Preparing for an Effective Webinar

by Kevin Smith Author

Decades ago, it would be unthinkable to broadcast or even record all but the most prestigious, expensive events. Now, with the internet, more and more events are streamed over the internet, from concerts to performances to household cats. In professional fields, internet broadcast has popularized the "webinar," a seminar able to be distributed worldwide to various attendees, from webcast studios here in New York City, or even from your own office. Online meetings like these, though, have the added benefit of back-and-forth interaction; while exciting and incredibly useful, quirks like these can make webinars complicated and difficult to set up, and as many of us know, they can be plagued by technical errors. Follow these tips to help make your own webinars run smoothly.

Content Is King

Don't get bogged down in fancy technical details: this is a professional function, and your audience will be most interested in the information being presented. There are a lot of amazing things a webinar can do, from motion graphics to complex chat systems to collaborative work-spaces. Complexity adds room for failure, which will be far worse than bonus features. Instead, focus on what you intend to present or have presented, especially for you are first few. If an impressive new piece of software is unreliable, use the old reliable one. Pauses and technical issues in webinars are embarrassing and reflect worse on your professionalism than a webinar that isn't as flashy.

Keep the Audience in Mind

Your main mission in a webinar is to get information to your audience effectively and efficiently. With that in mind, remember to respect your audience's time and effort. Requiring them to download proprietary software, while trivial, can turn off a potential audience, even those professionally obligated to attend. Others will encounter expected technical difficulty with a new program. In the actual presentation of the webinar, pace it effectively, with few breaks, and a reasonable length. Few people can pay full attention to a two-hour presentation without opening a new tab and surfing the web. Accept that distractions will happen.

Show Professionalism

While content is king, aesthetic professionalism can make all the difference in the perception of an audience. This doesn't just extend to video and audio quality, but to visual choices as well. When in doubt, think of what you would do to appear professional in any meeting: dress for success, and choose a location designed to impress. If you don't have one of those, look into webcast studios in NYC who can provide you space, equipment, and software to host a professional-level webcast.