Producing Great Webinars

I've been producing webinars for many years now. I started out in the traditional

videoconference world that used microwaves, ISDN lines and eventually the internet.

Today, I produce webinars on an almost weekly basis for various clients. I want to

share my lessons learned with you.

My favorite webinar tool today is Adobe Connect. It's user-friendly, full-featured, high quality, and doesn't require users to download any software to view the live webinar or the recording. I've developed a document that I give to people who want to deliver a webinar. Some of the content is specific to Adobe Connect and my current work at Denver Public Schools, but I believe it can be helpful to you if you're planning to hold a webinar. Take a look here.

There are some tips that I have for producing a great webinar that are relevant regardless of platform:

Plan ahead with good graphic design, targeting your audience and providing as much interaction as possible.
Load content and activities into the virtual room in advance and have a practice session.
Use a high bandwidth connection with an ethernet cable.
Try to use a high quality microphone if you are using VOIP.
Consider using a photo of the presenter instead of a webcam to save bandwidth and avoid disctractions.
Always have someone monitoring the broadcast to quickly identify any issues.

Most of the expertise I've gained over the years has come from experience, but I also have learned a great deal from Cynthia Clay who works for NetSpeed Solutions. I can't recommend her enough. If you have a chance to attend a session she is leading at a conference or one of her webinars, don't miss it. She has published a book that has many helpful ideas for planning and producing webinars. It's simply called "Great Webinars". I also recommend this book as a guide.

Finally, her company, NetSpeed Solutions can also give you a checklist for producing webinars. Here is the link.

If you'd like to arrange a consultation from me, or hire me to produce your next webinar, contact me here.

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