Skitch

Dear G-d. Not Another Webinar.

I am prone to stating a strong dislike… well, hate, actually  – of webinars.

Why?

Because 99.9% of them are colossal wastes of time.

Most aren’t well researched. Most are (or look like) they are thrown together at the last minute. And almost all of them have abysmal audio / video / content. I can’t tell you the last time I sat through a webinar for any more than a handful of minutes without bailing.

One would think that after a while people would catch on.

And yet, I can count on getting at least five or more come-ons – daily – for a webinar of some ilk.

I beg you all – in the name of everything that is holy – if you have an insane itch to host a webinar, resist doing so with all your might.

However… if you must persist in this madness, please do the following:

1. Don’t rehash your company’s history. Nobody cares but you and your employer. Almost every webinar starts off with 10 or 15 minutes of this dreck. Just leave it out. Seriously.
2. Get to the point. Fast. Your time is valuable. And so is the poor schmuck’s who just sat through 5 slides of you describing the first 10 years of your company’s existence and why they switched from making wodgets to widgets. Respect your audience’s time as if it were golden. Because it is.
3. Don’t read your slide deck, word for word. If you’re reading me your Keynote / Powerpoint deck, all I’m getting is a less interesting blog post that I could have read on your site without scheduling an appointment to have an audio version (voiced by Monotone Man ®) of the same. It adds nothing. And insults everyone’s intelligence.
4. For G-d’s sake, buy a good microphone. If I’m sitting there listening to the Teacher from Peanuts (wah wah, wah wah wah wah, wah wah wah), then I’m not focused on your pitch, your message, or your content. Meanwhile, I’m thinking “there goes another 30 minutes of my life that I’ll never get back.”
5. If you are delivering video as part of your presentation, make sure that you are in focus, in the frame, and are being shot in front of a background that isn’t competing for your attention. While I’m on the subject, there are plenty of unemployed actors, community theatre players, and voice over professionals. Use them, because odds are (in the Arkansas vernacular) they ain’t you.
6. And finally, have something to say that is interesting. Don’t tease me with a follow on premium up sell. Deliver the goods. Make it worth my time.

In summary, Quality Counts.

Quality Content. Quality Production. Quality Delivery.

If you’re not going to go to the trouble, why should your audience?