Ever since the COVID- 19 pandemic began in 2020, the world has witnessed a rise in the usage of live webinar streaming service providers. It is indeed an expected outcome considering the loss and unavailability of physical interaction. Live webinars are truly a game-changer because they allow instantaneous interaction from people residing in any part of the world in the comfort of one’s own homes. The online interactive space is beneficial not only for the workforce but also for students as it allows them to interact with people all around the globe. Further, many schools, colleges, and organizations host live webinars even after the recession of the pandemic due to their flexibility and cost-effectiveness. However, its novelty creates a lot of setbacks for many users, as described in the following article.
1. Unorganized/ Unclean Background:
Similar to how physical presentations are expected to be neat and clean, live webinars should also carry that element of the organization. Often, live webinar hosts are unaware of their backgrounds, which can distract audiences and be unprofessional. Having a clean background with minimal colours helps enhance the beauty of the webinar. In case the background is cluttered, the best live streaming services provider offers virtual backgrounds as well as the feature to “blur” one’s screen.
2. Uninteractive Webinars
Due to the physical absence of an audience, many hosts of a webinar believe that they needn’t facilitate interaction. However, as a student puts it “nothing is more boring than listening to someone talking to a screen for an hour or so.” The reason is that live webinars do not create a conducive space for learning. People can be more prone to distractions if the webinar isn’t interactive as interaction forces people to be attentive.
3. Starting without a trial run:
While technical glitches are a quotidian affair in live webinar services, they can be avoided to a certain extent if the trial runs take place. Often, hosts start without a trial session which leads them to discover certain glitches. This further leads them to rectify when the live webinar is actually happening, hence, leading to loss of time.
4. Disrespecting the audience’s time:
Another frequent and infamous mistake made during live webinars is disrespecting the audience’s time. While the audience during live webinars attends in their own comfort, the hosts cannot disrespect their time. Live webinars are (in) famous for going beyond time and it could be irksome. Hence, it is highly recommended that hosts pay due diligence when crafting the agenda of the webinar and abiding by it.
5. Unprepared/ Underprepared Presentation
Having visual aids is absolutely crucial during live webinars and many live webinar service providers contain features to present PPT slides. Live webinars need a constant source of engagement which is aided by PPTS. However, PPTs ought to be necessary and relevant. It should be crisp, hence, preparation is required beforehand. Many hosts prefer to read out unprepared scripts, which can limit the effectiveness as well as deteriorate the quality of one’s content.
6. Less salability but hard advertising:
One common reason why live webinars fail is that there is heavy advertising involved, especially by the live webinar service providers without practicality. Many advertisers use live webinars as opportunities to pitch their services, goods, or ideas. However, a concretized and crisp webinar would be more useful instead of heavy advertising during a webinar. People would prefer shorter webinars as opposed to longer versions of the same content, hence, lesser advertising will lead to more salability.
7. Scheduling webinars at the wrong times
While webinars allow a lot of flexibility in timing, one should remember to fix a time as fit for the audience. For example, live webinars scheduled in the US cannot be simply cast into the Indian timezone without considering the time difference. Always fix a time appropriate to the audience’s convenience as it will impact engagement.
8. Irrelevant or inappropriate circumstances
More than 50% of people report that live webinars do not carry relevance to their situation. Often hosts of webinars present things beyond the understanding or perspective of the audience. This is a serious error because the audience would not enjoy a live performance without it being relevant to them. One way to prevent that would be to analyze the audience’s needs by shooting a survey before the event or by asking questions. Further, analyzing the current affairs and presenting could also elevate interest.
9. Noisy environment
Just like a quiet environment is required to study or work, a live webinar should also be conducted in a silent space. More often than not hosts present while sitting in a public space which can be quite disturbing as well as appear more unprofessional to the audience. A quiet ambiance creates a much more serious atmosphere and adds to one’s credibility. Further, it allows for lesser interruptions during the webinar which is a must.
10. Not activating protection features
As the pandemic has witnessed a demand and growth of the live streaming services provider platforms, it is also amply clear that there has been an explosion of cyber crimes and other unwarranted happenings during webinars. Subsequently, the platforms have risen to the occasion by providing important security features. Platforms like Dreamcast offer a waiting room so that the hosts can admit only the participants. Further, it is imperative to not share the meeting details with everyone. Only those who need to be present should be shared the joining information to prevent interruptions. All of the security features should be in place before the live webinar starts especially if one is dealing with non-adults. This ensures the safety of the participants and prevents unwanted interruptions.
Conclusion
While live streaming services have become the norm, it is also a novel concept. Hence, mistakes and hiccups are bound to happen. But, it is important to be aware of them and rectify them whenever possible. The aforementioned mistakes are the ten most common ones. If this list is taken care of, the live webinar is all set to go.
