Running a webinar is a great way to engage with your prospects and clients. Running a boring webinar is also the fastest way to lose those same people. Here are 7 tips to keep your audience’s attention throughout the session.
Show value immediately
After you welcome people to your webinar, skip the small talk and long listing of your credentials that so many webinar presenters seem compelled to go through and go directly to how listeners will benefit from
the time they spend with you. For example, :Hello, everyone and welcome to our webinar…”
- “…on how to grow your business online”
- “…where we will review 5 ways to improve your social media presence”
- “…on what to expect post—covid-19 for your business”
Avoid credibility overkill
Take no more than one slide to demonstrate understanding of their current situation. This can be a list of three bullet points, an image only, or both, but no more. Viewers just want to know that you are familiar with their problems, issues, or challenges. Burying—and boring– them with multiple “pain” slides becomes tedious for viewers.
Be as visual as possible
There is a reason why the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” is repeated so often. Images are attention-getting, instantly grasped, and emotionally evocative. No one ever sold a car by simply describing it. Have a visual on every slide either by itself to conceptually represent what you are talking about or in conjunction with your bullet points.
Avoid remedial reading
When you show a slide with several bullets, viewers have read them all while you are still describing the first one, which means they have stopped listening to you. Better to show one bullet at a time, elaborate on it, and then move to the next one. Also, edit full sentence bullets down to verbs, adjectives and nouns for quicker apprehension by viewers. Fewer words ensures that people will listen to what you are saying about those points.
Use color
Color attracts attention and aids understanding. Differentiate different segments in pie charts, line graphs,tables, etc. with color. Emphasize key words with color. Use images with color so that they “pop.”
Turn a data dump into a story
Transitional phrases between slides make viewers want to hear what’s coming. Examples: “Not only will you get…, but you will also be able to…” (click to next slide); “So, how did we overcome this challenge?” (click to next slide). “If you thought that was difficult, wait until you see what came next” (click to next slide). “Now, imagine what the survey showed.” (click to next slide). Build momentum, excitement, curiosity for what’s coming next.
Change up the pacing
Attention spans are short, so build some activity variety into your presentation. Examples: Take a survey. Ask listeners to stop and imagine a situation. Stop for questions. Inject a relevant video or cartoon into your presentation. Variety is the spice of life — and presentations.
Never be dull again
Webinars have become much more popular since the corona virus has changed the way we all do business. Though they can be a challenge to deliver, these seven tips will keep them lively and engaging for everyone.
Anne Miller
Words Matter – Make What You Say Pay!
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