Who REALLY loves webinars? I don’t. But, living in a virtual world and working nationally, I have to stay current. And, one inexpensive, easy way to gain more knowledge, connect with new people and stay current is to participate in webinars. SPARK asked me to do a webinar and I was flattered. The topic was comprehensive school health programs. Sure! I knew that topic. I could do it in my sleep. The bigger challenge? Keeping people interested and engaged throughout the 45-55 minutes. So, I dug deep into my adult learning knowledge and trainer background. Since facilitating the webinar, 7 people have followed up with me including being asked to keynote in another state, and other potential school health consulting work. I even received an email that said, “Thanx for one of the best webinars I have viewed in a while. Have a great weekend!:-)”. It was the first webinar I’ve ever facilitated and the feedback has been really positive. So, I might as well share some tips, right?
What did I do to engage participants?
1. Before starting, I had a slide with fun info about me, the facilitator. And a funny photo.
2. I used a metaphor
3. Told a story throughout. Storytelling is an effective way to engage the brain.
4. Asked questions (twice) and asked for people to respond. Referred to submissions later on in the webinar. At end, we opened it up to questions.
5. Facilitated a physical activity, even though I couldn’t see people participating, I asked them to take a photo with their camera and post it to Twitter using #GearUp4CSH. Offered a prize to two participants who submitted photos!
If you missed the webinar, feel free to listen to it here!
It was a great webinar! Thanks for sharing your tips 🙂