How to make webinars better?
April 4, 2013 9:30 AM Subscribe
Can't Meet In-Person, so how do I execute the best series of Webinars possible for participants?
I've had to cancel a four day in-person meeting for participants that work in the same field, spread across the country, who rarely meet in-person, but really need to meet to collaborate and share best practices. As a work around, I will be executing webinars that will cover the sessions/information that would have been covered at the in person meeting. Because I'm losing the advantage of face to face interaction and rapport building that in-person meetings create, I want to make these webinars as interesting and interactive as possible, knowing that the in-person advantage is gone, how do I make the absolute best of a webinar setting? Please share your insight/advice on how to execute good webinars?
These webinars will have the capability of using shared screen, polling, instant messaging and we'll be using a teleconference bridge. Suggestions ranging from how to give a good presentation over a teleconference bridge to making the webinar engaging, interesting and helpful to our participants would be really helpful. Also any blogs, websites, past askmefi, books that address this topic would be appreciated as well. Thanks for your help hivemind!
I've had to cancel a four day in-person meeting for participants that work in the same field, spread across the country, who rarely meet in-person, but really need to meet to collaborate and share best practices. As a work around, I will be executing webinars that will cover the sessions/information that would have been covered at the in person meeting. Because I'm losing the advantage of face to face interaction and rapport building that in-person meetings create, I want to make these webinars as interesting and interactive as possible, knowing that the in-person advantage is gone, how do I make the absolute best of a webinar setting? Please share your insight/advice on how to execute good webinars?
These webinars will have the capability of using shared screen, polling, instant messaging and we'll be using a teleconference bridge. Suggestions ranging from how to give a good presentation over a teleconference bridge to making the webinar engaging, interesting and helpful to our participants would be really helpful. Also any blogs, websites, past askmefi, books that address this topic would be appreciated as well. Thanks for your help hivemind!
I have attended a lot of crappy webinars. This was mostly because the presenter seemed to forget that they were actually presenting! Make sure you're not just sitting at your desk speaking in a monotone into the phone. If possible, stand up and walk around, gesticulate, do all the things you would do in a presentation because it will come across in your voice.
posted by radioamy at 1:22 PM on April 4, 2013
posted by radioamy at 1:22 PM on April 4, 2013
If possible have a live audience there as well. They don't have to be "official" participants, or even visible to the official ones, but having even one real person there to give non-verbal feedback is invaluable. It will also tend to improve your delivery since you'll be speaking to a person and not a screen.
Also (if possible) see if you can check in, one-on-one, with the participants for a few minutes before and/or after the webinar. This will make the whole thing much more personal.
posted by Ookseer at 5:57 PM on April 4, 2013
Also (if possible) see if you can check in, one-on-one, with the participants for a few minutes before and/or after the webinar. This will make the whole thing much more personal.
posted by Ookseer at 5:57 PM on April 4, 2013
It will help if you can find a way to get participants to consciously reengage with the webinar every X minutes (5 to 15, depending; 20 max). Polls can work, if the webinar provider you're using offers that. Or ask questions and then go round-robin around the group getting people's responses. "Alice, how is your site handling that? Bob, what about yours? Carla, I think you said earlier you were doing something interesting in this area?"
From experience, it is wayyy too easy for folks to tune out and start browsing the web in another window or doing their filing or something like that. You need to keep them checking in and engaging with you/the group/the material regularly.
posted by Lexica at 9:17 PM on April 4, 2013
From experience, it is wayyy too easy for folks to tune out and start browsing the web in another window or doing their filing or something like that. You need to keep them checking in and engaging with you/the group/the material regularly.
posted by Lexica at 9:17 PM on April 4, 2013
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posted by xingcat at 10:15 AM on April 4, 2013