When it comes to giving a successful webinar, there are a few things that you need to consider.
Entrepreneur and managing partner at 42connect, Brian Ferritto, suggests that it all starts with dressing the part. “Whether it’s you who is giving the webinar session or someone else, you still need to dress as though you are the main focus. Everyone has become comfortable with wearing their sweats behind the camera, but this really doesn’t help when it comes to boosting your confidence. Dressing the part makes you look much more professional, and helps you to feel your best which can make your presentation that much better.”
Confidence is key when it comes to giving a memorable presentation, as this translates to those to who you are presenting. Your audience will remember you and your information much better and be more apt to listen to another webinar you present in the future. This also helps in generating new business.
It is possible though that you as a leader are not the person who is presenting, but rather someone else is. Ferritto also mentions that, “a webinar doesn’t have to be given by you, and can actually be given by guest speakers. Especially if you want your audience to be even more engaged, it helps to have a professional speaker or business influencer give the presentation. Whoever you choose, you need to ensure you stick with your choice, and to provide the person with ample information for them to be able to give the webinar to others in a knowledgeable manner.” A webinar is only as good as how the person presents it, which is why practicing your presentation is also essential.
“Always practice your presentation and ensure all slides and videos are working properly. Any hitches can disrupt the flow of the presentation which increases the chances of losing your audience. It also helps to practice your speech so you are more comfortable with what you’re saying, and so you don’t have to read from slides word for word.”
Adding in interactive elements is something that Ferritto also suggests if you want your audience not to fall asleep. “Keeping your audience engaged at all times is important if you want your webinar to be a success. Having interactive elements like pop quizzes, games and quick activities can keep your team alive and alert, and it also helps them to understand what you’re saying better, as they are using what they learned in real-time.”
And lastly, you always want to be able to circle back to your main point during a webinar, so your audience has a better understanding of the key takeaways.
“One of the biggest issues with webinars is that they can get off track very easily. If your slides are all over the place and you never once return to your main point of the presentation, you won’t get the reaction you had hoped for. It’s important to always come back to your main point with tie-ins, and to always run through your slides and make sure there is frequent reference to it throughout.”
No matter what you are presenting during a webinar, you want it to stay with your audience. Following these steps can help to make that happen!