How to Run a Webinar
By Mike Moran. Filed in Internet Marketing |Tags: Business, Web conferencing
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I do a lot of Webinars–some of them public and many private–and I’ve found a wide range in terms of how well they come off. I am always brilliant, thoroughly professional, and modest to a fault, but the way the Webinar is organized means a lot for the participants. I realized that I’ve never discussed what I’ve learned about Webinars based on the hundreds I’ve participated in, so today is the time to rectify that. If you have to run a Webinar, it might be worth a read.
So, from a veteran speaker, here are my tips:
- Explain who the audience is. Frequently, I’m asked to present to a group, but the organizers of the event don’t know who will attend and what they already know and need to know. Don’t make that mistake with your event.
- Don’t demand a slide template. A lot of organizers demand that speakers use a particular appearance for their slides, but who benefits from that? It takes the speakers a lot of time and the audience doesn’t care at all.
- Test your Webinar software. This is not one for the lowest bidder. I’ve been part of Webinars where the slides wouldn’t advance, where no one could connect, and even one where I spoke off the cuff because the slides couldn’t be displayed at all. Testing the software (and allowing speakers to test ahead of time) prevents the vast majority of the problems.
- Set a schedule and stick to it. Don’t be loosey-goosey about when speakers should start and stop. Tell people what they should do if their segment starts later than expected—should they take their scheduled time or should they try to get the entire program back on schedule?
- Don’t expect speakers to notice questions the listeners type in while they are speaking. Either hold questions to the end, or have a moderator call them out over the audio if need be. Questions are great, but if you don’t split the speaker’s focus, you’ll get better speeches delivered without distraction.
These tips won’t solve all your problems, but they’ll definitely make your Webinar one worth listening to.
Tuesday, October 26th 2010 at 1:36 pm |
great tipis. the last webinar I attended I went a little nuts trying to understand the speakers answers, which were given without benefit if the question – the questions cams in privately! this ws corrected after a bit but for a while it was like hearing only one side of a cell phone conversation.
So I suggest another tip – the speaker should let the audience know how and why to use the q&a/chat channel and voting buttons during the meeting. Questions on-topic will benefit the group and should be shared.
Tuesday, October 26th 2010 at 5:30 pm |
Excellent tip, ejly. You’re asking for the Webinar equivalent of repeating the question asked from the audience at an in-person event. A good job for the moderator, because speakers often forget out of nervousness or inexperience.
Wednesday, October 27th 2010 at 6:42 pm |
I’m about to do a series of webinars, this couldn’t be more timely. Great, tips, Mike, thanks.
Wednesday, November 3rd 2010 at 3:49 am |
Hi,
As someone who hosts webinars, I thought you’d like to know about my website that launched in March. WebinarListings is a central portal for upcoming webinars (or really, anything that is virtual and scheduled) in any area of interest, around the world. You can list your webinars on our site for free, or upgrade to a Featured Listing which includes additional promotion (email, RSS, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). It’s a great way to find new participants for your webinars.
We are currently running a promotion for new hosts to upgrade to Featured at no charge, so I’d like to invite you to add your webinars to the calendar this week! http://www.webinarlistings.com/how-to/webinar-hosts/#FreeTrial
I’d be curious to hear your thoughts.
-Rachel Levy- (@WebinarListings)
Thursday, November 10th 2011 at 3:13 pm |
Great tips on how to run a webinar!This will help you to have a good interaction with their your audience.