Once you have optimized the effectiveness of your PowerPoint presentation, you’re ready to conduct an online presentation or host a web conference. InstantPresenter is an easy to use and effective web conferencing service. Here are some tips to get you started so you can conduct the most effective online meetings you’ve ever had!
Uploading your presentation
Upload your PowerPoint presentation to your account. To do this, access your account manager by logging in to your account and you will automatically be taken to your account manager. From here you can add a new presentation. Once a presentation has been added, you can make changes to the presentation by making any changes to your PowerPoint presentation file and then uploading the file again. Click on ‘add presentation' and fill out the information to help you better manage your presentations, such as the name of this presentation. Be as descriptive as you'd like for greater clarity to your audience and yourself.
Send an invitation to your audience
Determine when you want to conduct your meeting and invite your audience members using that information. In the account manager, you will be able to send out an invitation using the template provided. This will give you an idea of the number of participants before you purchase your session so you only pay for what you use.
Purchase a session
The next step is to purchase a session. Now you have determined the size of your audience and the length of time you will need to conduct your online presentation or online meeting. Use this information to purchase the session that’s right for you. Paying for the session is easy. Simply go to the slideshow you want to present and click on the ‘purchase session’ tab. Once you have paid for the session, you have the option of starting the presentation immediately or you can wait until a designated time and return to your account manager screen to start the presentation.
Now you’re ready to present!
Starting your online presentation
The time has now arrived for you to conduct your online meeting. You may want to preview your slides to guarantee the presentation is how you want it before starting your session. Waiting for people to join your meeting shouldn’t cut into your meeting time! We have given you an extra 15 minutes before and after the presentation to account for waiting for the audience to log in and then to finish any questions at the end of your presentation. With that in mind, start your session a little early and wait for your audience. They will be unable to join the presentation until, you, the presenter, have started the session.
When you’re ready to present, simply click on the start session button and you will be taken to your slideshow URL. When the session is first started, you will be asked whether or not you will allow your microphone and web cam to be used. If you would like to use these features, click allow. If not, deny it. InstantPresenter is most effective when these tools are used and you may have already paid for a session using web cam so be sure to accept.
Near the upper left part of the screen is a button to start the session. When you want to start the presentation, simply click on this button and your presentation has begun. The amount of presentation time remaining will be shown so you can monitor your time during your meeting. With the extra 15 minutes before and after the presentation, you have time to have everyone join the meeting as well as finish with any questions the audience may have. The web cam will be in effect at this point so you may want to wait for people and cover your web cam until you’re ready to present.
Presentation Tools
In the People Online tab, you will be able to monitor who is currently attending the session. This will help you start your session on time and will benefit your audience so they don't miss out on any of the presentation. See when people have joined the session and when they leave with this roll call tool.
Encourage people to collaborate and ask questions with the online chat and annotation tools provided by InstantPresenter. As a presenter, you can enable or disable these tools at your discretion. There is a disable chat tab as well as clear chat tab. Once the chat has been disabled, it can easily be enabled again. Every participant will be able to view the chat session.
The presenter also has the option of enabling or disabling audience participation of the whiteboard. They can also clear it at any time. To create a whiteboard, simply click on the whiteboard tool on the left of the slideshow screen and it will appear over the current slide. To go back to your presentation, click on the whiteboard tool again and you will return to the last viewed slide.
NOTE: If you do not clear the whiteboard before returning to your slides, the notes made on the whiteboard will now be shown on the slide within your slideshow until you clear the white board.
Take advantage of the web cam tool for a more effective online presentation. Your points will be more clear by being able to have visual enhancements to your presentation. When using the web cam, make sure you are visible in the screen where the presenter is shown. When you have gone to the URL of your presentation but not yet started the session, verify how you will be seen by your audience.
Use the audio to eliminate your conference calls. Before starting the meeting, verify that everyone participating can hear you clearly. Use the extra time allowed before the meeting to adjust the microphone as needed. In the email invitation, verify that the audience members will need to have access to their sound on their computer with headphones or speakers.