Engage! How to Avoid the Seven Sins of Live, Online Presentations

Engage!
How to Avoid the Seven Sins of
Live, Online Presentations
A 1080 Group Paper
Prepared for Citrix Online
August?2009
©?2007?1080?Group,?LLC??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Page?1
What You Will LearnDespite?agreement?that?in-person?communication?remains?the?most?influential?way?to?train,?market,?and?sell,?too?often?the?costs?outweigh?the?benefits.??Live,?online?presentations?bridge?that?gap.?Online?presentations?in?web-based?seminars?(i.e.,?"Webinars")?connect?presenters?and?audiences?from?their?desktops?anywhere?in?the?world?in?real?time,?increasing?the?reach?of?key?messages?while?reducing?travel?costs.??But?the?opportunity?of?using?this?medium?for?communication?brings?with?it?an?important?question:?How?do?presenters?deliver?powerful,?engaging?presentations?to?audiences?not?sitting?directly?in?front?of?them??To?understand?how?presenters?are?rising?to?meet?this?challenge,?1080?Group,?LLC?conducted?both?quantitative?and?qualitative?research?in?May-June?2009,?surveying?more?than?600?professionals?about?how?to?plan,?design,?and?deliver?effective?online?presentations.?The?findings?demonstrate?that?using?Webinars?has?become?a?mainstream?business?practice,?that?companies?intend?to?continue?to?grow?their?use?of?them,?and?that?presenters?can?effectively?reach?remote?audiences?but?need?to?avoid?some?common?mistakes.?This?paper?will?help?online?presenters?"step?up?their?game"?toward?more?successful?events?by?delivering:.Highlights?of?findings?from?the?research?conducted.Seven?critical?mistakes?made?when?presenting?online?-?and?how?to?avoid?them.A?reference?checklist?for?presenters?preparing?to?present?at?a?Webinar
©?2009??1080?Group,?LLC??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Page?1Presenters Expect to Continue Growing
use of Online Presentations
Webinars Have Reached the Tipping PointAmong?respondents?surveyed,?91%?have?attended?a?Webinar,?and?in?the?next?six?months?they?expect?to?grow?their?own?use?of?Webinars?by?148%,?from?an?average?of?2.1?per?month?to?5.2?per?month.
?9%1%
10%Never?attendedAttended,?but?never?presentedPresented?one?or?a?few?timesActively?using?WebinarsI'm?a?pro21%59%
Nine?out?of?ten?respondents?have?attended?a?Webinar,?and?35%?of?those?have?made?one?or?more?online?presentations?Why use Webinars?.Save cost of travel Respondents?at?all?levels?of?experience?with?attending?or?using?Webinars?.Save time away agreed?that?saving?travel?costs?was?the?top?benefit?(see?sidebar).??However,?from other duties a?review?of?the?responses?of?the?most?experienced?Webinar?presenters?.Add visual to a indicates?that?they?agree?with?the?first?benefit,?but?they?rank?secondary?benefits?more?highly:conference call .Saves?cost?of?travel.Save .Helps?us?reach?audiences?we?would?not?otherwise?reachinconvenience of .Allows?us?to?train?more?employees?or?customerstravel ?TakeawayWebinars?are?no?longer?a?novelty?used?by?a?few?early?adopters.??For?anyone?1080 Group research who?needs?to?reach?an?audience?with?a?message,?this?trend?likely?changes?May, June 2009 the?question?from?"Should?I?present?using?Webinars?"?to?"When?I?present?using?Webinars,?what?am?I?going?to?do?"
©?2009??1080?Group,?LLC??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Page?2"Ease of Use" Cited as Top Success FactorSurvey?respondents?were?shown?a?list?of?17?different?items?spanning?four?presentation?categories:??content,?design,?delivery,?and?logistics.??Asked?to?rate?each?item?in?terms?of??importance?to?the?success?of?a?Webinar,?the?top?four?success?factors?overall?were:.Ease?of?use?when?joining?or?participating.Quality?of?the?presenter(s)?speaking?voice?or?delivery.Clarity?of?the?message?and/or?call?to?action?in?the?presentation.Invitation?and/or?registration?page?copy?that?accurately?describes?the?content?of?the?Webinar?TakeawayTechnology?is?an?enabler,?making?it?possible?to?gain?the?benefits?of?Webinars.??But?it?shouldn't?get?in?the?way?of?effective?communication.??The?essentials?of?effective?presentations?still?include?delivering?content?that?is?understandable,?beneficial,?and?accurately?communicated.
Top Growth Area: "Keeping Attendees Engaged""The key is Of?respondents?w ith?experience?presenting?at?Webinars,?"keeping?engagement, and attendees?engaged"?emerged?as?their?top?concern.??When?asked?to?rate?engagement is how?prepared?they?feel?to?succeed?using?Webinars?(... [download for more]