Web conferencing is a powerful tool in today’s high-tech workplace. With the right online collaboration tools, you can bring employees together from around the country or around the globe with just a few clicks of your mouse. You no longer need an expensive brick-and-mortar office to house your startup. You can work from home or a versatile coworking space and allow your partners and employees to do the same.
Web conferencing will bring you together with coworkers and clients so you can share important information as though you were right in the room together, no matter how far the physical distance. While there are some added perks like easy screen sharing, there are also new distractions and challenges to contend with. Use these web conferencing tips to put together an effective presentation that caters to the unique needs of a web conferencing audience.
Choose the right software
There are dozens of web conferencing tools at your disposal. Each piece of software has its own strengths and weaknesses. High-end web conferencing programs can come with an equally high price tag, so it’s important to understand your options and choose the tool that’s best for your business.
- Microsoft Skype for Business — Offered by Microsoft, Skype for Business integrates seamlessly with other popular tools like PowerPoint and Outlook. You can host large conferences with up to 250 people and record your audio and video for later use as a training tool. Group IM and IM file transfers let you communicate with attendees one-on-one outside the main presentation sphere.
- ClickMeeting — This affordable software solution offers ample personalization. You can set reminders before your meeting and automate thank you emails afterward. Upload files from Dropbox, share videos via YouTube, generate informative polls, and use the handy draw mode to highlight, sketch, and annotate as you go. You can mute your participants, grant select voice privileges, or put everyone in discussion mode for open dialogue.
- Zoho Meeting — Designed for simplified screen sharing, Zoho Meeting is an intuitive choice that’s ideal for a quick product demonstration or sales pitch. You can even embed meetings in your website to reach a massive audience. You can swap screen sharing and enable chat collaboration when you want to open participation to others, or keep the meeting one-sided if you’re simply hosting a presentation.
- Join.me — Join.me has several subscription levels, the most basic of which still supports voice-over-IP communication for up to 10 participants. With the Business plan, you can include as many as 250 participants. You can click and choose who shows up on their monitor, displaying up to 10 video feeds at a time. Online chat allows everyone to join the conversation.
- Amazon Chime — This easy-to-use web conferencing tool offers all the basics like video, audio, chat, and screen sharing. Added perks cater beautifully to business users, such as the running late icon which lets others know you’re still attending, just not on time. Lack of integration stunts this program’s growth, but its intuitive use makes it a fine pick for straightforward meetings.
You’ll find several other options available for everything from small group brainstorming to massive webinars accessible to thousands. Consider your needs carefully and try a few trials to make sure you’re working with a program that’s effective, informative, and comfortable for your purposes.
Prepare thoroughly for your conference
Participants in a web conference have more distractions than those in a live meeting, so it’s important to design an engaging and focused agenda so you don’t lose your attendees halfway through. Invite your participants one to two weeks in advance and provide them with a basic agenda or outline for the meeting. If you’re hosting a small meeting, you can minimize interruptions by asking for feedback ahead of time. Let your invitees know that they have to contact you by a certain date if they have points they’d like to add to the agenda.
Practice your presentation ahead of time to make sure your desktop is well-organized for your conference. If you’re planning to use screen sharing, review the visible icons on your desktop and browser to make sure you’re not exposing sensitive information. Log in and familiarize yourself with your meeting platform a few days ahead of time so you’re not scrambling to find the mute button or other features in the middle of your conference.
Locate your webcam
If you’re going to be on screen during your web conference, make sure you know where your web camera is so you don’t spend the entire meeting looking away from it. Many presenters focus exclusively on their computer screens, though their webcams are situated above or beside them. Though your conference participants will probably realize what you’re doing, this gives your presentation an impersonal feel and makes you look as though you’re focused elsewhere.
Make a point of looking up toward the webcam to address your audience more personally from time to time. Any time that you can look away from the monitor, do so. Adjust your setup beforehand so the camera is as close to your eye level as possible, giving you an engaging angle to speak from.
Eliminate your distractions
Choose a quiet, private area for web conferencing. This isn’t something you should do from your public desk in the bullpen. At a minimum, you should arrange for a private office where you can close the door to distractions and ensure quiet surroundings. A sleek conference room, like those available in WeWork’s River North Chicago office, is ideal. Though this is a vibrant, dog-friendly coworking space, the privacy of conference rooms allows for a secluded oasis that’s just what you need for web conferencing.
Post a note on your door that lets others know you’re in a meeting so they won’t knock or pop a head in. Turn off your phone for the duration of the meeting so there are no disruptive pings or persistent buzzing vibrations. Web conferencing requires your full attention. Set up a space that will facilitate that.
Engage the audience
If your conference participants aren’t on a video feed, you can’t tell what they’re up to. If they’re muted, this adds another layer of anonymity. Your participants could easily be at their desks chatting with nearby coworkers, doodling on a notepad, surfing the web in a second browser, or sneaking off for another cup of coffee. Encourage engagement by reaching out often to touch base with your attendees.
Ask questions frequently and respond personally. If your platform allows it, enable audio for some or all of your participants for open discussion after your presentation. Pass around video or screen sharing capabilities and call on attendees at random to keep your participants on their toes. Engaging your audience will keep them focused on your conference rather than other distractions at their desk.
Follow up after your conference
Follow up with attendees post-conference to find out how effective your meeting was. Offer a poll or survey that will give you constructive feedback so you can improve your technique for the next gathering. Send a thank dyou email to your participants and encourage them to reach out with comments and questions.
If you recorded your conference, send a copy of the recording to your attendees so they can review the information again at their leisure. Make a copy of the meeting available to those who couldn’t attend as well, particularly if your conference covered important internal topics that your coworkers need to be aware of. Review the video yourself and take notes on areas where you could improve. Watching from an outsider’s perspective you may notice quirks in your speaking style such as the frequent use of “um” that you can work on.
Web conferencing is an art that you can refine over time. Proper follow up after your meeting will help you pinpoint areas where you can improve your technique for increasingly efficient meetings in the future.
Effective web conferencing allows you to collaborate and educate over long distances, minimizing travel expenses while boosting productivity. If you need to share important information with a group that’s spread over vast distances, web conferencing tools are just what you need to close the gap.
