When I ran my first webinar, it actually felt pretty awkward.
I couldn't see my audience, so I couldn't see their faces, their reactions,
and I couldn't even tell if they are listening to me.
The thing is, presenting online is much more challenging than presenting in person.
My name is Kristina and I run weekly webinars at Slido.
I would really love to share a few tips with you on how to run a truly engaging webinar
that you audience will really want to come back to.
Tip #1: Log in early and make sure you run your tech check.
So, log in at least 20-25 minutes before the start of your webinar,
and run through your entire tech setup.
Make sure you really test your video conferencing platform,
check your audio, check your sound, check your camera.
Make sure you run through your slides, they are really important,
and if you're using engagement tools such as Slido or anything like that,
really make sure you test that as well.
Tip #2: Facilitate the waiting time.
What I normally do at my webinars –
I actually log in and go live 2 or 3 minutes before the start.
I run an icebreaker poll, so for example I ask a question:
Where are you guys joining from?
I use Slido for that and while we're waiting for other participants to join in,
people are already submitting their answers.
So I'm already engaging them in some kind of conversation
and I really get those answers in.
That way, my audience will know I have the expectation from them –
I want them to engage throughout the webinar,
and I want to do it through Slido.
Tip #3: If possible, have more than one speaker.
If you have more than one speaker or presenter,
you can really achieve that change of dynamic really nicely.
And this is really what you want to do.
If it's two of you, it will feel more natural even to the audience.
You can already engage in a conversation with this other person,
it will freshen it up and it will break the stereotype of having one speaker only.
Tip #4: Learn something about your audience.
In a typical webinar, your audience or your participants will not have their cameras on,
and they will not be able to speak, but you do want to hear from them.
So why not engage with your audience in a series of polls?
You can ask them questions about their background, their experience and so on.
For example, I run webinars on remote meetings and virtual events.
and the questions I normally ask my audience are:
How often do you run your remote meetings? What size is your audience?
What are your biggest struggles when you run a remote meeting?
When I have my answers, I can address specific needs of my audience.
Tip #5: Change the dynamic every 5-7 minutes.
People get distracted very easily.
So by changing the dynamic every 5-7 minutes,
you can really help them digest the content you are delivering for them.
There are a few ways how you can change the dynamic of your webinar.
By changing the speakers,
insert a live poll and ask your audience a question,
a short Q&A session after each topic, kind of reengage with them,
do a physical stretch, a jump, or anything that will bring in those endorphins.
You can run a quiz!
By running a quiz, you really engage them in a competitive activity.
You can actually deliver serious content using quizzes.
The quiz can be about statistics, numbers, OKRs,
anything you can think of. Just make it fun!
Tip #6: Run a Q&A session at the end of your webinar.
I normally spend about 10-15 minutes answering the questions from the audience.
I collect them throughout the entire webinar and then I address them at the end.
If I didn't answer all the questions and there is no time left on my webinar,
I still address those unanswered questions,
either in written form, or I shoot a short video and distribute it to my participants.
And remember, if you have another speaker or a co-host,
you can actually rotate in answering the questions to make it more natural.
And my last tip for you: collect feedback at the end.
Never leave a webinar without asking for feedback.
This is the most crucial thing and the only thing that will help you to improve for the next time.
The most efficient way how to get your feedback is actually to ask for it right in your webinar.
And you can use Slido for that!
Simply run a Slido survey with a few questions at the end of your webinar.
Once you collect the feedback, don't forget to implement it!
So that's it from me today, let's just quickly recap.
Log in early and run a tech check.
Facilitate the waiting time.
When possible, have more than one speaker.
Learn something about your audience.
Change the dynamic every 5-7 minutes.
Run na Q&A round at the end.
Ask for feedback and don't forget to implement it.
That's all from me, thanks guys for watching.
I really hope that these 7 tips will help you run a more engaging webinar,
Please subscribe here and watch our videos.
Thank you, bye bye!