Web Conferencing Tips

  

  

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A web conference is a time and money saver. That much can be proven using substantial real-world evidence. But what about leveraging the web conference to best benefit? What will make this powerful tool all it can be? How can the presenter best reach their audience and maintain control?

1. A ship without a rudder can never reach its destination. That holds true for a web conference also. Without specific goals, a web conference can get quickly off course. Consider what the most important goals of your presentation are. What does the audience really need to take away from the presentation? What can they put into action as a result of the presentation?
2. Create a brief overview of what your presentation is going to cover. This will serve as an introduction to capture your audience’s attention and prepare them for what they will learn. Remember the old rule about presentations; tell your audience what they are going to learn, provide them with the general informative portion of the presentation and then tell them what they just learned.
3. Create a bullet-point list of the most salient points in your presentation. You can do this in outline fashion or put together an actual bullet-point list. Either way, summarize the specific points that are at the heart of your presentation.
4. Engage your audience in a dialogue. Make certain that the presentation has segments that include audience participation. This maintains interest and requires a heightened state of attention. Include review or quiz questions and ask for comments or discussion when appropriate.
5. As part of your introduction and overview, make it clear why all those who are participating in the presentation will benefit from the content.
6. In your summary, remind your audience of the most important points of the presentation. Connect those points with a direct benefit to your audience members. As a goal of your summary, help your audience take away information that they will remember and use to their benefit.
7. Make a point of allowing time for questions at the end of your presentation. Questions and answers can uncover additional information that may be on the minds of many of the participants in your presentation. The answers can help strengthen your core message.

Visual considerations
If you presentation has a visual component, that visual component should be reviewed carefully before your presentation. There should be uniformity when using slides. There should also be deliberate pacing that should be rehearsed to keep the audio and visual elements synched correctly. If you are using PowerPoint slides for instance, make certain that they are in the correct order and that they maintain a consistent theme.

Best practices
Depending on what form of web conferencing you are employing for your presentation, consider these tips also:

1. If you have a webcam pointed at your face, don’t make your audience stare at the top of your head. Look at the webcam as you would another person’s face during a conversation. You will keep your audience engaged if they see your eyes as you are speaking.
2. Avoid a bland delivery. Change the cadence of your speech, tone and volume throughout the presentation to keep your audience’s attention and interest.
3. Keep your slides easy to read and uncluttered. Include an introduction slide at the beginning of each segment of your presentation to move your audience into that segment smoothly, while maintaining the flow of information.

Following these simple rules can result in more successful, useful and meaningful web conferencing presentations. Your audiences will walk away informed and impressed and you will have achieved your original goals for the presentation.