Moderators are normally the first line of action if a presenter or panelist has trouble with their PowerPoint, camera video, audio — well, anything! Your technical support person is also there, and may be the first to jump in, but this is not always possible. If you are in a Breakout Room, you will be the main “support person” in the room. And even in the main room, there are times when the technical support person is helping someone on the phone or via Chat, and can’t jump in as fast as you can.
You need to be a confident Screen Sharer! If you have not read the Screen Sharing guide for “everyone,” do that now. If you haven’t practiced your Screen Sharing for a while, do it some more — soon. You need to know the process, so you can help your flustered, frustrated presenter.
So by all means, stay calm. If you’re calm, your presenter will be fine. If you panic, expect chaos to ensue!
Presenters are often unable to articulate what they are seeing. “I have a window up, but it’s not what I’m used to seeing.” While it’s helpful to mentally visualize what is going on on your presenter’s screen, sometimes you just have to say, “Let’s start over. Do you have your PowerPoint presentation started?” Yes. “Can you see the green Share Screen button at the bottom of the Zoom window?” No. “Okay, let’s locate the Zoom window, and hover your mouse cursor near the bottom of the window.” Oh! I see the green button now! “Okay…”. You, moderator, take a deep breath. Be calm. This will work.
Be Ready to Take Command
I like to have a folder with all the presenters’ PowerPoints in it, so if a presenter gets too flustered and just can’t get the screen sharing started, I can jump in and say, “Okay, if you don’t mind, I’ll share your PowerPoint slides from my screen. Here they are… just say ‘next’ when you’re ready to advance the slide.”
You should be ready to do that as well… especially if you are in a Breakout Room, since the technical support will be in the main room. See the Moderator’s User Guide on accessing the uploaded presentation content for more information.
Summary
Bottom line: Be a Screen Sharing Expert!!