Thom Singer is now a Certified Virtual Presenter.
The meeting world changed fast in March 2020. The cancellation of nearly all live gatherings hit the live events industry without any warning, and for a keynote speaker and professional master of ceremonies / EmCee that meant that all my planned income for the foreseeable future vanished.
Fortunately I have been working with hybrid and virtual conferences since I co-created “The Conference Talk Show” over six years earlier. Also, having presented hundreds of webinars during my time as a speaker helped me prepare for the largest pivot of my career.
But I was not the only speaker suddenly thrust into having to go 100% virtual. It happened to all of us (which might be around 20,000 people who call themselves speakers). Not all had any virtual experience, and some do not want to speak into a camera. While I still will always prefer to present in person, the virtual world is here to stay. Fortunately I like it.
Recently eSpeakers added a way for meeting planners to know if a speaker had any experience in this world by creating the “Certified Virtual Presenter” designation. They created a list of criteria on what it take to provide a good talk through the camera, and formulated a 30 minute live test that a speaker had to pass that showed their experience, professionalism, commitment to the medium, and equipment were all up to client expectations.
Certified Virtual Presenter Information for eSpeakers
Salt Lake City, UT — May 12, 2020 — The shift to online meetings brought on by Covid-19 has highlighted the urgent need for event organizers to find speakers who deliver their content remotely. Many of the old sources for keynoters and trainers do not give any indication of a presenter’s online ability via Zoom, WebEx, etc.
To assist their friends in the event organization business, eSpeakers announces the Virtual Presenter certification. This certification is a basic test of a presenter’s equipment, environment, and skill using remote presentation tools like Zoom, WebEx, etc.
Speakers who display the Certified Virtual Presenter badge on their website and eSpeakers profile have been tested for:
- Solid equipment setup with good microphones, cameras, and lighting
- A presenting background environment free of noise and distraction
- Internet connection speed and quality
- Ability to recover from disconnection and return quickly to the meeting
- Good use of visual aids, and Q&A capabilities with the audience
In addition, each certification provides a short “virtual proof” video of the presenter, recorded by the certifier during a virtual meeting, so that event organizers can see first-hand what they’ll be getting.
The Certified Virtual Presenter standard has support from leading industry organizations:
- Meeting Professionals International
- Smart Meetings
- Senior Planners Industry Network
“The certificate does not speak to the presenter’s content, platform skills, experience, etc.,” says Dave Reed, President of eSpeakers. “There are other industry certificates for that. When you hire a Certified Virtual Presenter you can be confident you’re hiring someone who will look good and sound good online, and is comfortable using the tools. We see virtual presentations being a big part of what speakers are doing in 2020.”
You can see the current list of Certified Virtual Presenters here:
https://www.espeakers.com/marketplace/search-virtual
About eSpeakers
eSpeakers is a 20-year-old technology and marketing company providing the speaking industry with an online platform for connecting audiences with the great presenters. With unique desktop and mobile tools, online contracting and payment, and real-time availability, putting the perfect speaker in front of an audience is easy and safe with eSpeakers.
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Thom Singer is a Certified Virtual Presenter. He has over 15 years experience as a keynote speaker and professional master of cereomonies / EmCee. He has presented over 100 webinars and over 1000 live presentations. Thom has a