My Favorite Tech for Better Virtual Presentations
If your business depends on your ability to get your message out to your audience, then how you show up matters. You have to feel rested and confident.
One of the things I’ve noticed in working with transformational coaches is they’re often intimidated by audiences on Zoom & webinars. However, a 1:1 or small group call feels natural and even exciting.
It’s important to dig into the fear behind the feeling of intimidation and ask yourself these questions:
Am I afraid of looking foolish if the tech fails? (Tech fails all the time)
Am I afraid of looking unpolished because my gaze is slightly off due to the camera angle?
Am I afraid of losing my place and looking lost?
Show up to serve
This is almost the only rule you need to follow. Show up to be fully present, and you will work through tech glitches, find you know your content, laugh at yourself if you make a mistake, and your audience will feel your authenticity come through.
But if you want to get fancy…
Having a leveled-up Zoom background and camera can do a lot to instill trust and create a lasting impression.
I’ve done my version of perfecting my camera set up to be able to make full audience eye contact on Zoom. I always get a lot of questions about my setup, so here’s what I use to run my Zoom events, webinars, and meetings for myself and clients.
Please Note: Some of the links below are affiliate links—if you purchase through them, I may get a kickback. These are things I’m actively using daily and can enthusiastically recommend.
Computer
This is the main computer that I’m running. It’s practically silent, great for streaming, and doesn’t cause me any headaches now that Adobe software is running natively on the silicon chip vs. Rosetta 2 as it had been before.
This tiny pink dongle plugs into my computer and makes my iPad a flippable display for the teleprompter. The flippable display is key because I’m running a teleprompter that needs a reflected surface to display content properly.
And before anyone runs out to stop me, I know about Apple’s Sidecar feature. It’s not enough right now, too laggy in responsiveness.
This tool connects my computer and my camera, and I’ve never had a problem with it working between the Mac & Sony camera.
Teleprompter
Glide Gear TMP100 Teleprompter
I don’t even really use this as a teleprompter, and I use it as a second screen solely for Zoom calls. When you put the Zoom call window on the teleprompter and look at the gallery view or speaker view, you have a much more natural and aligned eye contact than without it.
If you’re running PowerPoint and sharing your screen, you can put the Speaker Notes view on the Teleprompter to access speaker notes while making eye contact easily.
Computer
I love this iPad. It’s heavier than my old iPad pro, but the size is perfect for getting maximum screen resolution with the teleprompter PLUS it’s an iPad, so you can use it for all number of iPad things.
Sony A6400 Camera with 16-50mm lens
I’m so impressed with this camera. The quality looks professional and polished. It’s easy to use and very popular, so when you have a question on how to work with it, Google and YouTube are your friends in finding an answer. I needed to figure out how to run a clean HDMI output and found help within one second of searching.
This attaches the teleprompter with the camera and iPad to my desk.
Supplementary equipment
I’ve dabbled in photography enough to know that the quality of light most enhances the quality of photos/videos on the screen. These lights are customizable for color temperature, programmable into the Streamdeck for easy on/off, and never make my face too hot.
Ideally, you want to be evenly lit on both sides, which is why I have two Keylight Airs in my set-up.
This is my second camera. It’s easy to switch cameras in Zoom, and this one’s great for when I’m doing screen walkthroughs because it’s right on top of my monitor and easier to make eye contact periodically. Since I’m running a MacMini, my computer doesn’t have a built-in camera. This camera is a surprisingly good value for the price & range.
This guy is quite hefty but packs a huge vocal punch. I enjoy recording my voice because it makes my tones feel deep, crisp, and delightful. It needs an interface to run—I use this one which works for my purposes.
Besides being a sweet piece of eye candy and my daughter’s favorite toy on my desk, this is an easy way to program all the shortcuts you need for your daily workflow or running a virtual production.
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Interested in how we can help you level up your next virtual event?
You can always book a 15-minute call to see if it’s a good fit.
