Plan a Web Conference
You can not wait until the last minute to plan, you will need to start early. While every web conference varies, here are some steps to help you in planning yours.
Steps
- Decide what you want to accomplish. Limit yourself to what can be covered in the web conference in a certain amount of time.
- Contact a hosting company. If you're using one, to arrange a date and time for the web conference, to cover basic details, and to get links and access codes to send to participants. Consider scheduling an extra half hour in case the conference runs long.
- Decide who should attend. Use the conferencing software to invite them. Include the link and access code they'll need to participate.
- Create a timed agenda. Gather content for the meeting, including spreadsheets, presentations, and documents. Create or assign someone to prepare the material for use by the conferencing software and then pretest these materials.
- Make it interesting. Simply watching someone talk isn't going to keep participants' interest. Keep it lively! Use the technology available to vary activity with video or slides, interactive polling, application sharing, or whiteboard.
- Create a slide that will appear when participants log in. This will allow them to they're at the right web conference.
- Determine participants' expectations. Inform them on how they should prepare. Send them any needed materials in advance. Include a reminder of the link and access code.
- Prepare an online survey that you can have participants complete after the conference to get feedback.
- Practice. Practice enough so that you know how to use the moderator tools to respond to questions or to let participants show their material to the group.
- Run a dress rehearsal of the web conference. Make sure your presentations are all working properly. Do this at least a week in advance and make changes as needed.
- Have someone else in your company act as on-site tech support during the web conference so that you can focus on hosting it.
- Open the conferencing software at least a half an hour before the meeting starts. Make sure connections and content are all working properly.
- Record the conference or keep minutes for those who can not attend the web conference.
- When the conference is over send a thank-you e-mail to participants asking them to complete the survey. Use the results of the survey to improve future web conferences.
Tips
- Security is an important consideration in planning a web conference. You want to make sure only invitees attend and you want to know that system security is tight. If you're using hosted services, check how the company ensures conference security and make sure that meets your needs. The companies usually provide detailed information on their web sites and can answer your questions.
Things You'll Need
- Computer that is connected to the internet.
- Web camera
