Webinars and workshops are great ways to share your knowledge, network with others, and promote your brand. But how do you make sure that you are engaging diverse audiences who have different backgrounds, preferences, and needs? Here are some best practices to help you plan and deliver inclusive and effective online events.
Before you design your webinar or workshop, do some research on who will be attending and what they expect from you. You can use surveys, polls, social media, or feedback from previous events to learn more about their demographics, interests, goals, challenges, and learning styles. This will help you tailor your content, format, tone, and language to suit your audience and avoid assumptions, stereotypes, or biases.
One useful way to get to know your audience is to begin your session with a poll. You can use this to gain insight into your participant's views, learning styles and even knowledge of the topic you are delivering.
The technology you use to host your webinar or workshop can make a big difference in how accessible and engaging it is for your audience. Choose platforms and tools that are user-friendly, compatible, and secure, and that offer features such as captions, transcripts, audio descriptions, chat, Q&A, polls, breakout rooms, and whiteboards. Test your equipment and software before the event and provide clear instructions and support for your attendees.
The content of your webinar or workshop should reflect the diversity and inclusion of your audience and your topic. Use examples, stories, images, videos, and data that are relevant, accurate, and respectful of different cultures, perspectives, and experiences. Avoid jargon, slang, acronyms, or idioms that may confuse or offend some of your attendees. Use gender-neutral and inclusive language and pronouns. Acknowledge and address any potential gaps, biases, or controversies in your content.
Include Information that Pertains to Diverse Global Regions As an audience member, I always find it very interesting to hear or see examples of how the subject of the presentation will effect different regions, with long term goals in mind.
One of the biggest challenges of webinars and workshops is to keep your audience engaged and attentive throughout the session. To avoid boredom, distraction, or fatigue, you need to create opportunities for participation and interaction. You can use polls, quizzes, games, exercises, or case studies to check their understanding, gather feedback, or stimulate discussion. You can also use chat, Q&A, or breakout rooms to encourage them to ask questions, share opinions, or network with each other. Be responsive, attentive, and respectful of their contributions.
People have different ways of learning and processing information. Some prefer visual, some auditory, some kinesthetic, and some a combination of these. To cater to different learning styles, you need to use a variety of methods and formats to deliver your content. You can use slides, videos, audio clips, diagrams, charts, or infographics to illustrate your points. You can also use narration, storytelling, humor, or anecdotes to make your content more memorable and engaging. You can also use repetition, summaries, or takeaways to reinforce your key messages.
After your webinar or workshop, you need to evaluate its effectiveness and impact on your audience. You can use surveys, feedback forms, testimonials, or analytics to measure their satisfaction, learning outcomes, and engagement levels. You can also ask them for suggestions, comments, or recommendations for improvement. Use this information to identify your strengths and weaknesses and to plan for future events that are more diverse and inclusive.
Agree with the suggestions in this article. One point that has been a great success for my clients is having a moderator. I am a moderator for 1 or more professionals that hold webinars. It keeps momentum, alleviates the speaker(s) from technical responsibilities, Q&A becomes seem-less, takes the worry out of successful breakout rooms and keeps the program on time every time. Reach out if you’re interested in my “talk show host” approach. Fun, exciting and professionally executed. Thanks for the conversation.