Webinars, seminars via the web, are becoming more and more popular. They are a great way to reach a lot of people in a way that is more engaging than a conference call and more economical than a meeting. But successful webinars have to be done with this in mind:
-Personalize - They can’t see you, only your PowerPoint, so add a slide that introduces YOU..people like to have an idea who they are listening to.
-Make sure your PowerPoint works – I have a lot of videoclips in mine which can’t be shared. The audience can hear but cannot see them. When you click, a black box pops up, so you have to have an appropriate still shot and explain the technology limitations.
-Have extra questions and slides - I advise clients to limit their PowerPoints to 20 minutes and then open to questions. Even better break up the PowerPoint by taking questions midstream. But what happens if you don’t get questions? Have a few in your pocket positioned like “I am often asked how this works if…” “The other day an executive asked me what he should do…” and when that runs its course you may have to go to additional slides to cover more turf.
-Pack extra enthusiasm – You cannot feed off the audience because you can’t see them. I think it is more difficult than staring into a camera as in a satellite TV interview because you have nothing to look at other than your slides. You have to be your own energizer bunny.
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