Whenever I present, whether at a conference or at a scheduled faculty development session, I always like to start off with music. My go-to has always been a mix of 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s music so that I can appeal to multiple audiences (Note to self: It may be time to start including some 90s stuff in there, as it has been a few years).
Playing music prior to my sessions helps me to set the mood, keep myself energized, and engages those folks who are waiting for me to start. I can generally look at my audience/attendees and see/hear some of them singing along or nodding their head to the beat.
When we moved to presenting remotely, my “intro music” was the first thing I missed. I hated having the dead space before I started speaking. I wasn’t nearly as energized when I began my sessions and my session attendees may have been less receptive to an abrupt start.
Thankfully, I found out that Zoom allowed me to share whatever music I had playing on my computer (Pandora, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon) with my webinar attendees, without it sounding like it was me pointing my microphone at the computer speaker.
For full details on how to start your Zoom session with music, see my full article at the SHSU Online eLearning Support Blog.