Webinar Wire

Webinar Pros - Do As We Say, Not As We Do?

Posted by Ken Molay July 10 2009 2:03 AM EDT

3 comments

I recently have had a chance to watch a few educational webinars on the art of online presenting, given by experts who offer services and training in this area. And I have given plenty myself. In each case (including my own), I have spotted areas where we have tripped up or demonstrated examples of what NOT to do! It just goes to show how perfection remains an elusive goal. Let's see if we can use these case studies as reminders for ourselves.

This is not a hit piece or an attack on any of the parties, so I won't mention names other than my own. And for the sake of focus and brevity, I'm not going to mention all the things they did right! The specific negative points I mention were more than offset by all the good energy, enthusiasm, demonstrated knowledge, and valuable content in their webinars. Audiences in each case went away satisfied and informed.

Error #1 - One of the presenters used a friendly conversational style in his speaking voice. But he constantly ended sentences with the word: "Right?" By implicitly asking a question at the end of each sentence, he frustrated me as an audience member. First, a question implies that it is my turn to respond. Except of course I couldn't. And he didn't really want a response. So I felt "dissed." It also makes him seem a little less confident and sure of his material. I want someone to tell me information declaratively without constantly seeking my agreement or approval.

Error #2 - Another presenter started his talk with a long series of polls. How long? At 20 minutes after the start of the webcast, he said "...With that, let's turn to the presentation." 20 minutes before you start your presentation? That's asking a lot of your audience. Give them some content and some value before asking them for information.

Error #3 - I gave a presentation to an audience primarily based in the UK, with some Europeans. I had given it several times to other audiences and I was very comfortable with the slides. But one of my images, used to emphasize a point about saying first names, was taken from the TV show "Romper Room." It turns out that almost nobody in my UK audience knew the show. The analogy was lost on them. I didn't revise my slides to account for my audience's contextual reference... I was thinking of myself. I saw the same thing in another presenter's talk, also given to a UK audience. He used a picture of an American football player and made a point about "scoring a touchdown with your audience." Think of how much more impact it would have had with his audience if he had changed the slide to a soccer player and said "scoring a goal with your audience."

Error #4 - I gave a presentation and forgot to go over my standard "pre-flight checklist". Sure enough, my hardly-ever-used second phone line rang while I was talking. I know to disconnect or forward that line, but I relied on memory to manage my setup. Be a good pilot... Always use a setup checklist before beginning your speech.

Error #5 - I heard two different presenters and a moderator all exclaiming after each audience question: "That's a great question!" With constant repetition of the phrase I eventually ceased to believe them. They can't all be great. It's okay to just acknowledge and answer the question... You don't have to fawn over your audience.

All right, that's enough negativity for one post. As I said, none of these issues are deal breakers. But each demonstrates that there is always something you can work on to improve the professionalism of your presentation and the impact on your audience. I hope you take these to heart and look for the little things that might be holding you back from your own perfection!