SUMMARY
A webinar presentation is a fantastic opportunity to communicate important information to a large group of people across locations and time zones simultaneously. Doing so in an authentic and consistently engaging way can be challenging.
Below are five ways to make sure your webinar is a success.
1. BE FOCUSSED ON THE AUDIENCE
Like all good communication, the start point is your audience. This is not about you.
Who are they? Where are they? What does this webinar mean to them? What do you need to do to make sure that all attendees are engaged throughout?
One essential element that should be planned is audience participation. Depending on the number of people joining the webinar you may want to vary the way you are engaging with your audience.
For a webinar to thousands, asking them to “raise their hand” if they have a question is impractical, but they can type their questions into the comment box, or use a separate Q&A function. Then have someone assist you and help pick out the best questions and comments so you can keep focussed on leading the session, avoiding multi-tasking.
Whichever way you decide on the route for engagement, be clear at the start and keep reminding attendees throughout the webinar to drive audience engagement. Then don’t forget to pick up on the points made and questions submitted.
2. BE CLEAR ON YOUR OBJECTIVE
Again, focussed on your audience, be clear on what action you want the webinar to motivate.
What do you want them to do during and after the webinar? What do you want them to think, feel and then do?
With your objective clear, you can host the event with energy and a commitment to be the catalyst to a genuine conversation so that everyone has a chance to engage in a way that will lead to the action you want.
Being clear on your objective will also help you write and plan the webinar in the right way. Start with what you want to say, write out your argument, the information you need to share, even if in bullet point form, before you start designing your slides and visuals.
3. CONTENT
Focus your content on the audience. Depending on your objective, you should be using content that is a blend aiming to inform, influence and inspire. What you are saying is important and should work in partnership with the webinar slides you will use. At no point should you be reading out what is on the screen.
How can you make sure what you are saying is genuinely engaging? Remember that people take in and understand information in different ways so use data, facts, examples but also tell stories and bring points to life with analogies suitable to your audience.
To aid understanding break up your content using chunking, lists of three or story structures. Using simple structures: a chronological flow; problem – solution – benefit; what – so, what – now, what for example, will make what you are saying easier to follow and understand. This also has an advantage for you, as host, giving you a mental model to organise your thinking and keep your focus on the objective.
4. BE VISUALLY STIMULATING
Design your slides so that they are interesting and support what you are saying. As well as having consistency to them, the visuals you use should have an easy-to-follow flow to them so that your objective is achieved without creating barriers to being understood.
Keep your slides simple, use images and diagrams in place of text. Aim to make only one point at a time which is then supported by the slide on screen. And I’ll say again, do not just read out what is on the screen.
It is something all too often over-looked, but eye contact makes a big difference, even on a webinar and even if you are communicating with thousands at a time. You want to be having a conversation with the audience so use the camera and have this at your eye-level, keep your focus and imagine you are talking to an individual person rather than a camera, so it feels to your audience like you are looking them in the eye.
Your lighting is important, test what you will look like in the room you will be hosting the webinar from at the time of day you will be going live. If necessary, invest in an adjustable ring light or get a professional crew in to make sure you get the look right.
Finally, think about your backdrop. We are all used to video calls now but still too many people don’t think about how what is behind them is part of what they are communicating. Make sure your backdrop is suitable for the subject you are discussing and, if in doubt, blur your background.
5. PRACTICE YOUR DELIVERY
Practice your delivery by having a dress rehearsal of the webinar. This is even more important if you are hosting a webinar as part of a team. Record it and watch it back so you can see what being part of the audience is going to feel like.
Be prepared for any question. Practice answering them out loud. Ask yourself what the toughest question is you could be asked. If in doubt, pay for a communication coach to get you properly limbered up.
Aim to be yourself but with 20 per cent extra energy so that you grab and keep people’s attention throughout the presentation. Vary your tone, your volume, your speed of delivery. Slow down, your usual talking pace will be too fast. And use pauses to flag important points and allow what you are saying to be fully understood.
If you are asking people to give up their time to join a webinar then make it worthwhile for them and you. By following these 5 steps you will be well on your way to success. Good luck.