This week, CEO and founder of Let’s Do Video, David Maldow joined BlueJeans to talk through the top 5 tips for better presentations. As an expert analyst in the visual collaboration industry, Let’s Do Video is the go-to resource for webinar best practices and lessons from the field.
Don’t let bad webinars happen to good people! If you missed the live presentation, watch the on-demand recording here: Avoid Epic Webinar Fails.
Check out the chapter summaries from this fun and insightful interview!
Know Your Technology
There’s nothing worse than speaking or moderating a webinar and not having a command of all features! All too many times events tailspin because presenters don’t know their way around the interface. Occasionally, the audience is to blame for derailing the webinar with rogue commentary — but remember, event managers should be in complete control when it comes to public communication. Keep these ideas in mind when setting up and hosting your live event:
  • Community chat can be disabled to prevent unprofessional or insulting comments
  • Questions can be auto-approved or must require moderators to approve questions to mitigate unwanted inquiries
  • Make sure to stop broadcast when presentation has concluded to remove risk for ‘backstage’ audio and video from reaching the audience
  • Always turn your video on to create a more compelling, dynamic content experience for attendees
Build Your Webinar Stage
How do you create a professional setting and background? If you’re new to WFH —webinars from home — these simple tricks will keep you out of the dark (literally) and ready for center stage.
  • Use external camera instead of integrated camera for better quality
  • Move unwanted items out of frame
  • Avoid backlit backgrounds, try and use natural light whenever possible
  • Use a headset rather than your computer speakers
  • Situate yourself away from noisy areas (busy streets, in-home distractions, etc.)
  • Mute your app notifications while streaming
Interact and Engage Your Audience
The days of one-way audio over slide share are over — it’s time to utilize all modern streaming participation tools at your disposal. BlueJeans Events offers a raise hand feature that allows webinar attendees to request on-camera access to voice comments and ask questions. In addition to the presenter roles that can support up to 150 speakers on a given event, this audience interactivity feature opens the door to broader collaboration in an any-to-many webinar format. Instead of one designated speaker talking AT an idle crowd — think, the nightly 5pm snoozecast — hand raisers on a modern webinar can appear on camera with moderator approval to strengthen the connection with speakers, content, and brands.
Open the Floor for Questions
What’s the best practice for on-the-fly vs. formal Q&A? This takes a certain level of mental coordination to shift between your talk track and addressing audience questions as they come in. However, when properly executed presenters that field questions as they’re moving through slides have more success retaining the audience’s attention. While saving the last portion of the webinar for formal Q&A is recommended, those speakers that engage attendees throughout the event are sure to leave a lasting impression.
Humanize Your Delivery
“Life” happens (*insert expletive*). If remote work has taught us anything it’s that we’re all human! The unexpected is bound to happen within your home office. Examples like kids walking into your room, the dog is barking, the mariachi band begins practice — you name it! Those presenters that just go with the flow are praised for their cool-as-a-cucumber demeanor despite life’s nature moments. Just go with it, enjoy the ride.
Want to see how you can modernize your webinars with a production-grade virtual event solution? Try BlueJeans Events for free for 14 days!