Three Keys to Better Web Meetings

Interactive Webinars are imperative for connecting with far-flung customers while saving on travel costs. Here, a few tips to make a virtual event more engaging

by Carmine Gallo

Most Web meetings are limited to flipping through a PowerPoint deck on a computer screen while talking on the phone. But there a few ways to make a Web presentation more engaging and closer to an in-person experience. I recently sat down with experts at Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Intel (INTC) to get a better understanding of how to do this. They told me small and midsize businesses (SMBs) must be able to connect with audiences that are increasingly more sophisticated about Web technology. And they said the number of SMBs using the Web to present is increasing.

Here are their keys.

Make a video connection.

Presenters now have the ability to be seen and heard via video. But one communications expert at Cisco's WebEx, Colin Smith, advises against too much of a good thing. He says an effective technique is to kick off an online meeting with a few minutes of video and then shut off the video application, shifting the focus to slide content (BusinessWeek.com, 4/4/08). Smith recommends ending the presentation with video. In other words, don't become fixated on using video all the time. Use all the tools at your disposal.

Develop lens presence. Robb Boyd hosts a Cisco Webcast for internal and external audiences. He says online presentations are dramatically different from presenting to a live group. As a former Cisco salesperson turned show host, Boyd has learned some camera tricks to improve video presence.

Look into the camera. Boyd recommends presenters look directly into the camera and avoid reading the slides as much as possible. Since most Webcams are close to the presenter, every eye movement is magnified. Boyd recommends that if you must have notes, keep them directly below your eyes. Reading notes to your left or right will make you look "shifty eyed."

Don't overscript. Many presenters will print out a script and read directly from it. Remember you are trying to recreate the in-person experience and, in person, you wouldn't be reading. Boyd suggests you reduce your script to bullet points to sound more conversational.

Double your energy.

When listeners only hear you through a telephone or Skype connection, it's imperative to boost your energy level. Boyd recommends you find a secluded room to conduct your online presentation where you feel comfortable standing up and projecting. Read one of my previous columns (BusinessWeek.com, 12/21/07) for more tips on how to raise your energy level for a presentation.

Engage your audience.

Whether or not you do decide to incorporate video, Intel's Wayne Waterman, who runs Webcasts for the chip giant, says engagement is essential. Waterman tracked key metrics and found that audience retention will begin to erode after 30 minutes to 45 minutes unless the content is extremely compelling. He recommends presenters engage with the audience early and often by doing things such as taking an audience poll every 15 minutes, having a moderator ask questions of the main presenter, and answering the live audience's questions.

Webinars and Web meetings are interactive tools that allow you to reach a greater number of customers and prospects, close deals faster, collaborate across large distances, and increase productivity, all the while minimizing travel costs. Just remember, as audiences grow more sophisticated, so must the quality of your presentation.

Carmine Gallo, a business communications coach and Emmy-Award winning former TV journalist, is the author of Fire Them Up! and 10 Simple Secrets of the World's Greatest Business Communicators. He writes his communications column every week.