Let’s face it. The winds of change can be felt through an emerging communication medium, that’s hard to ignore. Webinars have become the flavor of the season. Do you know that the ON24 survey revealed that 75% use webinars to build their brand?
How speakers mastermind a webinar will dictate whether brands create a history or become history.
As a webinar presenter with an abundance of soul-stirring reviews, here are 14 super practical techniques for exceptional results every time. Get ready to apply, rock every webinar, win deals, and win hearts too.
1. Gimmicks Vs Give-away
Take your heading heads-on. Craft a Title that serves the need of your audience over a catchy, and intriguing title that does not deliver ‘What is In it for me’. Remember, Power words are powerless, when your customers can’t connect with them.
2. Engage
It was a public meeting. As a friend of Winston Churchill was delivering a speech, Churchill took a seat in the front row. A gentleman sitting next to Churchill was dozing off. The speaker felt embarrassed, showed subtle gestures to Churchill, prompting him to nudge the man fast asleep. Churchill remained nonchalant. As soon as the speech was over, he ran up to Churchill and demanded, “I asked you to wake him up. Why didn’t you do that?”
“Well,” chuckled Churchill, “You were responsible for making him sleep. So, it is your responsibility to wake him up”.
Abstain from monologue and monotony. A successful movie director knows when to introduce an action sequence, comedy, and a twist in the plot. Ask a question every 10 minutes. The questions need not be sourced from your lecture. It can be from an industry metric or a puzzle. I read memes, jokes and spice up the webinars on professional topics too. You can construct a story or a puzzle from a meme. This technique has worked magic as Icebreakers. Engaging your audience is a pre-requisite for them to listen. Applying Accelerated Adult Learning Techniques will come handy.
3. Stay Tuned
Haven’t you noticed popular Reality shows using the ‘Cliffhanger technique’? They throw a mystery and make sure that viewers don’t switch channels during the commercial break.
Send a pre-webinar communication with a freebie. It could be a downloadable material. Raise expectations of a predictable positive experience. Stay away from a dry reminder.
4. Gauge
- Use registration forms for the webinar to capture the profession and location. It helps you to understand the audience profile to position your key messages.
- Introduce content that meets expectations for most profiles.
5. Go into overdrive
- Appeal to their dreams in the first few minutes. Articulate how the webinar is set to transform their prospects. Make each of them feel special and privileged. Enable them to envision the most desirable future state. People cherish those who nourish hope.
- Thank early joiners soulfully. Socialize. Introduce yourself before you expect your participants to introduce themselves. Never miss your first chance to engage.
- If you are waiting for the rest of the registered participants, put up a few slides- ‘I appreciate you for joining on time. The session starts at 10.05AM(EST). Do you know you can apply < concepts/practices> you are about to learn for increased <results/benefits>? Exhibit feedback on your previous sessions, event photos, motivating quotes, any industry facts that support the theme of your webinar. This technique hooks up early birds and elevates their expectations.
6. Attention important than Attendance
‘Mistake – What a powerful word! We shouldn’t ‘Miss to take’ something from it’
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Imagine that the day is jam-packed with webinars from bigger brands. Your competitors may have operated a trawler where you had cast a fishing rod.
Training webinars have the highest average attendance rate of 65.5% when compared with marketing webinars with an average attendee rate of 36.6%.
Attendance will be lower than the registrations. It shouldn’t be the basis for your motivation to fizzle out. As long as the topic has a demand, you can tune your campaign to a wider audience the next time.
7. Making it Real
Fantasy isn’t natural. It is arduous and odd talking to the screen. No eye contact could take the edge off your energy. Interested in a crazy quick fix? Make 2 well-wishers sit behind your laptop. Face them as you speak. They need not be your target audience. They are your cheerleaders ready to pay undivided attention and nod.
8. The Platform on track
Before you prepare to improve the world, look around your own house three times, says a Chinese Proverb.
Every web conferencing application is different. Gain familiarity with sharing your screen, viewing chat, muting and the basic features you would use. Request for a demo with the organizer, if the system is new to you.
9. Onscreen Magic
Captivate your participants with story-telling. You will be at ease when you narrate a story.
If a magician is to conduct a magic show online do you think, he will just do the blah-blah? He will perform tricks. Isn’t it so? Use objects to reinforce your story. In a webinar with college students recently, I displayed the ‘Liveliest Person of the Year’ trophy I received two decades ago and a riveting background story. The students loved the visual experience, found it to be the highpoint and could connect with the story. Paul Zak, the neuro-economist demonstrated how stories can change brain chemistry, generating chemicals like cortisol and oxytocin and it motivates cooperation.
10. Visual treat
Keep in mind that you are using an audio-visual medium. Introduce twice as the number of slides as usual. Make them appealing and transition faster. When a participant is distracted by checking mobile apps and gets back to the screen, she would have a feeling of missed something when she notices a new slide. It arouses the Curiosity tendency, a common cognitive bias.
11. Action speaks louder
Body language matters. Sitting doesn’t mean that you can’t emote. Make your expressions more dramatic. Have you noticed how actors who are subtle in movies use body language better in the stage plays? Watch videos of Ron Kaufman to observe the variety of expressions that spellbinds the crowd.
12. Guzzlers
Avoid long videos however engrossing they are. Live streaming on a low bandwidth doesnít create a great impact.
13. Response armor
‘When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.’ remarked John F. Kennedy
A few events like echo, people not muting, audio being unclear, latency etc. could distract the presenter. You will be remembered by how tactfully and courteously you confront them. Plan, script and curate your responses.
14. The Commitment call
‘The distance between dreams and reality is action’ says a proverb. Build an action orientation and take commitment of your participants for post-session activities.
Apply these 14 tricks when you choreograph your next webinar. Gift every listener an ‘Aha’ moment!
Venkat Kumaresan
Keynote speaker, Communication Coach
Author of ‘Father Of Your Team’, the World’s First Book on implementing Paternalistic leadership
www.authorvenkat.com