A webinar simply put is a web seminar. The word is used to mean any sort of business meeting done on the web and this includes video conference, video workshop, lectures, presentations, conferences and anything else you wish, as long as it is hosted online and uses some type of webinar software.
It can be difficult to keep people’s attention long distance, (it is hard even close up at times), so it is important to make sure the video conference is interesting and accessible to all to participate. Make sure there are no distractions and no one enters the room where you are effectively ‘at work’. Gather everything you need before the webinar starts. Pretend it is a real, live meeting, and you wouldn’t jump up and dash out of that to get a glass of water, so don’t do it during the meeting.
As the host, leave space for questions, ideas and suggestions. If your audience can participate they will pay more attention. Technical problems are a real possibility, so assure everyone you are recording so no one will miss out on anything if their screen freezes. If your audience says your speech is jumping, repeat what you said as many times as it takes for everyone to hear properly.
What features this online business meeting has depends on the host of the meeting, and the material involved, but can include; online chat so everyone involved can express ideas or ask questions; sharing of photos, charts and so on; a white board so you can draw or explain things,;basically anything that helps explain the topic and involve the members of the webinar.
A vital part of this is recording. Not only can members present listen to this later to be sure they understood properly, but also people who could not be present can also have access to the meeting, if applicable. Once it is recorded, getting a transcription is simply a matter of contacting a professional service such as London Transcription and before you know it a neat and exact transcript of everything said is delivered to you.
It might seem obvious, but make sure people know about your webinar. Teach them something they didn’t know so they can go away and tell others, This is the best form of promotion, and remember an oft asked question is ‘What did you learn?’, so make sure they have an answer.