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If you need to deliver information to a group of people in different locations and a face-to-face meeting isn’t possible, a webinar may be your next best option.
If you’ve ever participated in a webinar or web meeting, you may have been less than impressed. The challenge is that many novice presenters treat the virtual session just like a regular in-person meeting. Because you can’t see anyone you’re communicating with, there is a physical disconnect that’s difficult to overcome. So while the presenter keeps talking just as he or she would in a traditional meeting, you may lose interest, start looking at your e-mail or surf the web.
If you want people to participate in your virtual meetings and get the most value out of it, keep these three guidelines in mind:
1. Provide clear and decisive information.
Because you must immediately grab your attendees’ attention, it is crucial that you start strong. This means that in the first three minutes of the session, you should provide attendees with a clear outline of why they should listen and you will cover.
After your title slide, which features your name and the title of the presentation, the very first slide of the presentation should state the goal of your web session. Answer the question, “What’s in it for them?” What value will your audience receive today? For example, if you are conducting a web session to prepare your team for the National Convention, the first slide would provide bullet points such as:
· Educate and Excite Sales Force: New Products
· Provide Competitive Pricing for Customers
Your next slide should highlight the topics you will cover. For example you might say, “To plan for the convention, we are going to cover the following three points (state the points).” You may state who will present each topic along with the length of time you will spend on each topic.
The last part of the first three minutes is to provide guidelines for the web session. This would include, telling your attendees to mute their phones and letting them know that you’ll be asking for their feedback via chat and polls.
2. Present information in small chunks.
When you begin the body of your presentation, deliver information in “chunks.” Unlike a traditional meeting where you give a lot of detail, you want to give short, decisive statements.
You also want to be noticeably repetitive. That is, you need to restate your topic and its value frequently. Why? Because people are simply listening and are not paying close attention as they would if you were standing in front of them.
3. Use your vocal energy to keep the audience interested.
Your voice will need to be strong and energetic. If you stand while presenting your webinar it will be easier to project your voice. To keep your energy up, keep your hands free while communicating. The more your body gets involved, the more energized your voice will be. If you can have someone in the room with you while delivering the webinar, you can have some live interaction to keep your energy high.
As you talk, try to have a verbal connection with your participants. Use their names and include them in examples. After you emphasize a key point, take a breath and then be silent. Allow people time to process your information. Try not to use a speaker phone as this may make you sound far away or create an echo for the listeners.
When you follow these three guidelines for effectively conducting a webinar, you will be on the right track to delivering a dynamic communication keeps your audience engaged.
Webinars that Wow™
To learn more about how to conduct a webinar, join this month’s FREE Top Mastery Webinar, Webinars that Wow. You will learn: tips to adapt your content into a webinar; how to incorporate guidelines for focused participation; which interactive tools are best to engage your audience; introduction to our Webinars that Wow organization format, techniques to maximize your voice; and much more.
Join me July 22 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern for our FREE TOP Mastery Webinar, Webinars that Wow. Click here to learn more about this content-packed TOP Mastery Webinar.
Interested in learning even more?
Check out our upcoming Webinars that Wow Public Program. This in-depth virtual training program includes four 90-minute sessions with personalized coaching of volunteers in the four critical components for webinar success: voice, content, interaction and how to deliver your completed webinar. The next session starts August 18 and space is limited. Click here to learn more.
