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Webinars
Webinars provide Internet powered interactive presentations
September 26, 2005
By: Ben Davidson
The term
webinar is short for Web-based seminar. Webinars use the
Internet to transmit a presentation, workshop, seminar, or
lecture to a group of participants not located in the same
physical space.
Often, the visual portion is presented over the web,
while audio communication is handled through a telephone
line or VoIP. Online audio or text chat windows are also
sometimes used to facilitate communication between
participants. Interactivity is what differentiates a webinar
from most webcasts; a web seminar assumes the flow of
information both ways.
How it works for you
Instead of flying across the country to present to
clients or colleagues, organize a web seminar instead. With
essentially the same planning needed to give an office
presentation, you’ll soon be hosting a business seminar to a
geographically diverse audience.
Maybe you’ll present a series of PowerPoint slides while
narrating. Or perhaps you want clients in several cities to
see that new program of yours in action, followed by a
question and answer session.
Done well, a web seminar can convey the same information
to your audience as if you were there presenting in the same
room. Combine that with the time, money, and hassle saved
from not traveling, and the attraction of the web-based
seminar becomes clear.
A few tips
First, make sure the content is interesting and relevant
to your target audience. Ever dozed off in a meeting? It can
happen in a webinar too! Great content stands a much greater
chance of inspiring people to attend and contribute.
Another rule of thumb is to provide at least 30 days
notice. A webinar may offer the convenience of being web
based, but it still requires people taking time out of busy
schedules to attend. It’s also a good idea to offer a second
presentation date for those unable to attend your first one.
If you have a lot of information to convey, consider
splitting the webinar into two separate sessions, perhaps
over two days. Finally, use common sense. Friday at 4pm will
probably result in sparse attendance, while Monday morning
might find people too busy.
As a service to you and your clients, consider archiving
your webinar event. Saved as a Flash file and uploaded to
your company's website, it really conveys good support to
your customers. It might even help you close a deal or gain
new clients.
These are the basics of the webinar, one of the easiest
and most direct ways to present online.
About the Author
Ben Davidson is a successful freelance writer and
contributor to Web-Conferencing-Zone.com. Your
definitive guide to
web conferencing services,
online collaboration software and
web meetings for business.
Also See:
[ Flash presentation
creation via PowerPoint to Flash conversion ]
[ PowerPoint
presentation tips for effective PowerPoint presentations ]
[ Webcasting -- broadcasting
rich media online using a live webcast ]
Home Page:
[ Web-Conferencing-Zone.com ]
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