How to create a webinar you’d want to attend
The world may have closed for much of 2020 but in other ways, it opened up. Take, gathering.
Where we were once limited by travel or tables and chairs, a shift to virtual opened up access.
We now can reach more people, at greater distances.
Though distance may have erased, it didn’t necessarily mean we were more connected as a result.
Over the past year, I’ve helped organizations debunk the myth that communication and connection are harder virtually. Technology isn’t the tool that creates or hinders connection, it’s our choices.
Here are 3 tips I’ve implemented to bring the message we want to share closer to those we want to share it with. You can use these tips too, no matter the channel.
Give attendees a role
Fueling connection starts with shifting our default gathering behavior from ‘at you’ to ‘with you’.
This doesn’t mean adding interaction (games or icebreakers) just for the sake of it, but rather inviting your attendees to have more ownership of the gathering from the start.
As the old organizational behavior adage goes, involvement leads towards commitment.
For example, give attendees two questions or prompts to pay attention to throughout the gathering.
Or, share something unfinished with them and solicit feedback. “We don’t have all of the answers, so we’ll need your expertise to fill in the gaps”.
These choices show your audience that you need them and it helps them feel visible - after all if we don’t need an audience, why were they invited in the first place?
Focus on the moment not just the message
We gather for the uniqueness of the moment, not just a message that’s being shared. This makes us want to attend versus simply watching a recording after the fact.
Focus on the moment by highlighting in your invitation what is unique about that hour, not just the content you’re delivering (your audience can get that anywhere, and on their own time).
“This is the first time we’re sharing this tool in public”. “We will use your ideas today to create this tool together”.
Or, create a shared artifact during your gathering that is special to just that one group of people you’ve gathered. It can be as simple as a word cloud or activities that help make your content more real and applicable to your audience.
Make it real
We learn more and more deeply when it’s rooted in something concrete and touches on things we care about.
For example, the early March 2020 threat of COVID felt ‘real’ for the first time for many when Tom Hanks was diagnosed, or when the NBA season was canceled.
In a similar way, your message needs to connect to something relevant, personal, and applicable to your participants - not just to you.
Pose a question on the screen as attendees log on such as, “what does X topic make you think of?”. Or prompt, “we want to ground this in something real for you”. Take 2 minutes to think of an example you can use today’s content with”.
“What do I need to know about you?”. Beyond a poll or lumping people into professional categories, open the door for connection by asking this simple question in a chatbox. The goal is to know what’s at stake for attendees and get them hooked right away to something they care about.
We don’t want to assume people have a need, especially if they aren’t there by choice. But, we can still offer the opportunity for them to find a connection instead of forcing it.
These questions (not directives) can also open the door for them to be more curious.
Just remember…
In each of these tips, the content is not the main attraction.
That’s because our content is only as helpful and beneficial as our audience’s connection to it. For a gathering to connect, we don’t need to change the content each time - we can instead focus on the conditions in which we share it.
While technology makes it easier, reaching as many people as we can misses the point. The mark and measure of success when we gather should be how meaningful.
Lindsey Caplan is a screenwriter turned organizational psychologist who helps HR & business leaders create experiences that boost motivation, engagement, and performance