Live streaming is among the many services we offer from our video production facilities in Nashville. As a live stream video company, we have seen our fair share of events that, while technically successful, turned out to be participant nightmares.
When live streams go bad, it is usually due to the content or those presenting it. Knowing that, here is the number one thing you should never do on a live stream: screen share your PowerPoint slides and then read them to viewers. Nothing good can come from reading a slide deck to viewers more than capable of reading on their own. Trust us. We have seen it time and again.
So Much Opportunity
Live streaming is a fantastic medium that allows companies to do things they could not do just a few short years ago. We learned as much at the height of the COVID pandemic. Unable to get together at annual conferences and trade shows, company representatives gathered around video screens to enjoy virtual conferences. Live streaming made it all possible.
To fully grasp the potential of live streaming, ask yourself this question: what do you most enjoy about attending conferences and trade shows in person? Now ask yourself what you enjoy the least. Answers to both questions should help you better understand how much potential there is in live streaming.
The live stream experience cannot replace everything. For example, a company cannot offer a hands-on demonstration of its products if people are not there to put their hands on things. On the other hand, it is very difficult to interact with a speaker standing on a stage with a remote clicker in his hand and a trendy wireless microphone taped to the side of his face. But in a live stream environment, it is possible to interact with speakers through chat and two-way audio and video.
Boring Defeats the Purpose
Getting back to the idea of putting together a slide deck and then reading it to the participants, a poignant word describing such an experience is ‘boring’. We have all been there. We’ve all attended virtual meetings consisting of nothing more than the meeting leader reading their slide deck. It doesn’t take long to tune out.
Presentation software is a lot like live streaming in that it offers so many opportunities to engage. Unfortunately, far too many meeting presenters don’t really know how to use presentation software. They do not grasp its potential, nor do they know how to use the many built-in tools to create a dynamic and engaging presentation. So instead, they create slides that bore. But boring the participants defeats the purpose.
Adding to the misery is a noticeable lack of public speaking skill. Without such skill, presenters are left with only one option: read slides. The first side goes up. The presenter reads it. Then it’s lather, rinse, and repeat all the way to the bitter end.
Live Streams Should Be Alive
As a live stream company, we look at it this way: the essence of a successful live stream is in the name itself. In other words, live streams should be alive. They should be full of life. They should give visitors not only a reason to tune in, but plenty of reasons to stay tuned in.
If the only live stream you know consists of putting up a slide deck and reading it to viewers, you are missing out on the power and potential of an extremely exciting medium. Let us help you turn things around. We know how to produce live streams that get attention, engage with viewers, and produce genuine results.
