How to get your questions answered in gianormous webcasts
TheVP
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Assuming you’re not a stalker, sometimes you really, really, really want to get a question answered during a seriously big webinar.
I just finished co-presenting on a webinar for The Marketer, and to their deep credit, the “sold out” the room!
As I was watching the questions flood in from the quadruple-digit number of attendees who honored us with their time, I was struck with compassion for those who sincerely wanted to get their question answered…and couldn’t.
This post is for you. Since at 1080 Group we focus on behavioral analysis of the live-but-remote communication experience, here are a few tips for attendees.
Ask a question that’s relevant to a broad part of the audience
The reality is that only the tiniest percentage of questions are going to get answered in a big audience, and typically the moderator is going to focus on those that will be most useful for most of the audience. If your question is, “What about social media tactics for Hungarian shoe shine shops,” see the next point.
Ask directly of the presenter…after the fact
This may not work with the uber-megastars, but many or most presenters will respond to you if you send them an email. Especially in B2B. Me…I love to help (it’s my biggest fault as a business leader), and I always respond.
Ask it late
When questions are flooding in, the moderator has to go hunting for questions. Make it easy for them to see yours (during the Q&A at the end), and you’re more likely to get a response.
Ask it again
If you asked a question while speaker #1 was presenting and it didn’t get answered, ask it again. See the previous point.
Name who the question is directed to
This is for webinars where there are multiple speakers (like the one I just co-presented at)…start your question with “Q for Roger: What do you think about Tottenham’s footballing chances this year?”
Do you have other tactics that have worked for you? Do share.
All my best to your pursuit of learning.
Katie Stroud
Thanks, for the great ideas, Roger. As a serial webinar attendee, I know how difficult it is to get a question answered. Sometimes I just wait until someone else asks it. But when they don’t, it really does take a strategic approach for those well-attended webinars.
Sometimes it pays to think of any questions you may have ahead of attending the webinar. The question may or may not be answered with the content, but you can bet most people are not asking anything up front–other than “I can’t hear anything” or “I can’t see the slides.”
Another strategy is to use Twitter. This only works for presenters that “get” Twitter. If a Twitter Tag is provided, tweet main points. In my experience, attendees have been slow to adopt tweeting a webinar, so there’s usually only a handful of Tweeeters. Tweet often to get noticed and then fire off the question at a time when the presenter is most likely to be looking.
That’s my two cents. Thanks again for the pointers!
TheVP
Good points, Katie. Thx for sharing.