Helpful Tips For Web Conferencing

The Webinar Blog has been my forum for sharing news, tips, and opinions about web collaboration for the past 15 years. I hope to keep it going for many more years.

In this time of crisis, I thought it would be helpful to highlight posts with actionable advice for all the people suddenly facing the prospect of using web conferences, webinars, or webcasts. Web collaboration might be completely new to you or it might be gaining new prominence as a primary means for reaching your employees, customers, partners, and prospects.

My focus is squarely on webinars and webcasts… primarily presentation-oriented, but allowing participation and feedback from audience members. As such, some of the advice is overkill for peer-to-peer meetings and small group discussions. But you should find things that can help you even in these situations (particularly in the section dealing with Presentation Technique).

I have not updated old posts, so you may occasionally find a link to some external site that is no longer valid. I apologize for that, but web addresses change over the course of 15 years!

You can download the complete articles list, organized by general topic area, by clicking on this sentence.

If you prefer having the links online and handy, I have pasted them below. I wish you smooth sailing with your online events, seminars, and meetings. We'll get through this together (but apart!).

Technorati Tags: web collaboration,online collaboration,web meeting,online meeting,web seminar,webinar,webcasting,webcast,web conference,web conferencing

USEFUL ARTICLES FROM THE WEBINAR BLOG:

LOCATION/EQUIPMENT SETUP

· Webinar Audio: You Can’t Fix A Lousy Source

· Improving Webinar Audio Quality - VoIP

· Improving Webinar Audio Quality - Telephone

· Should Webinar Presenters Split Up?

WEB COLLABORATION PLATFORMS/VENDORS/TECHNOLOGY

· Webinar Vendors: Does Size Matter?

· How Flexible Is Your Webinar Technology?

· Top 10 Web Conferencing Support Questions

· Now Available: Checklist For Selecting A Web Event Vendor

SERVICES AND SUPPORT

· Auxiliary Services For Webinars

· Why Use A Web Conference Moderator?

· Finding Local Webcast Service Providers

PRESENTATION PREPARATION

· Webinars, Webcasts, And Scripts

· Can You Read What You Wrote?

WEBINAR PLANNING AND PREPARATION

· Free Webinar Production Checklist

· 7 Lessons From A Bad Webinar

· What Will Go Wrong With Your Webinar?

· Why You Need A Webinar Run Through

· Do You Really WANT Better Webinars?

· How Do You Monetize Webinars?

· Giving A Webinar? Where's Your Checklist?

· Making Life Easier For Webinar Presenters – An Organizer’s Checklist

· Expert Speakers... Aren't

· Why Should You Print Your Presentation Slides?

· Webinar Tip: Handling Overflow Questions

VIDEO CONSIDERATIONS

· Live Video In Webinars And Webcasts

· The Case Against Talking Head Video (1)

· Myth: Casual Video Is Preferred

· The Case Against Talking Head Video (2)

SLIDE DESIGN AND USAGE

· Top 5 Tips For Remote Presentation Design

· How Do Your Slides Look On The Web?

· Starting From Zero With Webinar Slides

· Showing Webinar Slides: Share or Upload?

WEBINAR PRESENTATION TECHNIQUE

· Webinar Presentations Are NOT The Same As In-Room

· Webinar Technology Shift Means Retraining Presenters

· Thinking Differently About Thinking Different

· The Theatrics Of Webinar Presentation

· Can Presenting Be More Conversational?

· Conquering The Fear Of Speaking

· Starting Strong On Your Webinar

· Just Start Already

· Penalty For Rushing - Pacing Your Presentation

· A Little Bit Faster Now, A Little Bit Slower Now

· Shut Up A Minute, Will You?

· Presentation Tip #276: Talk To Me

· Webinar Overload – Too Many Slides

· Webcasting To A Room

INTERACTION TIPS

· Active vs Passive Webinars

· How To Paralyze A Webinar Audience

· Open Chat In Webinars: Best Practices

· Stimulating Webinar Q&A

· How Do You Take Webinar Questions?

· Tips For Webinar Polls

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

· Tips For Panel Presentations

· Prepping A Panel Presentation

· Rehearsing And Delivering A Panel Presentation

· Managing Panelists As A Moderator

RECORDED CONTENT

· Planning For Recorded Presentations

· The Debate Over Recorded Live Webcasts

· A Simulive Webinar Suggestion

· Improving Information Delivery In Webinars

SCREEN SHARING TECHNIQUES

· Screen Sharing In A Webinar: Best Practices

· Step Away From The Mouse