Whether you are new to webinars or a seasoned pro, here are 3 truths about hosting webinars for anyone who doesn’t want to learn the hard way:

It takes a team

Webinars are not a one-man production; they take a team. For a seamless webinar, you will need at least three people.

First is your presenter – an obvious one – the speaker and subject matter expert.

Next, you’ll need a moderator to manage the influx of questions and hand-raising from your actively engaged audience.

And, last but not least, your unsung hero, the tech person who is responsible for ensuring that all technical difficulties are navigated smoothly and the webinar goes on without interruption.

Let’s break it down.

Presenters are tasked with the job of giving valuable information with a lot of energy – more so than with in-person webinars. When opening the webinar, questions and comments should be encouraged to maintain engagement from the audience. Questions should be thought out instead of your run-of-the-mill, “How is everyone doing today?” Pose questions like, “Where is everyone tuning in from?” Format questions in a way that makes it easy for people to share their answers.

Pro tip! Be sure to structure the webinar for answers to be filtered through the chat box for management purposes. Hand and body gestures improve engagement by creating authentic and better visuals. By adding these animations, the audience will naturally keep their eyes focused on the speaker. So, get moving! Don’t forget to include visually pleasing slides – this is your time to let the creativity flow with visuals that will stick out and make your audience want to read its content. If you are going to use charts or graphs, keep them to a minimum. If the graph does not enhance your speech, leave it out. Try to shoot for 8-12 slides in your deck so you can focus on engaging with your audience rather than reading from the presentation.  

The next team webinar team member is the moderator. Their job is to answer questions in the chat or review the questions to siphon them to the presenter. Both the presenter and moderator must learn to work closely by practicing their presentation beforehand. Moderators should have a clear understanding of what information is being presented to better assist the presenter. It will be up to the moderator to adjust or combine questions in a way that keeps the audience interested and makes sense to everyone. They can also be responsible for relaying answers to technical questions.

Pro tip! Record the presentation while you practice then play it back and talk about what areas need improvement or what information can be added or subtracted.

The last team member is a tech person. We all know this team member is vital because we have all experienced the dreaded technical difficulties when pressure is high. The tech person’s job is to make sure the platform being used runs without problems. This involves making sure all updates are made, checking to make sure the correct settings are set and making sure all links are active. A test should be run a week before, a day before, and a few hours before each presentation to minimize any possible problems.

Pro tip! Include your tech person in your practice runs to ensure that they know when transitions or other digital changes need to be made during the presentation.

What platform should I use?

When you think of webinars, the blue Zoom logo is probably the first to pop into your head. Did you know Zoom is not the only option for webinars? Zoom is currently the most popular option because it’s free. Although free is fantastic, sometimes paying for a platform may be worth your while. Other options include Crowdcast and YouTube, among many others.

If you’re having a hard time thinking of a what platform you should use, here are the pros and cons for each platform we’ve tried:

Zoom

• Free and paid options are available
• User friendly for attendee but not for the moderator
• Promotes discussion through visuals
• The free option allows up to 100 attendees
• Has the ability to bring an attendee to speak on the stream

Crowdcast

• More user friendly for the moderator
• Only chat is available for attendees
• Has the capability to be viewed on your website – though there will be a slight delay
• Has the ability to host questions and surveys
• Has the ability to bring an attendee on the stream to speak

Youtube

• Free
• Offers the ability to host on your website
• Offers a private link
• Unlimited attendees
• Can use OBS software to customize your stream
• Easy and well known

Don’t be intimidated by webinars. Be sure to explore your options and remember to practice, practice, practice. The more you practice, the more familiar you will be with your content, the platform and the camera. Bring the energy and present your information in a way that is worth the watch. You’ll be a pro in no time!