Even coming out of the pandemic, many presentations have moved online to Zoom, MS Teams, WebEx, or any other of dozens of platforms. As a speaker (or even “just” a top sales person, “C” level executive or consultant) your audience now expects more from your online presentations.
With mimoLive and the Pro Speaker Presentation setup, you and your presentation will stand out with a wow factor.
Overview
These are the key elements to this setup:
- You will use one computer to produce your show and sending the video to the meeting platform or live stream and another computer for running your slides in PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, FotoMagico or any other similar app.
- To ensure maximum audio quality, the setup features an in-ear monitor, so you can listen to questions and comments from the audience, and a high quality headset microphone to minimize background noises and give you maximum freedom of movement.
- A high quality camera and great light will make you look your best.
- mimoLive and a special Pro Speaker template tie it all together.
Two Computer Setup
Your primary computer will run mimoLive. Many Macs are suitable for this role. If you already have one, you need to test if the performance is suitable for your needs. If you plan to purchase a new one, we recommend at least a Mac mini M1.
The mimoLive Mac will have two Blackmagic UltraStudio Recorder 3Gs connected to it. The purpose of those devices is to provide HDMI inputs for the presentation from the secondary computer and the camera.
mimoLive will connect to Zoom, MS Teams and other platforms using what is called a virtual camera. In Zoom (Teams…) where you normally select your camera, you will simply select mimoLive as your camera. Likewise, you will select mimoLive as your “microphone” so that your audience can hear the sound from your slides.
The second computer will run your PowerPoint, Keynote, FotoMagico, Prezi or other slide program. We recommend this to ensure that your presentation will run undisturbed and you can use the presenter view. This can be the same computer you already use for your in-person presentations. All it requires is an HDMI output (or a USB-C to HDMI cable) just like you need when you hook it up to a projector. This computer can be a Mac, Windows PC, iPad, Android device or iPhone, provided that you know how to use it with a projector.
External Display(s) (Optional)
You might want to connect up to 2 displays to the mimoLive Mac. One for larger display of the Zoom call, MS Teams meeting or other to view your audience. The second (optional) display provides a workaround for platforms that don’t support virtual cameras where you can send your video via Screen Sharing.
Camera & Light
The choice for camera depends on many factors and your budget. But most solutions that offer good video quality are probably cameras that output their video signal via HDMI. Because of this, the mimoLive Pro Speaker Setup provides an HDMI input for the camera via the second Blackmagic Ultrastudio Recorder 3G.
Lighting is also very important to make you look good. It is best if you have complete control over light. This means you should make sure that you can black out windows and do not use household lights but professional studio light. In many cases, a strong, very diffuse LED light source is a good option. Use a big ring light or a large light diffuser.
Microphone and Headphones
The most important aspect of your presentation is the audio quality. How your voice sounds is the primary factor that determines if your audience likes and believes you.
Many people are using video conferencing platforms in “speakerphone” mode. This works because the platforms are employing technology like echo cancellation and noise reduction to remove unwanted side effects. Echo is created when your microphone can pick up the output from your loudspeakers. Background noise can be things like fans or AC.
However, the price you pay for those techniques is a vastly reduced audio quality. This is notable for example if your presentation contains sound and music. Music is really messed up by the echo cancellation. If you want to listen in (“monitor”) the audio from your presentation, not using headphones will let your audience hear the audio twice.
The only way to guarantee great audio is to use a good microphone and to wear headphones.
Many professionals are concerned that wearing headphones will make them look unprofessional. If you’re concerned about this, buy in-ear monitor gear. Those headphones are practically invisible.
mimoLive Pro Speaker Presentation template
We’re currently working on a mimoLive template to support this setup.
Pre-Flight Checklist
Before every presentation, perform the following steps to make sure your setup is working correctly.
- Set up your equipment and connect all the cables. If you’re doing frequent presentations you might want to consider a permanent installation which removes a lot of points of failure.
- Make sure there is video from the camera and that you can see the screen of the Presentation Computer. You may have to change the display settings on the Presentation Computer to get the desired video.
- If your presentation slides have sound, you need to set up the Presentation Computer to play the audio over the HDMI output. Consult the manual of your system on how to do this.
- Verify that the audio is showing up in the mimoLive template. This is the most common pitfall.
- It is always a good idea to reboot the mimoLive Mac before an important presentation, especially when using the mimoLive Virtual Camera.
- Make sure mimoLive and your document are open before you launch the video conferencing platform app or website to make sure the Virtual Camera is recognised.
The mimoLive manual has additional information on how to connect mimoLive with Zoom.
Equipment List
- mimoLive Mac: We recommend at least a Mac mini M1 if you’re purchasing a new computer.
- mimoLive Studio license
- Presentation Computer: Can be any Mac, PC, iPad, iPhone or other device that is capable of playing your presentation and has a way to output it via HDMI.
- Blackmagic Ultrastudio Recorder 3G (2x)
- Headphones
- Microphone
- Camera with HDMI output
- Various cables
If you want to flatten the learning curve, get advice on equipment purchases or create your personal mimoLive template to fit your needs, One on One coaching is available for purchase.
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