idea itself, but on how well
you can communicate it.

NANCY DUARTE
VIRTUAL DELIVERY

Delivery Best Practices

Voice Is Critical Body Movement Matters Audience Connection Rules

Whether on audio and video or audio Body movement counts whether Everything you do during a virtual
only, your voice is a powerful your camera is on or not. Posture engagement should be in service of
communication tool. It’s critical that and gestures can make or break the audience. But there are several
you use it to engage your audience your virtual communication. Make ways to directly connect with them
and demonstrate authority. them impactful and congruent with and make them feel as if you’re in the
your content. room together.
 VIRTUAL DELIVERY

Voice Is Critical
Articulation Vocal Variety Downward Inflections
Work hard to form your words using The best way to put people to sleep Otherwise known as upspeak or
your lips, tongue, and jaw so your on virtual communication is to sound uptalk, upward inflections give the
audience can easily understand you. monotone. You need to add excite- impression you’re rambling, asking a
Open your mouth and round your lips; ment in your voice if you want people question rather than giving a
think of stretching out your words. to pay attention. statement, or not standing behind
Articulation is even more critical if you your own ideas. They can rob you of
Find the most important words in your
speak with an accent or your your authority, especially over the
sentences and really punch them by
presentation contains a lot of phone. To avoid them, speak in short
changing your volume, pitch, or
multisyllabic words. sentences and pause in between.
pausing before and after the word.
PRACTICE TIPS

Observe your mouth during your next virtual Read to your kids using character voices or Place one hand above your head, and on
meeting. If you don’t see much movement, read newspaper headlines out loud, punching the last word in your sentence, bring your
chances are your audience is having a the key word(s) in the headline. Record yourself hand swiftly down to your side to encourage
challenging time understanding you. and notice how you sound. a downward inflection in your voice.

30 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL DELIVERY

Body Movement Matters

When you’re not in person, Gestures Posture
you need to use every tool Effective use of your hands can help Whether you choose to sit or stand, the
you have to connect with audiences understand your content. way you hold your body can make a
Keep these gesture tips in mind: difference to your audience.
your audience. Your hand
movements and how you sit • Make them purposeful and If you choose to stand:
meaningful. They should always Stand balanced and grounded from the
or stand can make a big match your content. waist down. Don’t step back and forth or
difference, whether you’re • Drop them occasionally. sway on your hips – that will distract your
on camera or not. If they’re always up, they will audience.
distract audiences. If you choose to sit:
• Keep them within the frame of your Choose a chair without wheels to prevent
camera. They won’t be impactful if swaying. Sit at the front of the chair with
your audience can’t see them. your feet flat on the floor and your back
upright to avoid poor vocal quality.

31 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL DELIVERY

Audience Connection Rules

How can you make a direct Eye Contact Pausing
connection with an audience Even if the people in your audience To fully grasp what you’re saying,
that’s not in the room with you? don’t have their cameras on, when your audience needs you to pause in
you look directly at the camera, your between your sentences. Give them
Eye contact and pausing will let them audience will feel as if you’re speaking time to process, especially if your
know you care about whether or not directly to them. virtual engagement is through audio
they absorb your message. only, and they don’t have visuals to
Place your eyes in a direct line with
help them understand.
the lens. You may need to raise your
computer to frame yourself well. Note that pauses can feel like forever
moments-of-silence to speakers, but
Arrange your participant windows
to audiences, pauses feel empathetic
closer to your camera lens to help you
and generous.
remember you’re talking to people,
not your computer.

32 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

Virtual Tech
and Set-Up
Choose and use the right stuff
“
When new technology is
introduced, it changes the
way we need to communicate.
NANCY DUARTE
VIRTUAL TECH AND SET-UP

Technology Best Practices

Check Your Mind Your Find the Consider Your Position Your
Technology Visual Appeal Right Audio Background Speaker Notes
Before you start to think Where you position Microphone and The right background, Looking at the camera
about what you’re saying yourself on camera and headphones are whether real or virtual, and your speaker notes
or how you say it, check the lighting in your room important pieces of deserves consideration. simultaneously is difficult,
your tech. You’re at a can make or break your equipment for audience Backgrounds can make but it is possible to get your
huge disadvantage visual appeal. Take note attention. The right audio the difference between a content right while main-
if your audience can’t of both before you ensures a positive listening distracted audience or an taining a connection with
see or hear you well. present or meet virtually. experience for all. engaged one. your audience.

35 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL TECH AND SET-UP

Check Your
Technology Internet Speed Test

www.speedtest.com

Internet Speed Test

Avoid unforeseen issues. Double check your tech

before your engagement.
When it comes to technology, Murphy’s Law rules. If it can fail, it will. S TA R T

So give yourself time to make sure everything is running optimally:

• Test your internet bandwidth; if it’s poor, use an ethernet cord,

avoid using video, or dial in on your phone
• Update your virtual software
• Turn off distracting notifications on your device
• Conduct a test recording to check your audio and video quality

36 © 2020 Duarte, Inc..

Inc.
VIRTUAL TECH AND SET-UP

Mind Your Visual Appeal

Positioning Lighting What Not To Do
Eye contact is critical when it comes to Aim for natural light to hit the front
audience connection. To get it right, of your face.
reconsider your body position in front
If you can’t change your setup, defuse
of the camera. The wrong angle can
bright back or side light using curtains,
not only impact your ability to
blinds, or even a sheet. Too much ceiling Speaker is too low
connect, it can distract your audience.
If natural light isn’t an option at all, use
Your camera height should be eye
a lamp or LED light strips to better
level. (Make sure the audience can’t
front-light your face. Tip: when it
see your ceiling.) Your camera angle
comes to artificial lighting, warmth
should follow the rule of 3rds. (Place
matters. Aim for a light source
your eyes 1/3 of the way down from
between 2700k and 3000k.
the top of your computer.
Anything higher will be too harsh. Speaker is too high Backlit

37 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL TECH AND SET-UP

Find the Right Audio

When communicating Wired headset Laptop microphone
Standard earbuds that If you have a newer
virtually, your voice is the manually connect to your computer and a room that
absorbs sound well, your
most important tool at your phone or computer work
laptop microphone is a fine
great. You can upgrade to a
disposal, so you should recording-quality headset option. If not, your voice
or microphone, but it’s may sound echo-y and
always prioritize the quality probably not necessary. background sound may be

of your audio. Adjust your obvious to your audience.

microphone and your audio

connection to help your
Avoid Bluetooth Avoid conference lines
audience hear you loud Bluetooth-connected audio Avoid connecting your
tends to sound poorest audio through a dial-in
and clear. compared to other options phone conference line.
because adding layers of Audio quality is better
technology reduces audio through your computer.
quality.

38 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

VIRTUAL TECH AND SET-UP

Consider Your Background

Simplicity is key when it
comes to your virtual
background. Whether you
choose a natural setting or a
digital one, your background
can encourage or discourage
audience attention.

Real backgrounds Digital backgrounds

Showcase your personality by curating the wall Don’t let digital backgrounds distract your
space behind you with family pictures, artwork, audience. They can be fun for low-stakes
If your real background is or plants. Personal items offer opportunities to tell internal meetings or to effectively distinguish
cluttered and you must go your audience something about you – you can your team when working with external clients,
digital, choose a simple one.
even mention them as part of your introduction. but for more serious interactions, they can be
The key is to keep it simple. If you can’t curate distracting and unprofessional. You should be
your space, declutter. Hanging simple drapes or the most interesting thing in your video frame,
sheets behind you works well in a pinch. not your background.
39 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.
VIRTUAL TECH AND SET-UP

Position Your Speaker Notes

Place notes directly
If you need to read or reference below your camera

your content during your virtual

presentation, you may have a difficult
time balancing audience eye contact
with looking at your notes. There are
two fixes for that.
Not in the corner
or side of the screen
+ Place a large desktop monitor behind your
laptop, raised to a position where your notes
are behind your laptop camera.
+ Place your notes window as close to your
camera as possible.

Test your setup with a

colleague to ensure they
feel a connection.

40 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

IN CLOSING

Remember to Put
the Audience First
Impactful virtual communication
is rooted in empathy.
If you create your virtual presentation with an
audience-first mindset, you’ll likely overcome the
biggest challenge in virtual communication: grabbing
and holding your audience’s attention.

More importantly, you’ll leave your audience feeling

empowered and inspired. Your empathy might just
spark an improvement in engagement and
productivity across your organization. And that’s
something we can all get behind.

41 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

RESOURCES
Additional resources

Want to Learn More?

at duarte.com

Virtual Design Content Delivery Tech and Set-up

Communication
4 Principles To Live By When Use Contrast in the Middle of To Become A Powerful Step Up Your Virtual
How to Lead Better You Design Presentations a Presentation to Transform Public Speaker Master Setup: Quick Fixes to
Virtual Meetings These Qualities Look and Sound Great
5 Simple Tweaks for Finding the Right From Anywhere
Facilitating Virtual Killer TED Talk Slides Presentation Metaphors for Facial Expressions Matter
Collaboration: Tips Your Audience When Presenting Get More From Your Virtual
and Tricks for Being How to Select the Platform: Confessions of an
Creative Virtually Best Photos for How to Effectively Webinar: From Stage Accidental Platform Expert
Slide Backgrounds Repurpose a Presentation Fright to Stage Presence
Tips to Make the Most for Different Crowds
of Your Virtual 5 Popular PowerPoint How- 3 Speaking Skills
Communication Experience To Questions Answered in How to Write a Great Talk: That Will Help You
One Place Murder Your Darlings Communicate Data
Webinar: Presenting with
Empathy in Virtual Comms

42 © 2020 Duarte, Inc.

Let us help you
communicate your
best, virtually.
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