How to Conduct a Teleseminar

A teleseminar, or webinar, is a virtual meeting. The presenter can show slide presentations, demonstrate software tools and show videos while interacting with the audience on a shared telephone line. Teleseminars are a great way to provide all the collaboration of a face-to-face meeting while eliminating the time and cost involved in traveling to offsite meetings. Various tools exist to conduct a teleseminar. Follow these steps to conduct a teleseminar.

Instructions

1. Determine the teleseminar topic and length and decide who should attend.

2. Plan the time, date and length of the teleseminar. Make sure all key participants can attend. Give yourself enough time to make all necessary arrangements to conduct the teleseminar.

3. Communicate the requirements and time frames to any fellow presenters. Include information about formats, tools and deadlines.

4. Arrange for all logistics, tools and equipment. If you already have virtual meeting software and teleconference tools, reserve them. If anyone at your location is attending the webinar in person, book a room with a projector and a speakerphone. Make sure that your computer has network and Internet access and that all of the required software is loaded and ready.

5. Send meeting invitations, confirmations and reminders to fellow presenters and to participants. Include all key information such as links, log in IDs and passwords, teleconference phone number and participant code.

6. Prepare the webinar presentation. Start with a list of objectives and topics. Vary the teleseminar activities, pace and visuals, but be sure you keep content and discussions relevant to your topic. For example, tell a story, show a short video or ask your audience to participate in a group exercise.

7. Arrive early. Log in to the virtual meeting and test software and equipment. Be the first to dial in to the teleseminar.

8. Greet participants as they join the meeting and provide them with a status. As you conduct the teleseminar, be friendly and engaging. Write down the participants' names.

9. Start the teleseminar by introducing yourself and any other presenters. Whenever feasible, have all attendees introduce themselves to the group. Ask if everyone has accessed the virtual meeting and if they can hear you speaking. Assist anyone who needs help. Ask participants to mute their phones as you conduct the teleseminar in order to reduce background noise.

10. Review the teleseminar agenda and objectives. Set expectations such as encouraging participation and whether you can accept questions by email or instant messenger.

11. Ask and answer questions and constantly demonstrate enthusiasm for your topic. Your energy keeps participants interested and engaged.

12. End the webinar on time and thank participants for attending. Provide any follow-up information and resources. Be the last one to hang up.

Tips & Warnings

• Doing a dry run of the teleseminar is especially important if you are inexperienced or if you are unfamiliar with the teleseminar content or tools.

• Set the tone of the webinar immediately. Since teleseminar participants often can't see you, your voice and personality create their impressions of you and influence their reactions to the webinar.

• As teleseminar technology continues to develop, video conferencing will become increasingly common. Video conferencing allows you to interact visually with your audience, creating opportunities for enhanced webinars.

• If the teleseminar involves participants from more than one time zone, be especially clear about communicating meeting start and end times.

• When facilitating teleseminars, avoid putting your phone on hold, since some teleconference services play music while the host is on hold.

• If participants remain on the line after the teleseminar ends, there may be additional fees and/or long distance charges.