As a speaker, when doing a livestream or speaking to a virtual audience, one irrefutable difference that cannot be denied is the lack of responses and feedback from a live audience. Settling for "Thumbs-Up" from a screen and reading witticism from the comments section isn't exactly the same as being on the receiving end of a round of a roaring applause.

When the main form of engagement is reading of the comments section, it does take some form of skill to be able to deliver your intended presentation and respond to an uncontrolled flow of comments. Which begs the question, are livechats a boon or bane during livestreams?

When you ask the virtual audience for a show of hands, it can be heartening when you receive an immediate flood of responses. When you invite viewers to ask questions and you're able to read them of the livechats and respond to them LIVE. These can bring forward organic discussions akin to a physical events which can be hard to come by recently.

On the other hand, the comment section can also be an unvetted space for viewers to leave a spectrum of responses from emotionally charged criticism to trolls bent on disrupting your event. Making it unpleasant for other invested viewers too.

Which do you prefer at your virtual events?