Online Education for Students: Zoom Live Presentations

If you are presenting live (synchronously) in front of your class, this page will outline some (1) tips and tricks and  (2) how to screen share a PowerPoint presentation. 

• Always check that your mic is working before you start talking-- the last thing you want is to get thrown off 15 seconds in when someone finally says they can't hear you. Adjust your mic and volume levels as best you can before you enter into a Zoom meeting by using a Test Meeting
• Don't use printed sheets of paper for notes-- flipping and turning these is very loud and will be picked up by any microphone. Use notecards, a second screen, or a single sheet of paper that you don't need to touch
• Practice smiling when you speak-- this makes your voice sound more natural and relaxed, which is more interesting to listen to as an audience member
• If your instructor gives all students "Host" (owner) privileges, you can create Zoom Polls to boost live engagement by asking for an answer to a question 
• Keep your head tilted upward as you speak, so you don't start mumbling and become difficult to hear
• Set up how you want your audience to engage with you at the beginning. Do you want people to use a "wave" or "yes/no" options, or put questions in the chat during the presentation? Are you saving questions for last? Are you going to be asking questions during the presentation that you want answered? Make your expectations clear
• Practice with someone who can give you good feedback (like a librarian, perhaps??) 

There is a great Zoom tutorial on sharing a PowerPoint specifically, because you are able to use a presenter's view if you have multiple monitors. 

Key points:

• The green share button allows you to share what you see with your classmates. Note that they will not see the options bar, and you can drag it anywhere you want to keep it out of your way
• When you choose to share, if you are including any videos or multimedia with sound, make sure to check the "share computer sound" box at the bottom. Make sure to also share an entire "screen" if you want to open multiple applications. If you share only one window, you won't be able to change easily between a web browser and a Word document. 

• On any screen you share, you can also "annotate"-- this means you can circle, check, write additional information, etc. on your screen in a way that others can see. By default, participants are allowed to annotate as well-- so you could leave a screen open for questions, or ask a question, and ask your audience to respond.