David Cleary

HR professionals are increasingly using webcasts and web meetings as a way to get information. But what if you have to give the webcast or webinar. What do you need to do to make sure it goes well? There are many details involved to ensure your event goes off without a hitch. Here are some mistakes to avoid in your next web event.

Mistake #1 - Boring Presenter. Nothing will drive your audience away faster than a boring presenter. Over the phone and web, you need a presenter who can create “presence” and engage the audience. They need to be skilled in using their voice and energy to connect with the audience. This doesn’t mean shouting your message to be heard, but you must be compelling and interesting.

Mistake #2 – Weak Delivery. Um’s and Ah’s sound horrible if repeated frequently in an online event. Because the audience is relying on your voice and content, any flaws are magnified and can distract from your message. Delivery should be strong and confident. The presenter must know their material cold and deliver it with energy and enthusiam.

Mistake #3 – Poorly Written/Organized Content. Your event or meeting must be organized, understandable and easy to follow. You should have an agenda or “road map” for your content and refer back to it a few times during the event. Remember the adult learning concept of “Tell them what you’ll tell them; Tell Them; Tell Them What You Told Them.” Repeat key points and link those points with stories, examples or anecdotes to drive the message home.

Mistake #4 – Lack of Preparation. This is perhaps the most important and potentially most serious “fatal flaw” you can make. Online events can require several hours to initiate and deliver. Preparation is required on several fronts and many times you need to work from back to front. For instance, you need to choose dates and times before you send out invitations. If you are going to involve guest speakers, you need to check with them before you promote the event. Areas of preparation include: invitations, landing pages for event promotion and registration, speakers, content, rehearsals, and more. If you were going to see your prospect and had to get on a plane, you’d have lots of details to take care of. Don’t make the mistake of poor planning just because you aren’t leaving your office.

Mistake #5 – Lack of Promotion. So you’ve put together some great content and are ready to roll, right? Wrong, you need to promote your event. We found that we could double and triple our registrations by following a three step email marketing campaign. First email to create awareness, second email, and a third “last chance” email. Depending on the event or timing in our sales cycle, our sales or account teams would call all registrants the day before with a reminder and to thank them for registering. The personal touch reduced the last minute no-shows.

Mistake #6 – No Story. All good speakers use stories and anecdotes to reinforce their message. As humans, we like good stories. A webinar filled with just facts and figures will lose an audience quickly. Think about the benefits of your solution or service and weave in stories with a theme that drive home the point. Of course, great stories usually have great endings…so make sure yours leaves your audience wanting more….and give them a call to action.

Mistake #7 – Minimal Engagement. All the good webinar vendors have tools to help make your event come alive. Polling, Surveys, Chat, Q&A, Annotations. Use them. Again, since you aren’t there in person, these tools provide a way for your attendees to be active participants and reduce instances of “the lights are on but no one is home” when they have tuned you out and are on their email. Spread out the use of these tools to keep your audience in the game. Using tools such as polling can also give the presenter some real time feedback to adjust your message and respond as needed. But don’t “force” users to participate. If they want to just sit back and observe, give them their space.

Mistake #8 – Distractions. Obvious distractions such as background noise need to be avoided at all cost. Your professionalism is on the line so make sure you can perform your event in an environment that supports your goals. Other distractions are less obvious. If you’re sharing your screen or desktop during the event, make sure you turn off pop-ups and reminders as these can be, at minimum distracting, and at worst embarrassing. Make sure you can hide the “clutter” of your desktop items as well. Participants don’t really need to see the photos of your beach vacation! Other distractions can result from the presenter fumbling around in search of a tool, or a poor handoff to a speaker. Your attendees notice this and it can distract from your message. These get back to the Preparation comments above so just make sure you put in the rehearsals and role plays in advance.

If all this sounds like a lot of work, it is. But the more you do, the more proficient you become, and the easier it gets. Just think of how much time is lost sitting in traffic or getting on planes these days. Put webinars to work for you to get your “time and space leverage” and the investment will be well worth it. Just remember the mistakes to avoid!

For web event assistance or for more information, please email us info@davidcleary.net or visit our website at http://www.davidcleary.net.