Any person starting out on a journey needs a roadmap. He needs to know where he is going, how he is going to get there and plan for any obstacles he may encounter on the way. He can then be confident of reaching his destination successfully and in good time.
In a similar way, webinars are a journey. Every webinar has a specific goal in mind. In order to get there, a webinar host needs to have a plan. In other words, an agenda. A webinar agenda will help a host keep in mind the goal of the webinar, how he is going to achieve that and plan for any obstacles along the way.
To create a webinar agenda is an art and science. Why do we say ‘art and science’? Art is defined as “the application of creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form.” Science is defined as “a systematically organized body of knowledge on a particular subject.”
Therefore, a webinar agenda needs to be organized so that it affects how the audience will react, and also be visually stimulating. It is not just a matter of having a few ideas in mind and then starting off. That methodology is bound to fail.
Table of Contents
What is involved in the art and science of webinar agendas?
The Science of Webinar Agendas
Organization. It seems obvious to say, but a webinar should be well organized. The agenda will help you organize thought, ideas, and goals in an orderly fashion. Make sure that you plan of every minute of the presentation. The worst thing that can happen in a webinar is a deathly silence with the host trying to fill in time with ‘umms and ahs.’
Of course, don’t go to the other extreme and over-organize. You shouldn’t have so much material crammed in that your journey resembles a Formula One race!
Make sure that you have time limits for each section. You should allocate enough time to present each part. If you fail to do this, you can end up running out of time and have to rush through main points at the end. This will leave your audience feeling short-changed. Five to ten minutes per main point is usually enough.
Include interaction. The whole point of a webinar is to allow audience participation. Your attendees are expecting this. Anything that resembles a lecture is going to turn your audience off. Remember that the ‘science’ of the agenda is also a study of behavior. So, how can you plan to interact with your audience? Interact with them by using surveys, polls, question and answer sessions, and even games.
Call to action. One of the key steps in creating an effective agenda is to be sure there is an effective call to action. Whether you want your audience to purchase a product or service, sign up for your email list or maybe just visit your website, the call to action needs to be clear and well planned.
The Art of Webinar Agendas
- Visuals. This is where the ‘art’ part comes in – have something visually interesting to share. It’s a well-known phrase that a picture says 1,000 words. What are great visuals for webinars?
- Slides. Makes sure that if you have text, it is large enough to see, bulleted, and concise. Text should not just repeat what you say, but provide a summary. Make sure the slides give enough time for your audience to read them and process the information.
- Pictures. Pictures that highlight your main points are great.
- Graphs and charts. Great for making statistics easier to visualize. You can show trends, increases, decreases, and patterns.
- Infographics. These can include graphs and charts, but they are usually more visually appealing. They usually include more artwork and pictures to illustrate the main points.
- Short videos. These can provide a welcome ‘time-out’ during the presentation. It gives the audience a short break to focus their attention on something else, but still connected with the presentation. Video is one of the most, if not the most popular mediums online today.
The Perfect Webinar Agenda
Every webinar needs to be well thought out with a great agenda. In fact, it is one of the most important steps in planning an effective and well converting webinar. You will take your audience on a journey that will keep them coming back for more.
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