Planning and Conducting an Effective Webinar

Darrell A. Dromgoole, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

Scott Cummings, Associate Department Head and Program Leader; Professor and Extension Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

It is no doubt that we are currently facing the most challenging situation we have ever experienced due to the public health crisis we are currently experiencing.  As Extension continues to function during these chaotic times due to the Corona virus pandemic by  shifting from face to face programming to remote program delivery or distance education. In this installment of Next Step to Success we are going to discuss Planning and Conducting an Effective Webinar.

In today’s world  our clientele are inundated with information via technology.  The most trending topic related to technology is Artificial Intelligence. Our clientele and more importantly, our future clientele are interfacing with Artificial Intelligence applications such as Siri™ and IBM Watson ™  for assistance in answering questions.

In today society change occurs at an  accelerated rate. Adoption of innovative tools and technologies is at an all-time high (McGrath, 2013). Where it took 50 years for the telephone to reach 50 million users (Desjardins, 2018), it took only 19 days for Pokémon to do the same (Lim, 2016). In the world where we live and work, we are more interconnected than ever before (Pew Research Center, 2014) and yet increasingly divided (Gramlich, 2016). We are more educated than ever before and yet need more knowledge or information, and have the expectation that we find it at our fingertips on our smartphones and tablets (Jobs for the Future, 2013).

Experience has proven that in the changing educational environment where digital communication is a central platform, it is imperative to utilize technology to enhance Extension educational efforts (Robinson & Poling, 2017). One such resource that has been effectively utilized by Extension educators with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is the webinar. A webinar is a seminar or presentation that takes place live over the Internet, allowing clientele in different locations to see and hear presenters and interact with the presenters to ask questions, add to the discussion, and/or provide feedback (Pluth, 2010). Webinars are effective as educational tools in Extension because they allow the Extension professional to use a virtual setting to bring together and engage clientele from across a large geographic area (Johnson & Shumaker, 2016).

Planning a Webinar

Based on a review of existing literature and research as well as practical trial-and-error experiences, the following best practices for planning effective webinars are recommended (Robinson & Poling, 2017);

• Decide whether the webinar format is appropriate for the educational effort being planned. Ask these questions:

1. Can content be presented through a webinar as effectively as or more effectively than through other delivery methods?
2. Does the target audience have access to the technology and the skills necessary to participate in a webinar?
3. Is a webinar more cost effective, in time and/or dollars, than other delivery options?

• Determine whether you have the technological capacity to conduct a webinar. Conducting a webinar requires specific hardware and software. Hardware and facilities can range from a full studio–type setting to a smartphone in the middle of a cotton field. Minimally, webinar presenters need a camera, a microphone and, most important, a good Internet connection.
• Consider the availability and ease of use of the selected webinar platform for the proposed host, presenter(s), and clientele. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service has utilized a variety of webinar platforms including WebEx ™, and Zoom™ effectively as our webinar platform, but other options exist. Regardless of which platform is chosen, an understanding of the capabilities of the platform is a prerequisite.
• Determine whether you have appropriate human resources available to carry out the webinar effectively. Depending on the expected number of participants and the communication options available (e.g., chat, Q&A, polls), you may need additional team members to monitor/manage those options.
• Presenter effectiveness is a critical aspect of a successful webinar, so be strategic when recruiting presenters. Recruit presenters who are experts in their fields, have good camera presence, and are willing to commit preparation and practice time beyond that normally required for a face-to-face session.
• Encourage presenters to incorporate engagement with the audience into their presentations. Engagement with participants before, during, and after a webinar is critical for a positive participant experience. It is important that presenters incorporate participant engagement opportunities throughout the webinar, with an engagement activity occurring about every 4 minutes (Pluth, 2010). Example engagement options include handouts, an activity, polling questions, feedback in the Q&A or chat box, or video clips.
• Conduct at least one prewebinar practice session. Practice allows presenters and others involved in conducting the webinar to experience what the live webinar will be like and how the hardware and software will function. Additionally, practice sessions provide opportunities to work out any problems that might occur or be anticipated. For example, if presenters are using PowerPoint slides, practice sessions provide opportunities for the webinar developer to suggest modifications to the presentation, such as conveying messages through more images and less text to keep learners engaged and avoid “Power Point Karaoke.”
• Ensure that participants are aware of the date and time of the webinar, and pre-enroll participants when possible. Marketing a webinar is much like marketing a face-to-face session. Word of mouth, social media, email, e-newsletters, fliers, and website posts are all effective tools for marketing webinars. Many webinar platforms allow participants to enroll for the webinar ahead of time. Once enrolled, these individuals can be sent automatic email reminders to ensure that they remember the day and time of the webinar.

Conducting a Webinar

Use the following best practices to deliver effective webinars (Robinson & Poling, 2017).

• Start and end the webinar on time. Participants need to know that they will be able to participate in the entire webinar within the period that was advertised.
• Implement a backup plan in the event of a technology glitch. There is no way to account and plan for all possibilities, but try to take precautions for unforeseen issues.
• Use evaluations to make improvements. Evaluation is necessary for determining a webinar’s effectiveness and for gaining feedback to apply to future webinars. Many evaluation techniques used with face-to-face educational activities can be modified for use with webinars. Webinar evaluations receive the highest response rate if the evaluation is conducted at some point during the webinar or online immediately following the webinar.

Take Home Points

Incorporating these recommendations when planning and conducting a webinar can seem overwhelming, but they can make the difference between an effective, positive experience or a poor experience for both clientele and presenters (Robinson & Poling, 2017). If clientele have a positive experience, they are more likely to want to participate in other educational webinars as well as face-to-face educational meetings (Robinson & Poling, 2017).  Utilizing webinars also saves time, travel costs, and other resources for both presenters and clientele (Robinson & Poling, 2017). Increasing the use of webinars as an educational delivery method can be a win-win situation for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and our clientele.

References

Desjardins, J. (2018, June 8). How long does it take to hit 50 million users? Retrieved from http://www.visualcapitalist.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-hit-50-million-users/

Gramlich, J. (2016, November 7). America’s political divisions in 5 charts. Retrieved from Pew Research Center website: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/07/americas-political-divisions-in-5-charts/

Johnson, C. L., & Shumaker, J. B. (2016). Does webinar-based financial education affect knowledge and behavior? Journal of Extension, 54(1), Article 1RIB2. Available at: https://joe.org/joe/2016february/rb2.php

Jobs for the Future. (2013). International trends in adult education and lifelong learning. Retrieved from https://jfforg-prod-prime.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/Adult_Ed_International_FINAL.PDF

Lim, J. (2016, July). Pokémon GO could be the answer to making augmented reality mainstream. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jlim/2016/07/30/pokemon-go-could-be-the-answer-to-making-augmented-reality-mainstream/

McGrath, R. G. (2013). The pace of technology adoption is speeding up. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2013/11/the-pace-of-technology-adoption-is-speeding-up

Pew Research Center. (2014). Device ownership over time. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/datatrend/mobile/device-ownership/

Pluth, B. P. (2010). Webinars with wow factor. Tips, tricks, and interactive activities for virtual training. Chaska, MN: Pluth Consulting.

Robinson, J., & Poling, M. (2017). Engaging Participants without Leaving the Office: Planning and Conducting Effective Webinars. Journal of Extension, 55 (6), Article 6TOT9. Available at: https://www.joe.org/joe/2017december/pdf/JOE_v55_6tt9.pdf