Conducting Webinars – A Problem?

In today’s technology driven world,; webinars are certainly a hot new technology. Webinars are a cost-effective alternative to in-person meetings, and they allow companies to expand their reach, target more people more often, and deliver a compelling, fully branded experience. Webinars and video conferences have almost eliminated person to person meetings and have boomed up the business world.

But giving an effective webinar is not a piece of cake as most of them think. Here’s a typical comment I saw on a blog about e-learning and webinars:

“While I have seen dozens of inspirational or motivational speeches, I can honestly say I’ve never attended a webinar that was anything better than ho-hum. Heck, I’d settle for one that made me feel like it was time well spent.”

So why is this such a problem? Giving an effective webinar requires some unique presentation redesign and technology skills that you don’t necessarily need in a face-to-face presentation. A great speaker in face to face presentation can easily turn into a puppet while giving a webinar if he or she isn’t prepared for the unique challenges and needs of that environment.

Points To Ponder Upon!!!

To conduct an effective webinar there are certain things which needs to be taken care of. Here are some tips to help you pull off a webinar that will get you asked for an encore!

1)      Provide Visual Stimulation – Visual Stimulation is a must. Main points can be presented in a power point or a pdf format. In addition to text, infographics, charts and graphs are an excellent way to make complex information easier to process.

2)      Allow Attendees to Ask Questions – Usually to solve a problem, webinar is conducted. Make sure you allow attendees to ask their doubts and queries and solve them. If you do this step perfectly, you can pull off any webinar.

3)      Duplication is a No – There is nothing more irritating and disengaging then a duplicate content like speaking what’s already there in the presentation. Make sure you keep your audience engaged.

4)      Avoid Sheet of Paper – Avoid reading from a sheet of paper as it frustrates the listener to the core. Keep eye contact with your listeners and avoid bookish language.

5)      Use Headphones – Invest in a quality set of headphones as laptop and PC tend to incorporate a lot of background noise and produce an echo sound which can be very irritating.

6)      Care about Time – One great thing about webinars is that they are time efficient. Make sure you adhere to the time limit. Start on time as well as finish it off on time.

7)      Do Walk Around – If the audience sees you presenting during the webinar, rather than giving a static impression by staying seated, introduce a dynamic element by getting up and walking around like you would in a face-to-face presentation

Using these simple tips I can assure you that you can pull off any webinar unless there is any major hiccup. Webinars is the next big thing and will be very handy in future. So the next time you conduct a webinar, keep these tips in mind and trust me you will be more confident, elegant and will finish it off getting a loud applause from the audience.