Webinars are a powerful medium to deliver real-time training remotely to groups of any size and shape.
In fact, most companies consider webinar training as the most time and cost-efficient method of delivering professional training. No matter how busy a professional is, incorporating a 20-30 minute webinar into their schedule shouldn’t come as a major difficulty.
As a presenter, however, you are required to adopt the “host with the most” approach during your webinar session. And here are some of the essential preparation and presentation tips to deploy:
Create Your Webinar Blueprint
It could be a text document or a set of visual boards placed on Trello, which will detail the overall flow of your presentation and highlight the key content points.
Keep The Content Short
Avoid the unnecessary creative flair and cut down on the examples of case studies (those could be given out as supporting downloadable materials). Your webinar presentation should feature straight to the point, actionable content delivered in a crisp manner.
Allocate 20-30 Seconds Per Slide
In-person presentations allow to you to spare up to 2-3 minutes per one slide, yet to keep the web audience engaged the time should be cut down to 20-30 seconds. Some webinar platforms also allow displaying an interactive whiteboard during your session, which you can use to add quick notes/summaries for each key point you’ve just made. This should add additional depth and interactivity to your presentation.
Don’t Waste Time on Explaining Each Detail on the Graphic
Charts, data pies, and other visuals should be an important part of your presentation. However, going into too many details and reading/commenting on each number will likely cause the learner's attention to flounder.
Add smart, short annotations and titles to each graphic to explain why it is showed and what’s the data is all about.
Add More Interactivity
Again, the majority of webinar apps offer additional interaction tools like polls, surveys, and quizzes. Take advantage of those and stir up the learner's engagement through direct participation. Here are some strategies to try:
- Before the webinar starts, create a quick poll to assess the audience’s current knowledge on the subject.
- Play the true or false game with the key statements of your presentation/
- Ask to vote for the questions that you will answer at the end of the session.
Additionally, you may ask everyone to submit their questions for the open-ended discussion after the presentation. You can use those for mining ideas and hone the content for your next webinar.
Always Schedule a Test Run
Even if you are completely familiar with the webinar software, do test everything before you go online. The best option is to invite a colleague or a friend to test-drive your session. Ask them to listen to your speech, give feedback and simultaneously test all the webinar app features including chat, audio, polls etc. This quick practice will also reduce your stress levels before the actual event.
Always Provide Clear Webinar Instructions To The Participants
Don't assume that your audience already knows how the software works. The standard practice is to send out an email with instructions a few hours in advance. Clearly state how and when should they log in using the provided link, give a walkthrough of the key app features e.g. that you'll have real-time polls/chat and plan to have a Q&A session after the presentation.
Give them clear instructions how they can share their comments and questions and when they are requested to do so.
Always Record Your Event
There are a few really solid reasons for that:
- The attendees will be able to review and reference the session later on.
- Learners who didn’t have the chance to attend in real-time or missed some parts will get the chance to access the information.
You can review your performance, analyze the fails and work on further improvement.
When recording webinars just make sure that none of the attendants’ personal data goes into that recording without their consent.
Happy Webinaring!
