We& #39;re all tired of #Webinars

We& #39;ve all had too many of them because of COVID and working from home
But we& #39;re all going to have to endure more of them in the next few months

So please, please folks - can we get better at them?

And I mean better in often pretty simple ways
First, if you are running a webinar, get your setup right

This is my desk - at home
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💻" title="Computer" aria-label="Emoji: Computer"> is up high, so my webcam is closer to eye level - and yes, I am just using a box to do that!

External https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⌨️" title="Tastatur" aria-label="Emoji: Tastatur"> - so if I need to type when running a webinar my webcam does not shake

External https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🖥" title="Desktop-Computer" aria-label="Emoji: Desktop-Computer"> - so the chat and participant windows can go there, with videos on the laptop screen
But what about the cost I hear you ask?

Cheap USB https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⌨️" title="Tastatur" aria-label="Emoji: Tastatur"> - €10
Cheap USB https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🖱" title="Computer-Maus" aria-label="Emoji: Computer-Maus"> - €6
22 inch Monitor - €100

Yes, the ones I have are a little more than that - but you don& #39;t *need* an Apple Magic Mouse
Also I have never seen a webinar well moderated by a person using a tablet (rather than a PC) for that purpose - you simply do not have enough screen space, and tapping the screen makes the camera wobble

Use a PC if you can
Second, lighting

Make sure your light source is in front of you, not behind you. Put a https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💡" title="Elektrische Glühbirne" aria-label="Emoji: Elektrische Glühbirne"> next to or behind your laptop. Definitely avoid having a window behind you
Third, sound

If you& #39;re using a headset or wireless headphones, make sure the quality is good. Also in style terms do you really want to look like you& #39;re in a call centre in your video?

Echo cancelling in most webinar software is now pretty good - do you even need that headset?
Fourth, screen and slide shares

Sharing local files almost always works better than sharing files from a cloud service. So download your PowerPoint deck to your computer and share that

And share the window of one app, not your entire screen. Don& #39;t know the difference? Learn.
Don& #39;t just use the same slides you would use in real life.

Check animations make sense - probably remove some.

Check text size - make sure it& #39;s large enough.

Sharing in Presenter mode in PowerPoint can be messy - make a PDF of your slides and share that instead.
Fifth, tech

The simplest tech solutions are pretty much always the best. Audiences can tolerate short interruptions - while switching speakers for example - better than they can tolerate a complete breakdown.

Have online backups for photo and video content - for emergencies.
Sixth, team roles

Make sure it is clear from the outset who is to do what, and who is to control what.

A kind of hold-all-the-tech together person who never talks is always handy as well, if you can afford it.
Seventh, location

Don& #39;t try to do a webinar in a location unfamiliar to you. The sound might be awful if the place echoes. The internet might not be as stable as you had hoped. It& #39;s a recipe for things going wrong.
And yes, I *know* all of these points might - for good reasons - be impossible.

But in my experience more often than not over the last 6 months people *could* have thought of these points, but simply did not do so. It wasn& #39;t that they *could not* do so.
Now back to preparing videos for a webinar for a class this afternoon... https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😜" title="Winking face with tongue" aria-label="Emoji: Winking face with tongue">

/ends
You can follow @jonworth.
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