Posted on April 3, 2020
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Conferences
Event Management
We’ve all been there. You register for what sounds like a great webinar on a topic you’re highly interested in. But on joining, your heart sinks when a few slides in you’re already half asleep listening to the presenter drone on...
If you’ve experienced this, you’re not alone. A survey by WorkCast revealed that nearly 50% of attendees agree webinars are least enjoyable when the presenter is poor. Don’t be that presenter!
Today, we’re here to help you with some tips to help you get to the top of your game when it comes to creating and delivering webinars that are genuinely engaging. Take on these points, and your audience will be coming back for more.
Top 7 Webinar Tips
1. Keep slides concise, simple and engaging
When it comes to creating your slides, it should be the last step, not the first. That’s according to TED’s UX Lead Aaron Weyenberg, a master at creating gripping presentations. Making your slides last lets you concentrate on developing your narrative, the true crux of a great presentation. The slides are just the icing on top.
Key things to remember when creating slides
Strip text back as much as you can – less is more
Use a consistent look and feel – keep to a colour palette, and use company branding
Use simple, conceptual images that depict your story
Avoid overdoing the animations and effects.
2. Be your best, most vivacious self
It’s easy to forget, but you need to inject a little zest when presenting your webinar. That doesn’t mean you have to talk like a game show host. But making an effort to put a smile in your voice and bring your energy will go a long way.
When you’re passionate and bubbly, it makes a tremendous difference to your audience’s experience and their ability to engage with what you’re saying!
3. Prepare thoroughly with plenty of practice runs
Just as for public speaking or job interviews, it’s essential to practice your presentation if you want to nail it on the day. Practicing helps you iron out any kinks and get familiar with talking through your script naturally.
The more you practice, the more comfortable you’ll feel. And when you’re comfortable you can let the passion shine through!
4. Ask colleagues for feedback on where you could improve
While we’re on practising, you might want to ask a few trustworthy colleagues to sit in for your run through. Ask them for their honest advice on any areas that could be improved or parts you could cut down.
5. Share stories and examples to bring your topic to life
As humans, we’re naturally wired to love stories. Parables about people overcoming challenges against the odd or failing through foolishness resonate far more than facts do. Use this to your advantage.
Wherever you can provide interesting real examples of successes or mistakes to illustrate what you’re saying, do! It makes it far easier for your listeners to connect with your points.
6. Be creative in how you present
Don’t forget, there are no real rules to what you can do in your webinar. Why not start and conclude with some fun intro music? Or jump to a short YouTube clip to demonstrate a concept?
The sky is the limit on what you can include to bring it to life. Think memes, visuals, graphs, music, videos, polls, short quizzes and live demos.
7. Survey your audience for feedback… and learn from it!
When setting up your webinar, make sure you don’t miss the chance to include a short survey at the end to gauge how you went. Was it too long, too brief or just right? Was the presentation engaging? Ask them what they loved and what could have been better.
It might be scary to open the results, but if you are prepared to listen, it will seriously fast track your journey to becoming a webinar rock star! Get out there and get presenting!
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