The Career Practitioner’s
Guide to Conducting a
Webinar
Melissa A. Venable, PhD
NCDA CPI - Portland, OR
October 2018

Melissa A. Venable, PhD
● Adjunct Faculty: Saint Leo University, University of South
Florida
● Writer/Researcher/Social Media: HigherEducation.com
● Job and Career Transition Coach
NCDA: Secretary, Former Technology Committee Chair
Key Interests: Design and delivery of online education |
Identifying, selecting, and implementing educational and career
services-related technologies

Today ...
Webinar Basics
- Before
- During
- After

Who is YOUR Audience?

Who is in your audience?
Students
Clients
Parents
Employers
In-house Staff/Counselors
Community
Organizations
Campus Administrators
Faculty

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO
ACHIEVE?

What do you want to do?
● Attract an audience
● Inform
● Educate (and assess?)
● Inspire
- Answer frequently asked questions in your office
- Engage employers - information sessions
- Hold a virtual open house
- Facilitate a networking session
- Recording

Selecting the Platform
Does your school or
organization already have a
license?
(e.g., WebEx, GoToMeeting,
Blackboard Collaborate)

What to consider …
● Number of participants
● Time limits per session
● Recording and recording storage? Downloads (formats)?
● Breakout “rooms”
● Meeting access (mobile)
● Software download vs. web-based

HIPAA Compliance?
“The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) calls for
privacy and security standards that protect the confidentiality and integrity
of patient health information. Specifically, if you are transmitting patient
data across the Internet during an online meeting or video conference,
your online meeting solution and security architecture should strive to
provide end-to-end encryption and meeting access control to help avoid
interception by anyone other than the invited participants.”
- http://bit.ly/2e4QRXS - GoToMeeting
- http://bit.ly/2ELqejX - Zoom for Telehealth

Five free web conferencing tools …

https://zoom.us

https://www.capterra.com/webinar-software/

What will $ get you?
● Reporting features
● Tech support
● Calendar integration, e.g., Google, Outlook
● Integration with other tools, e.g., PayPal
● Email options
● More attendees allowed per session
● Cloud storage

Conducting a
Webinar

Before1. Prepare!
2. Practice!
3. Promote!

1. Prepare
Attend a webinar (or two):
● Get a feel for the flow of information, chat, etc.
● Gain the perspective of an attendee
● What did you like?
● What would you do differently?

NCDA Resources
NCDA.org

Choose a time and date:
○ Multiple?
○ Consider audience needs and preferences
○ Live and/or recording
Choose a format:
○ Panel interview
○ Lecture/Demo
○ Discussion
○ Invitation only / Public / Registration

2. Practice
● Recruit an assistant
● Explore the technology
together
● Schedule and conduct a
dress rehearsal

3. Promote
● Post your webinar to relevant calendars
● Add webinar info to your newsletter, etc.
● Invite specific attendees via email
● Create a hashtag (#) for social media use (Facebook,
Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram…)

During1. Welcome!
2. Engage!
3. Call to Action!

1. Welcome
● State goals/objectives of the session
● Share your expectations for what’s going to happen
● Remind attendees about the event hashtag (#)
● Monitor logistics (Do you want to record?)
● Troubleshoot (Be ready with links to help desk,
instructions, etc.)

2. Engage
● Present, Discuss, Moderate, Facilitate … watch the time.*
● Monitor side communication (e.g., text chat)*
● Monitor hashtag*
● Respond to questions*
● Deploy your strategies (e.g., question prompts, polls)
● Have fun!
*This is where an assistant can help!

Get Your Audience Involved!
● Ice Breakers
● Gateway Activities
(QQTP)
● Flip Your Session
● Role Play or Debate
● Collaborative Note Taking
● Polls and Surveys
● PechaKucha
https://tinyurl.com/yafm993n

ICEBREAKERS
● If I were …
● Quick Whips – “Right now I’m feeling …”, “The best part
of my day is …”
● Cinquain
● Link Share
● Would you rather …

GATEWAY ACTIVITIES
● QQTP
○ Question
○ Quote
○ Talking Point

FLIP YOUR SESSION
Presentation
Discussion

ROLE PLAY / DEBATE
● Scenarios
● Case Studies
● Assigned Roles
● Problem-Solving
● Ground Rules

COLLABORATIVE NOTE TAKING
● Assign or Open to All
● Editing Tools
● Communicate Expectations
● Provide Access

POLLS and SURVEYS
● Check Understanding
● Make a Prediction
● Muddiest Point Reflection

PechaKucha
● “20x20”
● Individual or Group
● Get creative! e.g., Image-only, Bitmoji

Pro Tips!
■ Use a headset with a mic, not the computer’s default mic.
■ Create a presentation without animations or transitions.
■ Add interactive features gradually.
■ Avoid background noise (visual and sound).
■ Include your photo (or webcam) at the beginning of the
presentation.
■ Let people know when you are going to be silent.
■ Consider size of audience, technology comfort level, session
length, broadband
■ The fundamentals of a good presentation remain the same.

3. Call to Action
● Leave time for questions
● Review session goals and objectives
● Wrap-up and Farewell
● What’s next?
○ Promote next webinar, other events and resources,
gateway activities

After1. Evaluate!
2. Reflect!
3. REVISE, Reuse, Reconnect!

1. Evaluate
Ask attendees for feedback.

➔ How would you rate the topic and content?
➔ How would you rate the level and amount of
information provided?
➔ How would you rate the speaker and interface?
➔ What additional webinar topics would you like to see?
➔ How did you hear about this webinar?
➔ Do you have any additional comments?

2. Reflect
● What did you think? (Write it
down.)
● Do an after-action-review with
your assistant.
● Review attendee feedback.

3. Revise, Reuse, Reconnect
Make tweaks to slides and notes for next time (schedule!)
Extend your topic to other formats:
- blog post
- conference presentation
- article submission

Engage, again ...
- Follow up with attendees
- Send slides, recording link
- Keep in touch!

Questions?

Melissa A. Venable, PhD
melissa.a.venable@gmail.com
DesignDoc.me
@Melissa_Venable
@TechnologyTwins