This morning I am getting fired up to attend the MPI WEC 2010 Conference, in Vancouver, BC.  I’m already dressed, had my coffee and breakfast, and I’m hanging … um … in the MPI Networking Lounge.  So, if you are an MPI attendee, you may be wondering where that is?  Funny, it’s not listed in the program guide??  <Grins> … That’s cuz I am standing in MPI’s cleverly-created Virtual world.

Hanging out at the MPI Networking Lounge

You see, I am attending as an Avatar.  MPI has created a Virtual Conference Center by which remote attendees can network with one another, and participate in WEC General Sessions.  This is just one of many experiments by the MPI team to extend the technology reach and functionality of their conferences.  I am pretty excited about it.

If you are familiar with Second Life, the most well known and successful virtual world out there, the look and feel of this virtual facility is very similar, yet more simplified.  Many people who have tried out Second Life become intimidated by it’s complexity.  Conversely, this virtual world is very user friendly.

MPI workshop area

The creators are Fusion Productions, the folks that are bringing MPI attendees the General Session stage-set and audio visual support.

So here is a recap of what is being offered:

• (3) Three Virtual areas including Networking Lounge, Conference Room and Workshop area.
• Choice of (10) Avitar styles/looks
• (8) Eight Gestures and (8) mood choices
• Voice enabled (requires headset and microphone)
• Separate window within virtual platform for webcast viewing with Twitter Feed
• Typed Chat interface
• Media window showing slides and other media used during sessions.

As you may be aware MPI is offering a live video webcast of their (2) two General Sessions, first on Sunday from 10am to 11:30am and then again on Tuesday, from 8:30am to 10:00am, both PDT.  For more information on the sessions please visit the MPI WEC website.  The Virtual Conference center is open throughout the conference.  There is no charge for it’s use and it is really very easy to set yourself up with an avitar.  Click here to get started.

MPI Conference Room

I hope to see you at the MPI Virtual conference center over the next few days!  Check it out, it will be worth your time. And… don’t forget to share your opinions via the comments section of this blog.

As you may know I have published several articles discussing Hybrid events.  For those of you new to the conversation a hybrid event is one in which virtual, or remote attendees interact with face to face attendees, utilizing some form of social technology.

Most often, in the hybrid meeting scenario, remote attendees watch a live video webcast of a keynote address, or an education session, in some sort of convention, or conference setting.  To further engage the audience event organizers usually provide a back channel for conversation, in an application such as Twitter.  Over the past 18 months or so, many organizations have been introducing hybrid elements into their meetings and conferences.

A New Breed of Hybrid Events

I’m one of those guys that gets really “amped” when I encounter something new, and innovative.  This week, thanks to a company called The Expo Group (TEG) I had the distinct pleasure of attending a new breed of Hybrid Events, at the TS² Show (Total Solutions Marketing), in Boston, MA.  What distinguished this one from others, , was it’s location in the middle of a trade-show environment, in an exhibit booth, rather than a meeting room.  How cool is that?

Tagged as the “InZone Lounge and Networking Center” this area was designed, by TEG, to create a fun, innovative space on the show floor where all TS² on-site and virtual attendees could gather and interact with exhibitors, sponsors, speakers and press.  Their featured event, called  “Continuing the Conversation” was a series of 15 minute “talk show” style interviews with Social Media Thought Leaders, over a two-day period. (July 14 & 15)

A Hybrid Home Run!

I watched all but one of the interview segments on Wednesday, July 14.  Unfortunately I was not able to participate on Thursday, due to other business commitments.  In my opinion TEG hit a trade-show “home-run” with this event.  It was flawlessly executed.  I believe the following contributed to their success:

Great Vendor Partners — At every level the quality of this event was first class.  As an attendee, I enjoyed every moment of this experience.  TEG clearly selected the right vendors for the job.

Interviews were sharp, crisp, energetic, engaging and personable — Emilie Barta, as the event host/anchor, was outstanding.  If you have not met this gifted events business professional, or seen her work, you need to!

Emilie is one of those people (unlike me) that makes the camera look good.  Her video presence lights up a room, and she knows just how to capture and keep a viewer’s attention, whether virtual or face2face..  Equally important, Emilie also makes interviewees feel at ease.  Thus the total experience flows smoothly.

Great Webcast Platform — Over the past year I have often been frustrated with certain aspects of many other webcasts I’ve seen.  Digitell, the webcast provider for this event, really has one of the best webcast platforms I’ve seen.  The video window is fully functional, and I especially liked the chat portal.

Since No slide decks were utilized I can not vouch for that piece, but I am guessing Digitell does a nice job with that component, when needed, as well.  My only criticism was that, in the Twitter window, I was not able to post tweets.  I still had to access an outside Twitter client to do that.

Great audio/video quality and coverage — pretty much “high definition” quality audio/video for these webcast events made them a pleasure to watch/hear.  The Camera technician was “on the spot” with following the coverage of the interviews, including audience participation.

For more information regarding the content presented at the “Continuing the Conversation” event I would recommend reading Midori Connolly’s blog post.  Midori, the owner and chief AV girl, for Pulse Staging & Events, was one of the thought leaders interviewed by Emilie at the “InZone.”

Question:  What types of Hybrid events are you coming across in your event travels?  What do you believe works well?  What do you think of the scenario recapped in this article?

I am continuously amazed at how we, as event professionals, keep trying to do the same things (that repeatedly don’t work) over and over, expecting a different result?!?  Some people would (and do) call that insanity!

I am as guilty of this mistake as the next person, as I have made my share of ‘repeat errors.’  This past week I was witness of, and party to one such blunder,  at the PCMA Education Conference.  For context I was the Conference Co-Chair (along with Bob Hancock)  So, I accept ownership of the programming decision, which led to the less than positive experience I am about to share with you.

First some great news …  Based upon the feedback received the conference was very successful overall.  The one thorn in an otherwise very rosy experience was Tuesday afternoon’s General Session, an Industry Panel Discussion. All I can say is “What were we thinking?”

Up until this event occurred the conference energy level and enthusiasm had been very high.  That all changed in a matter of minutes, as this session put nearly the entire audience (myself included) to sleep. The experience was especially painful for our remote/virtual attendees.

So why was it a mistake to do a panel discussion?  What went wrong?  What could have been done differently?  Let’s take an objective look at these questions.

The “Pain Points”

Scheduling — we scheduled this panel discussion as the last session for Day Three of the conference.  Everyone was tired, from two nights of late night wining and dining, and two intense days of program content.  That morning we featured a fantastic speaker, Scott Koslosky, who was both engaging and entertaining.  We may have been better served to flip flop (reverse) the scheduling of these two general sessions.

Poor Topic Choice — Our topic for the panel was “The New Normal of Business.” Several months ago this was a hot topic, but it has been addressed repeatedly, at numerous conferences this year, and now has become an overused cliche.  We received many comments from attendees expressing their disdain with this topic.

Why Most Panel Discussions Fail

Talking Heads — Seemingly, most panel discussions fall short of their intended impact for one simple fact … they don’t engage audiences.  Yes, there are usually sporadic opportunities for the audience to ask questions, or share comments.  However most of the time, during the session, is spent with attendees quietly listening to panel members share their thoughts. That is not energizing.

Not Optimal Learning Conditions — This is the core problem with panel discussions.  The human brain is not wired to sit quietly for long periods of time, without some stimuli.  So, in the absence of stimuli, the brain shuts down and people become disengaged.  A really good book on this subject is called “Brain Rules” by Dr. John Medina.  I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the brain and its relationship to learning concepts.

For the record this panel was comprised of very credible, knowledgeable business people, with strong experience.  They were led by a moderator with a proven track record in that role.  I do not blame them one bit for this situation.  They delivered what we asked them to, and that was the real mistake.  Nuff Said!

Question:  Have you encountered a situation where a panel discussion was highly effective?  What, in your opinion, made that situation work?  If you attended the session referenced in this article, how did it resonate with you?

On Friday I arrived in Montreal for the 2010 PCMA Education Conference (PCMAEC).  The event, which takes place at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel,  does not actually kickoff until today, so, in the interim, I have been  getting better  acquainted with Montreal and its wonderful culture.  What a wonderful city!

I have been honored with the opportunity of being co-chair (along with Bob Hancock) of the conference committee for PCMAEC.  To say the least, it has been a rewarding experience.  So what have been the high points?

New Conference Content Model Emerges

The Conference Committee and PCMA staff met in early January, during the PCMA Annual Meeting to establish our collective vision for this event.  Together we agreed the 2010 PCMAEC would embody a spirit of collaboration and experimental event design.  Here’s a recap of what has changed:

Birth of Peer to Peer Sessions — We decided to replace traditional “lecture-based” and “panel-based” concurrent education sessions with facilitated interactive “peer to peer” discussions.

Socially Developed (Attendee-Influenced) Content — Our strategy was to engage members in the idea generation for the session topics.  So we surveyed them through social media and email channels.  There was a terrific response.  Many of the actual peer to peer sessions scheduled for this conference were born out of that process.

“Unconference Style“ Peer to Peer Session — One alternative session was added for Tuesday, where the actual content will be determined at the start, by the participants.  I am facilitating that event and look forward to the thoughts and solutions generated from it.

The Big Exchange — On Wednesday morning the entire group will convene in a session where we will collectively share the takeaways, with one another, from all the peer to peer sessions.

Social Media — Webcasts and Twitter Hash Tag

General Sessions — Over the three days of the conference there will be five awesome General Sessions.  Each will be featured in live video webcasts available complimentary to all industry professionals.  To preview and sign up for these sessions please click here.

Twitter — The official Hashtag for the conference is #PCMAEC.  A Twitter moderator will be assigned to each session and will monitor questions/comments from the remote audience.  Please join the online conversation in the back channel!

The ‘A’ Team

I have been blessed to partner with some really terrific people throughout this project.  Special thanks go out to the following individuals:

PCMA Staff — True Professionals — The PCMA staff including Deborah Sexton, John Potterton, Kelly Peacy, Mandi Kasper, Lorena Fuentes, Brad Lewis, Mary Reynolds Kane, and Maggie Endres have all been stellar colleagues in this venture.

My Partner and Co-Chair, Bob Hancock — Bob is one of the kindest, most generous people you will ever meet.  Throughout the last six months I have enjoyed every moment of working with him.
The Conference Committee — There are some exceptional, talented people whom have served on this committee.  This event would not be possible without their dedication and solid work.

So now the conference begins.  The pre-work is done, a record 370+ people are registered, and the rest is up to our attendees, presenters, and facilitators.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth!  At the very least, if you are not attending this event face to face, then please register for the webcasts and join the interaction.  It will be an outstanding event!

I recently read an article published by MeetingsNet entitled “Why Choose an All-Inclusive for Your Meeting?”  Jean LaCorte, the author, raised some interesting points in favor of purchasing events this way.

For clarity, an all-inclusive plan is one employed by a venue (usually a hotel), in which customers pay room, tax, gratuities, and food and beverage included in one package price, on a per person basis.  There are variations to this methodology, at some facilities, and other services and products, such as audio visual, in-room amenities or recreation,  may be bundled into the package.  Most commonly Conference Centers utilize this business model.

The premise of the aforementioned article is “Variety and cost-effectiveness are the two main reasons” for opting to use this type of plan.  While I agree that an all-inclusive package typically offers budgeting convenience, and variety with food and beverage selections, I don’t necessarily agree that it is cost-effective.  Here’s why…

The Challenge

In the realm of hotel food and beverage, the profit margin is usually very narrow, usually somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-25%.  Hotelier friends, am I on track with that statistic?

To offer food variety, means the facility has to purchase, hold in inventory, and potentially prepare a broader selection of items, resulting in higher food and beverage costs.  Secondly, with buffets, there is less portion control, so more food must be prepared and put out to maintain the integrity of the customer experience.  So, as with any good business, the pricing for delivering these goods and services must be developed in consideration of these factors, in order to meet profitability goals.

The Upside and the Downside

From my perspective here’s a quick look at the basic upside and downside of “all-inclusive” style packaging:

In my experience, as an event professional, all-inclusive pricing is  only an economical option if all attendees use all or a majority of the services bundled into the package.  With many events, it does not play out that way, particularly with food and beverage.

My comments in this article are absolutely not intended to alienate, or diminish the value of “all-inclusive” packaged facilities.  In fact some of the finest meeting and conference venues operate successfully, using this business model.  I believe what is most important is to match up an event to a facility that meets its historical needs and personality.

If quality is your event’s primary objective, and you have limited event management staff, and ample financial resources, then all-inclusive priced facilities may be the best solution for your situation.  If your meeting has a history of low attendance at meals, and your organization is operating on a tight budget, then it may be wise to consider alternatives.  Make sense?

Question:  How do you perceive your event fits into this scenario?  What factors do you consider?  Have I missed something in this article?  Please add your thoughts!

“Friends Don’t Let Friends Launch Bad Webinars”

When creating webinars, once the presenter has determined who their audience will be, and what education need is to be served, (discussed in Part One and Two of this article series) the next step is to design the event itself.  Following three basic steps, with some creativity and diligence, the presenter thus formulates the groundwork for a positive attendee learning experience.

Step One:  Develop Learner Objectives (LO’s) – This is an absolutely critical part of the process!  Jeff Hurt wrote a great article at  his blog, Midcourse Corrections, addressing this topic.  Jeff believes, as I do, that presenters must “begin with the end in mind.”

Speakers must identify, in this first step, the major learning points participants will derive from the webinar.  LO’s propose what the attendee (learner) will take away, or gain, from the experience.  They are the compass guiding the presenter through the task of crafting their presentation. They also serve as a strategic focus for promoting the event.

Simply put, strong LO’s must be:

• Observable
• Measurable
• Achieved by the learner (not the presenter)

“Your LO’s serve as guideposts along the path of your presentation to help your attendees learn and retain information. They are critical to the presentation and vital to your conference marketing materials. The ultimate test when writing a LO is whether or not the action taken by the participants can be assessed immediately upon their departure from the presentation. If not, the outcome probably does met meet all three of the characteristics.”
– Jeff Hurt, Velvet Chainsaw Consulting

For more in-depth information regarding learner objectives please read Jeff’s complete article.  There are some great tips and insights contained there.

Step Two:  Create Presentation Outline – Referring to the LO’s discussed in Step One, the presenter should write a high level overview of the key webinar discussion points.  This forces the presenter to gather and organize their thoughts.  It will also assist them in creating visual support for the event.

A couple of best practices for speakers to follow while building the outline:

• Use simple, key words, in brief sentences, or phrases, to frame up the discussion points quickly.   A concise outline not only helps the speaker maintain an organized focus, but may serve as a terrific reference tool during the presentation.
• Avoid lengthy or complex sentences, as they may create confusion, disrupting the natural flow of the presentation.  An outline is supposed to document the flow of discussion, not serve as a script.

Step Three:  Create Visual Support — As previously discussed,  a webinar is one of the most difficult presentation formats to engage attendees.  The most significant challenge is lack of  face2face contact, or much multi-directional interaction, between participants and the presenter.  Visual aids can be a highly effective tool to add life to the presentation.

Here are some thoughts regarding their use:

• High Graphics/Simple Text — Create powerpoint style slides with vivid, interesting images, accompanied by simple text.  The goal is to capture attendees interest (brain stimulation).
• Slides are for Accent, Not Focus — visual aids should add style, energy and interest in the presentation.  In most cases they should not become the major audience focus.  Just as salt & pepper adds flavor to food, so should visual aids to the presentation.
• Create a Slide archive — Once the final slide presentation is completed, a useful value-add is to make them available online.  Sites like “Slideshare” are great tools for posting this content for public consumption.

The information outlined in this article is a solid starting point for creating a successful webinar presentation.  I am sure there are other techniques and practices that could be employed during the development process, that I did not address here.

All thoughts are welcome, as I clearly do not have all the answers.  Is there some unique or new technique or idea you have implemented with a webinar event?  What challenges have you encountered with these presentations?  Please share those thoughts and experiences with us!

“Friends Don’t Let Friends Launch Bad Webinars”

In Part One, of this article series I offered ideas regarding why an organization should consider adding webinars to their education curriculum.  I also shared, based upon my own experiences and research,  some potential roadblocks to their success.  Now, in part two lets review the strategic components that help organizers shape these events.  Before creating education content, the design team must first identify the following:

• Who is the targeted event audience? Who is the organization trying to reach? It could be a combination of the below.
  • Customers
  • Internal team members
  • Suppliers
• What is the audience’s education need? What is the content that needs to be delivered?
  • Common Business Challenge — Is there a hot topic that is stirring up a lot of discussion in your business sector.  If so, then it is a golden opportunity to show thought leadership, and initiate a meaningful conversation addressing the issue.
  • News Style Information — Is there some exciting new development in the organization that should be introduced to the marketplace.  Are there new products/services to discuss?
  • Internal Company Initiatives/Policies — Inside the organization is there a need to roll-out a new business initiative, new business processes, or policy statements?
  • Partnership Opportunities with Vendors – Has the organization developed a new alliance with another organization resulting in a new partnership to be shared?  Perhaps this alliance results in a value enhancement for  customers, or requires new internal processes & guidelines.
• How should messaging be delivered? The delivery style is driven by the content and the circumstances.  Whenever possible it is best to avoid a lecture style format, because it is not engaging.
  • Lecture style — This format usually is selected because there is some information or news to be shared.  It is most effective when the messaging is quick, and no significant audience interaction is required.  There could be a “Q&A” to follow the presentation.
  • Facilitated Panel Discussion — This style of delivery is most effective for webinars, as it can be lively and interactive, if executed properly.  Interspersing Q&A at fifteen minute intervals is a good practice.  Also, assigning someone the responsibility of tracking/forwarding questions and comments from the audience adds flavor to the event.
  • Workshop — When work-groups, or pods of attendees are collaborating, this presentation format can be utilized.  The presenter lays the foundation, framing up the focus of the discussion.  Then the remote work-groups work on an exercise together.  A nice follow up piece is for the pods to report back on their findings, either by chat or audio feed.

Whatever the delivery format selected, presenters need to have a solid grasp of the material they are presenting.  The largest challenge with webinars is to capture and maintain the interest of the remote audience.  Since there is no video or f2f interaction, the only way to build excitement and interest, is through lively dialogue mixed with some vivid, eye-catching images.  We will discuss this further in an upcoming segment of this article series.

The one universal truth is the “one size fits all” philosophy does not work. Organizations must find that “sweet spot,” … the approach that will have the greatest positive impact on the perceived audience.

Have you found that sweet spot, or approach, to a webinar that has “hit the ball out of the park?“  If so, please share it with us.

This is the first in a multi-part series of discussions regarding Webinars. This first article will examine the potential value of these events, as well as the challenges in making them successful.

Organizations are beginning to utilize a relatively new breed of meetings, called “webinars” as a plausible option for delivering value-added event experiences to their customers.  For context, a Webinar, short for “Web-based seminar,”  is a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar transmitted over the Internet.  The data is delivered via streaming technology, either live or in archive format.

Friends Don’t Let Friends Launch Bad Webinars!

For purposes of this article series, video broadcasts will not be part of the discussion.  Our reference point will be on webinars utilizing audio-based streaming, with static (non-animated)  visual support.

So, what value does this type of technology and event bring to organizations, and their customers?  Here are some thoughts:

• Cost Effective — Webinars are inexpensive, from both a producer’s and attendee’s point-of-view.  The operating investment for the webinar platform is far less than any other type of event, online or otherwise.  In many cases webinars are offered free-of-charge to attendees, or at a low-cost fee.
• Easy to Implement – Webinar technology is uncomplicated, and easy to navigate, whether an attendee or presenter.  All that is needed is a computer, with an up-to-date hardware configuration, soundcard, web browser, and a high speed Internet connection.  Presenters will either use VOIP, with a computer microphone, or telephone connection, for audio communication.
• Customer Value Enhancement – Many organizations have added webinars to their education curriculum, in response to the difficult economy.  Some people, unable to attend mainstay “big-dollar” face2face events, because of budget cuts, or travel restrictions, can still at least capture some education, with webinars.
• Brand Awareness – By hosting webinars, organizations add value to their customers service experience.  They also demonstrate thought leadership to the industry they serve.  Ultimately they enhance their brand’s image.

If managed properly, webinars may be a terrific communication channel for organizations to deliver valuable information and educational content to customers, employees, and industry peers.  Unfortunately, many are poorly executed, delivering diminished value to attendees.

Attendees and presenter(s) are not able to connect face2face  with webinars, due to their online nature.  With this crucial attendee engagement element missing, organizers must focus their attention on finding other ways to make these events interactive.  Therein lies the challenge.

Since many event professionals are not experienced in managing these types of events, they don’t realize the webinar experience needs to be crafted differently than its face2face counterpart.  In this article series I will share some ideas with you, based upon my research and experience of how to optimize the webinar experience.

Clearly I don’t have all the answers, so I hope to learn from you as well.  Through mutual learning we can raise the bar of success with these events in the future.

After all, “Friends Don’t Let Friends Launch Bad Webinars.”

Question:  Have you attended any webinars recently?  If so how would you characterize the experience?  What were the benefits, and challenges?  We look forward to your input!

On Thursday (tomorrow) my colleagues Jeff Hurt, Samuel Smith and I are participating as presenters in a free webinar hosted by InXpo.   Below are the details of the event as well as a link to register.  The designated Twitter Hashtag for the event is #inxpolive.

WHAT:  “Beyond Social Media: Uncover New Ways To Connect, Engage and Educate Your Audience Physically And Virtually”

WHEN:  March 18, 2010, 10 am – 11 am CT

FEATURING:

• Jeff Hurt (Director, Education and Engagement, Velvet Chainsaw Consulting)
• Michael McCurry (Strategic Account Manager, Experient)
• Samuel Smith (Editor, Interactive Meeting Technology Blog)
• Moderated by: Elliot Markowitz (Programming Director, InXpo)

Social media is emerging as an extremely effective tool for promoting events and engaging audiences before the event even begins, during the actual live broadcast and even after it has already taken place. Currently the most popular social network tools are Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, but the question is not the tool but the engagement strategy you leverage. Attend this webcast and hear from industry experts as they discuss how to leverage social media technologies that augment how you connect, engage and educate your audiences physically and virtually.

Please click here to register.

After attending this webinar, attendees will be able to:

1. Discuss the value of social media as it relates to associations, brands, conferences and organization
2. Identify ways to leverage social media for private, corporate events and public tradeshow
3. Discover how a platform like InXpo can provide an attendee integrated experience.

We hope you will join us for this event and look forward to your participation!

Its amazing, in this new world of robust online technology, just how much there is to learn.  Over the past  year, I have personally spent quite a bit of time investigating the “ins and outs” of creating and producing online events, such as webinars and webcasts.  It has been a rich educational experience.

To date, I have been involved, in various capacities, with a half dozen webinars.  Through experimentation with these events I discovered I have a natural ability as a facilitator, or moderator to lead panel style presentations.  Over time I am becoming more and more comfortable in this arena, although I still have much to learn.

This week I participated, as both a facilitator, and panelist, in a webinar, hosted by PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association).  Our presentation was entitled “Engaging Attendees Today:  How to Combine Virtual and Face-to-Face Meetings.” For a recap of the event please click here for that article.

By most accounts the webinar went very well.  There was a terrific audience, nearly 200ppl.  The topic is very popular right now in the events business, so there was a lot of interest around it.  Our panel was very well prepared to address the learning objectives, for the event,  and we had a strong Powerpoint presentation to support the discussion, which is a key component to a successful webinar.

However, there were some challenging moments, and therefore some learning lessons to this experience.

Learning Lesson #1: The Moderator/Facilitator is the Gatekeeper – As I was the facilitator, it was my responsibility to keep all of us panelists on track, and aligned with the expectations of the event.  See Learning Lesson #2 below — I learned the hard way!

Learning Lesson #2:  Get to your learning objectives as soon as possible – This webinar was a one-hour session.  We spent the first thirty minutes in the Introduction phase, which was entirely too long.  There was an important story, which added credibility to our presentation talking points, but we should have been more succinct in “teeing it up” to the audience.

Learning Lesson #3:  Make absolutely certain the Webinar technology is completely functional – We had two tech rehearsals for this webinar, but neglected to verify one important detail; that the webinar chat window was operational.  It wasn’t.  As the facilitator, I was supposed to monitor the questions and comments from the audience … I could not see them.  We eventually resolved the problem, but it created some awkward moments.

Learning Lesson #4:  Always have a conversation “back channel” available – All three of us panelists are Twitter fanatics.  Yet, we somehow forgot to promote a Twitter Hashtag channel, for the event, ahead of time.  It happened anyways, as our attendees created one, on their own.  But… that was slightly embarrassing.

Learning Lesson #5:  Close the Webinar Platform Immediately After Event – If you plan to have a post-event briefing (a good idea) with panelists, it is wise to first close out of the webinar.  One panelist and I thought the platform was already shutdown to the public, and continued conversing, after the event, only to discover, through feedback from attendees, that we were still live.  Not a good thing!

Looking ahead, I will leverage these lessons in future webinar opportunities.  I tend to be hard on myself, as I strive for perfection, but if life were perfect, it would be boring, for sure. 

Question:  What learning lessons have you benefited from, in your experiences with webinars?  If you attended this session, did I miss anything?  Please share your thoughts with us!