Learning from the experience : setting up a webinar from scratch Part 2

Here's Part 2 of my webinar experience. Getting to grips with the teleconference and meeting software. Part 1 covered setting the scene.

I didn't need to choose a software or teleconference provider, as contracts had been set up by my organisation. And a common software image and IT support throughout the organisation does help.

I did however need to learn how to use it all. People were going to be giving up an hour of their time and didn't want to have to suffer an inept nerk struggling with the technology.

Early teleconferencing

After speaking to a few experts, this is what they suggested:

Teleconference

• If you are nervous and tend to um and ah a lot, write a running order, incorporating a script. I found it helpful to include the 10 minutes before the presentation starts ("this is the x webinar. We'll be starting in x minutes", repeating each minute). The running order could remind you to pass control to another presenter at a certain time, to mute the lines, and to include housekeeping items like your contact details (which I'm a devil for forgetting). It's also handy to print it out and tick things off as they are completed.
• Make sure you know how to mute all the lines so that background noise from the participants is eliminated, but ensure your presenter knows how to dial in with the appropriate host code so that they are not muted too! It's also good practice to tell participants that the lines are about to be muted, because the line does go completely silent for a couple of seconds.
• Get your provider to set up Silent Entry for the line, so you won't be hearing tardy attendees beeping into the conference (and there will be many)
• Also ask your provider to set up your line so that you are sent a summary of the number of people on the call, after it has finished.

Meeting software

• Before the meeting is due to start, upload a slide showing the telephone numbers participants need to dial into the teleconference. Most people tend to click the link to get into the meeting software before they dial up, so a reminder as they enter the meeting avoids some of the inevitable questions. 
• Contact details and a smiley, helpful picture of yourself really helps, particularly if you are actually smiley and helpful.
• Preload the presentation or software (we were using a web browser for a live demo.
•  It's better to go for the 'lowest common denominator' approach with screen resolutions so that people with smaller monitors are not constantly scrolling down and sideways to see your presentation.

General

• I'm really glad I thought to get access to a training account from our provider for the week I was running the webinars. Our regular account has a very limited number of simultaneous users and I suddenly realised that due to the surge of interest we were creating, we may be locked out of our own demonstration! The training account had a good number of users that week, so was well worth while.
• Rehearse with the presenter ahead of time. Obvious really, but essential! For example I found that in the software we were using it was only possible to promote Pam to presenter after she had entered the meeting, because she was external to our organisation. Oh, what fun I had trying to find the non-existent option to create a meeting invitation with her as presenter!
• We practised moving from one application to another, sharing the screen, and handing control from one person to another. The running order really helps here, as you both have it in front of you.
• When hosting, be aware of opening windows (for example pop-up Q&A boxes) on your own screen, as they can grey-out part of the shared screen. Open them up in a part of the screen that's not shared.
• If it's a live demonstration, get back-up slides from the presenter.

And Part 3 will consider whether it was all worth while.