We know, adjusting to the new normal is hard — but it doesn’t have to be all bad! For starters, without the early morning commute to work, you now have time to spare for a lie-in, leaving you feeling rested and refreshed for your workday.
And while working from home has its fair share of challenges, there are also numerous benefits, one of which is the ability to conduct seminars online. Webinars, as they are more popularly known, allow participants to dial in from wherever they are and are fast becoming the norm in today’s workplace. Hosting a webinar requires a serious amount of prep, but we’re here to cover most of the groundwork with our step-by-step guide on hosting the perfect webinar.
Pick the right webinar platform
They say the devil’s in the details, so make sure you get your tech equipment setup right. Pick the right platform to host your webinar — each platform has its benefits and limitations — so it’s important to find one that best suits your needs.
To ensure that your audience can hear you loud and clear, you might also want to invest in a headset instead of relying on your laptop’s built-in microphone, which is prone to picking up wonky background noises.
Test your internet connection prior to the event to make sure it’s stable — you don’t want to drop off in the middle of a presentation!
Connect with your audience
While webinars take place in a professional setting, don’t be afraid to get more personal — share a bit of your background when introducing yourself to your audience, and make use of real-life analogies and stories to connect with them. This way, your participants will feel invested in the seminar. At the same time, make sure your content is focused and relevant — be cautious about straying too far away from the subject matter.
Integrate a mix of media into your webinar
Humans are visual creatures, and the best way to capture their attention fully is with the use of striking graphics. Make sure your slide deck runs with a coherent visual theme and integrate a mix of media into your webinar, from videos and music to infographics, GIFs and charts — these will capture the roving eye, and breathe life and energy into otherwise static presentations.
Hold webinar Q&A sessions
The best thing about webinars is the way they can help close the distance between audience and presenter. Hosts can make use of webinar tools to involve participants in live polls and live chats, and even hold Q&A sessions in between sections to directly address audience queries. This mutual interaction will leave both host and participants with key takeaways and the impression that attending the webinar has been a worthwhile use of their time.
Elevate the experience with restaurant-quality meals
Not all webinars are created equal, and Grain can attest to that. A perfect webinar is one that appeals to its audience before it begins — and let’s be real, nothing appeals more than the promise of good food. Take your webinar to the next level with Grain’s webinar lunch sets, which can be delivered island-wide to multiple locations, any day of the week. You’ll get all the benefits of restaurant-quality dining from the comfort of your home.
Take your pick from a selection of flavour-packed meal boxes, including the crowd-favourite Grilled Farm Fresh Chicken nestled in a bed of spiced multi-grain rice, spruced with juicy cherry tomatoes, fennel and housemade pesto. Or go local with the Seafood Laksa Hokkien Mee, tossed with generous helpings of squid, prawn and baby scallop.
For sides, treat yourself to a taste of Central America with our moreish Mexican Street Corn dressed in charred onion mayonnaise, or whet your appetite with the Century Egg Liang Ban Tofu served with preserved radish and shallots.
Post-meal refreshments include a fruit bowl that packs a punch, as well as a range of invigorating brews that make for the perfect pick-me-up. Think cold-pressed juices, Royal Earl Grey Milk Tea and White Cold Brew Coffee.
It’s an all-in-one power lunch offering that’ll make you want to schedule a webinar right away if you haven’t already done so. And trust us, your colleagues will be greeting the workday with a smile, knowing it’s going to be a Grain day.
Discover Grain webinars here.
