Hybrid Is Just a Platform: 10 Practical Tips to Nail Your Next Hybrid Presentation
- 14 hours ago
- 4 min read
Introduction: From Hating Hybrid to Mastering It
Ask most presenters how they feel about hybrid presentations and the answer won't be flattering. Orsolya Nemes was no different — she genuinely hated them. Divided attention, technology she didn't understand, and an online audience she kept losing. But then she had a realisation: the problem wasn't hybrid. It was her mindset. Once she started treating hybrid as simply a platform — the same as any other — everything changed. In her Present to Succeed session, she shares the toolkit she uses every single time, built around three pillars: strategy, story, and delivery.
Pillar 1: Strategy
Know your wiggle room.
Before you do anything else, understand the specifics of your situation. How many people are in the room? How many are online? What technology is available — and who's managing it? What's your time limit, and what kind of engagement is realistically possible? Your wiggle room defines what tools you can actually use. Work with it, not against it.
Drive your audience from A to B.
Every presentation is a journey. You're putting your audience in a car and driving them from where they are now to where you want them to be. Be specific about both points — and cut every detour in between. If it doesn't move the story forward, it's not serving your audience.
Have a clear message and call to action.
A presenter who knows their subject but has no clear message leaves the audience wondering what they were supposed to do with all of it. Every time someone walks out of your presentation, they should know exactly what to do next. Design for that from the start.
Pillar 2: Story
Be short and sweet — and kill your darlings.
In hybrid settings, your online audience is always racing against their inbox. The longer you speak, the more likely they are to zone out. Cut ruthlessly. Hollywood screenwriters live by the rule: kill your darlings — if something isn't serving the story, cut it, no matter how much you love it. If you're too close to the material, give it to a colleague and ask them what's not necessary.
Use a structure your brain can follow.
Orsolya presents a framework rooted in brain science: a clear beginning, middle, and end, with three main points at the core. The beginning hooks attention, establishes context, and shows relevance. The three main points carry the content. The end summarises and delivers the call to action. Simple, but the number of presentations that skip the beginning or forget the end is remarkable. Don't be one of them.
Pillar 3: Delivery
Level the playing field.
Hybrid is inherently uneven — the in-room audience and the online audience have very different experiences. For smaller meetings, one simple solution: everyone in the room opens their laptop and joins the call on mute. Suddenly, the whole meeting is effectively online. Everybody sees everybody, everybody hears everybody, and the playing field is levelled.
Get a helper — your Donkey, Robin, or Piglet.
If Shrek can have Donkey, you can have a helper. Designate someone as the ambassador for your online audience. They monitor the chat, flag technical issues, and ensure the online participants feel seen and heard. This takes an enormous amount of pressure off the presenter and ensures nobody gets forgotten.
Don't Neglect The Online Audience.
The natural pull in any hybrid setting is towards the people physically in the room — you can see them, read their reactions, feed off their energy. Consciously counteract this. Take the first question from online. Check in periodically. Look into the camera. Let the online audience know you haven't forgotten they're there.
Treat The Camera As An Attendee — And Master The Bus Stop Pose.
Make eye contact with the camera just as you would with a person in the room. To help with this, Orsolya uses what she calls the bus stop pose: weight on one leg, the other slightly bent, which naturally creates a sweeping motion that allows you to move your gaze across the whole room — and back to the camera — without it feeling forced.
Slow Down.
For in-room audiences, there's a lot of information to process — movement, gestures, facial expressions, energy. For online audiences, the voice is primary. Slowing your speech, making conscious pauses, and breathing deliberately makes it easier for everyone to follow — and instantly makes you sound more in control.
Final Thoughts: Master the Platform, Master the Room
Hybrid isn't going away. But it doesn't have to be the source of dread it once was. With a clear strategy, a tight story, and a handful of deliberate delivery techniques, hybrid becomes exactly what it always was: just a platform. And once you master the platform, the message — and the connection — takes care of itself.
Join the Conversation
Which of the three pillars do you find hardest to get right in hybrid settings — strategy, story, or delivery? Let us know in the comments!
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