18 things to cover in a webinar project kickoff meeting



Kicking off any project effectively sets the tone and establishes momentum for success. Conversely, a mushy, disorganized, or lengthy beginning to the project risks implicitly communicating, “This webinar is going to be a drain on my time.”

The purpose of a project kickoff meeting is to establish a foundation of shared knowledge of the project. This provides direction to each team member (producer, promoter, and presenter) about roles, expectations, and timelines for deliverables.

What follows are the details you’ll want to cover …

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7 ways to boost your virtual meeting IQ



Meetings occur more frequently than presentations, so it’s not surprising that the same is true online (and it’s what prompted me to write the latest book). The good news is that they don’t have to royally suck. Here are a few tips to improve your impact.

Getting started:  Master the instant meeting

Most people still approach online meetings as an “event.” In other words, it’s something you schedule out in the future.  …

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9 ways field sales reps are leaving money on the table with virtual presentations



That quota you’re carrying…does it ever get lighter?

I didn’t think so. Read on.

Whether you love or hate web and video conferencing, you’re leaving money on the table if it’s not in the go-to-market arsenal of your business.

To make the most of your time, money, and relationships, avoid these mistakes:

Mistake #1: Abandoning face-to-face meetings

“Present to anyone anywhere, save travel costs” has been the mantra of the conferencing industry for a long time.

It is not that this is not true. It’s just that …

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7 instructional design tips for virtual classrooms



The number of instructional design models is staggering. One challenge is that they barely inform the specific needs of any given medium of communication.

What follows is a long way from an exhaustive list, but it does touch on some of the common challenges I observe as I’m working with organizations on training-oriented use cases.

Think iteratively

Unless you have radically mastered the platform you’re using, you are likely to discover new things that you can do (that …

Posted in: Design Continue Reading »

The unbreakable rules of marketing…webinars



The Unbreakable Rules of MarketingThe goal wasn’t to write yet another “apply this book to webinars” post. But then I got inspired by my friend Cathey Armillas (whom I was helping recently with a virtual presentation).

I trust you’ll be inspired, too.

Cathey’s book, The Unbreakable Rules of Marketing: 9 1/2 Ways …

Posted in: Promotion Continue Reading »

Verbal body language: 5 strategies for guiding online attendees to better experiences



When you’re presenting or training online in a webinar, webcast, or virtual classroom setting, some participants may be entirely comfortable in “getting around in the new room.” Others will not find the experience to be second nature.

When you learn to better guide participants’ experiences, you’ll better get and keep attention. Another big benefit: You will distinguish yourself from those “45 minutes of talking at you” webinars.

Don’t give instructions, make it part of the flow

With rare exception, I’m not a fan …

Posted in: Delivery Continue Reading »

6 ideas for applying “Made to Stick” in virtual presentations



In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath make a compelling case for six key qualities of sticky messages.

Since webinars, webcasts, and virtual classrooms are “rooms” where distraction is but one click away, besides using various techniques for getting and keeping attention, it’s worth working to make our ideas – the content itself – more sticky.

Posted in: Content, Delivery, Design Continue Reading »

Think you’re not a “virtual presenter?” Must. See. This.



Even if your primary modality is presenting for in-person audiences, this will blow your mind.

Even for those who are quite aware that mobile devices are outselling PCs, this will blow your mind.

Whether you use SlideKlowd or your favorite web conferencing or webcasting solution that accommodates mobile participants, the question on the table is, “Are you sure you’re not a virtual presenter?”

Posted in: Business, Delivery Continue Reading »

5 strategies for avoiding biorrhea



I hope you are a little shocked that I’d write “biorrhea” in a blog post.

But you also instantly get what I mean.

Speaker bios are notoriously over-engineered. Worse, some online audiences are less tolerant than offline audiences (notably those waiting for a thought leader to take the stage…see my recent study here).

To say that a speaker bio should be short, however, would be grossly simplistic. Read on for better …

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The lighter side of the home office



Amara’s Law states,

“We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.”

On the lighter side, here’s a quick minute-and-a-half reminder that in laughing at prognosticators of the past, we should not forget that we’ll likely be laughing at ourselves in the decades to come.

(Hat tip to Daniel Holzinger for sending this in)

Posted in: Business, Diversions Continue Reading »

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