Here we share some best practices for delivering a webinar to keep your audience engaged
Preparation
- Review your current webinar provider tutorials
- Make notes on key points
- Change your setup accordingly
- Create the agenda and background info in Word
- All the webinar services are under huge pressure at present, so info doesn’t always “save” online first time
- Create all your text in Word first, then copy/paste it into the relevant fields online as you set up your meetings
- Set up your “studio”
- Position your camera so there’s a plain background behind you
- You can hang a sheet if needed
- If using Zoom, you can set an image to be your background to hide your own surroundings – see my how-to video at http://tiny.cc/5whnlz
- Position an LED light in front of you & above your head height to illuminate your face
Delivery
Online is different to in-person. Talking to camera can be daunting – just relax!
- Start the webinar 10-15 minutes early
- People need time to connect in, and get familiar with the setup
- Greet people by name if they’ve had to register for the webinar – creates a sense of community and friendliness
- Keep online sessions to less than an hour
- Attention spans are far more limited in front of a screen, and they’re tough on the presenter too!
- Send out pre-reading beforehand … and ask everyone to show up prepared having read through the materials
- Set everyone to Muted by default. Ambient noise can be a problem if everyone has their mic open, so at the start of the meeting ask everyone to keep their mic muted unless they are speaking
- Have your webcam roughly at eye height
- Use books or a stand – otherwise everyone will be looking up your nose – not a good angle!
- If the background is bright, you’ll just be a silhouette, so place a light in front of you and slightly above your head height for best effect
Joe Houghton is an Assistant Professor & Programme Director teaching Project Management at the UCD Smurfit Graduate School of Business in Dublin, Ireland.