HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations (HBR Guide Series)

Build Trust with a Remote Audience

Thanks to easily accessible webinar and teleconference technology, about 80% of corporate presentations are delivered remotely, according to several live surveys I’ve conducted with audiences at large companies in a range of industries. That’s a stunning percentage. Any time technology revolutionizes how we communicate, there’s a trade-off: Communication theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed it out when he proposed his system for examining the impact of new media on society. Use his system to examine remote presenting (figure 6-3), and you’ll see both positive and negative outcomes.

Even though it’s designed to connect people remotely and even globally, the technology isolates participants from human contact. So ...