Web conferencing is a great alternative to in-person meetings when you have attendees that are working from various locations and can’t always get together in one room.  Modern technology has given us some pretty snazzy web conferencing tools that have taken us far beyond teleconferencing alone. Many people are visual and having a presentation in front of them helps them keep up and follow along. It also presents more opportunities for everyone to get involved with the meeting.

By following a few tips you can make sure you’re planning the best web conferences possible.

1. Run A Test

Before hosting a web conference make sure that all your “technical ducks” are in a row. Test your software from the host and from a participant’s point of view. Make sure the video and audio are working and that you know how to work any of the bells and whistles you plan on utilizing during the conference.

     2. Make A Great Plan

Have a clear goal in mind for your meeting or presentation. Design an agenda and all of your visuals around this plan. Even if your web conference is just a quick status update meeting, it helps to have a road map to follow to keep everyone on track. Your participants will appreciate a well planned meeting.

    3. Have Great Visuals – Something To Look At

Make use of the web conferencing visual interface to keep people entertained, clued in and on track. You can use a short video to draw in and connect with the audience to start with. During the presentation you can use a power point slide show, websites, documents, screen sharing or other visuals to illustrate what you are talking about.

 4. Keep Your Audience Active and Awake

Periodically ask your audience questions so that the conference isn’t one sided. Many conference software platforms come with a polling feature and a group chat that can help the meeting be more collaborative. No matter if you are hosting a meeting, a training exercise or a sales presentation, you will want to keep the audience on their feet.

 5. What To Send Out After A Web Conference

Have something prepared to send out after the web conference is over. You can have a written summary of the meeting, a recording of the entire presentation or some other handout to help people remember what was presented and let them know what their next steps should be.

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