Hulk says, “Webinars too boring!” — What happens if one of the Avengers finds your webinars boring? Here are 7 steps to prevent boring Webinars…
Some webinars can get so lengthy that it causes your audience to lose interest, or in this case, piss off The Hulk.
No one wants Hulk getting angry!
Fortunately for you, there are ways to help you overcome this problem…
…..and who knows even all the Avengers might join in too.
1. Get Straight To The Point
All webinars start with an introduction, however what makes the audience lose interest quickly and start zoning out is a long, boring introduction…..
….you wouldn’t want that right?
Think about it…
Would you want to start your day, sitting in front of your laptop listening to a long introduction?
Instead of a long introduction, start with the end in mind.
Tell them what they are going to get at the end of the Webinar.
For example,
“Hello, good morning everyone, thanks for joining my webinar today.
Today’s topic will be about Facebook Ad Strategies and by the end of this webinar you’ll walk away with five strategies that you can use to start your own successful business.
Let’s begin!”
From this, your audience will know from the beginning what your webinar is about.
One useful trick is to practice in front of others. Practice your introduction to your employees and ask for feedback.
This would give you a headstart before the real webinar and give you ample time to fix any flaws with your introduction….
…. and also get a sense if your introduction interests your audience.
2. Be Like Peter Parker and stay energised
Think about the most energetic super hero character…
….did Peter Parker come to mind?
It’s no surprise that Peter Parker is the most energetic Marvel character, even off camera, the actor for Spiderman – Tom Holland is a ball of energy.
Like Peter Parker, channel your energy into your webinars and get people to pay attention to you.
I don’t mean to climb buildings and swing from wall to wall, but be enthusiastic when talking.
Audiences love a speaker who is energetic, who can keep them online…
…..rather than someone who makes them want to doze off.
Although, remember not to be too energetic, or else your energy and your tone of voice will be too much for your audience that it might scare them off.
Know how to balance your energy and use inflections in your tone when indicating a key point of your webinar.
Staying energized doesn’t just mean talking…
….but knowing when to interact with your audience.
You could ask them to say “Marco, Polo” or a simple “Hello” when your audience isn’t responding to you.
If they’re not the talking type, ask them to type it out in the chatbox.
And be genuinely interested in your audience.
This way, your audience will be on alert and pay attention to you when you talk.
3. Give your audience a chance to talk
Out of all the Avengers cast, no one likes attention more than Iron Man himself.
He likes to be the center of attention and he constantly talks about himself….
…..even when no one asked.
That being said, give your audience the chance to be like Iron Man and let them talk about themselves.
It doesn’t have to be something long or so in depth.
It could be about their opinions on a certain product or share their experiences and stories.
Or even a question that gets a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response.
Your audience will keep their ears to the ground as other people’s experiences might help with their own experience later on.
This will also give a chance for you and your audience to get to know each other and turn your webinar into an interactive and engaging one.
4. Manage your time efficiently
Just like in the ‘Time Heist’ scene in Avengers: Endgame, time management is important.
No one wants to watch a webinar for too long, or for too short.
So be wary and considerate of your audience’s schedules.
Don’t talk for too long….
….or it will make some of your audience disconnect before you end.
If your webinars are 60 minutes long, divide them accordingly — 45 minutes for speaking and 15 minutes for a Q&A session.
Your audience will have a ton of questions at the end…
….so setting a time for a Q&A session will help them to gather all the questions they have without disrupting your entire webinar.
Having good time management and sticking to the time allocated will build goodwill with your audience, even after the event.
If you end up having to go overtime, make sure you tell people they can continue to stay, or feel free to leave.
This will make them feel you respect their time.
5. Save your best material for last
All Marvel fans know that you have to stay for the credit at the end of every Marvel movie.
Marvel likes to save their best material for last.
They always like to put snippets of their upcoming movie towards the end.
Similar to this, you can save your best material or content for last.
Don’t give all your best content right away.
For example you could say:
“Don’t forget to stay towards the end of the webinar, there is a secret tip that I’d like to share with you”
Or that you’ll be giving them a checklist, templates or some other bonuses to reward those who stay right till the end.
This will keep your audience staying until the end because you have something valuable to offer.
6. Invite guest speakers for longer events
The best part of the Avengers is having different kinds of superheros.
It makes the movie much more interesting.
When it comes to longer events that last for more than 2 hours, it may be a good idea to have other speakers in your lineup.
Speakers with different styles of talking will make your audience sit up and pay attention to you…..
….and make your event more captivating and have more variety.
One thing to consider is having a moderator for multi-speaker events
The role of a moderator is to be the host and keep audiences on track with the webinar or virtual event
This setup is great for one or two day virtual summits.
7. Tell stories, not Facts.
Stories have been the fundamental way humankind has been passing on information since the dawn of time.
It’s no secret that storytelling is one of the most effective ways to get your message across while engaging your audience.
The mistake many amateurs make is going into a Webinar presentation like they are presenting a lesson at school… all facts and no stories to engage the right brain.
So weave stories into your webinar presentation in a way where the audience still gets to learn valuable lessons and information.
By incorporating story-telling you’ll be surprised that you will also get better results from your Webinars.
Your next step: Go out and level up your webinar game
With these seven steps, you will be able to step up your webinar game.
Here’s a summary of the 7 points to keep in mind at your next webinar:
- Get straight to the point
- Be like Peter Parker and stay energized
- Give your audience a chance to talk
- Manage your time efficiently
- Save your best material for last
- Invite guest speakers for longer events
- Tell stories, not Facts
Try them out at your next webinar and you may be pleasantly surprised!
