Ray Magnan - Web Meeting Best Practices May 2011

Copyright © Ray Magnan 2011

Web Meeting

Best Practices

Ray Magnan

Instructional Designer

May 2011

2Copyright © Ray Magnan 2011

Topics

• Overview

• Preparing for the Web Meeting

• Conducting the Web Meeting

• Increasing Participation


Typical Web Meeting

• The audio and visual may be provided together through the

webmeeting technology.

• In other cases, the audio may require a separate phone

conference call.

• The webmeeting technology provides the ability to share

individual files, applications, or the presenter’s entire desktop.

• The audio and visual may be provided together through the

webmeeting technology.

• In other cases, the audio may require a separate phone

conference call.

• The webmeeting technology provides the ability to share

individual files, applications, or the presenter’s entire desktop.

The Host may be the Presenter,

or may share duties with other

Presenters.

The Host may be the Presenter,

or may share duties with other

Presenters.

Presenters (Optional)Host

Participants


Types of Web Meetings

• Webinars (Web Seminars)

• Small group meetings or training sessions

• Multi-day class

• Large scale presentations

• International presentations or training

• 1 on 1 sessions

– Development session

– Individual training


Advantages

• No travel necessary.

• Saves on travel costs and time.

• People can attend who would not be able to otherwise.

• Meetings can be held which might be impossible otherwise.

• Can be easier to schedule.

• Can accommodate a wide range of geographic locations:

– This is a key advantage for international companies.


Disadvantages

• Different from a live classroom.

• Can be challenging to keep people engaged.

• Presenter cannot see audience. Has to rely on verbal

clues.

• Both presenters and attendees have to get used to the

technology.

• Have to make adjustments to how you present and

how you attend.


Preparing for the Web Meeting


Preparing for the Web Meeting

Verify teleconference and webmeeting accounts are active:

– May deactivate after several months of no usage.

– Verify the maximum number of attendees. Make sure to reserve

enough seats for the presenters and last-minute attendees.

Webmeeting:

– Test connectivity. Note that wireless connections may not have

enough bandwidth to successfully host the meeting.

– Practice using the webmeeting format before the session.

Conference call:

– Research capabilities of teleconference system. Example,

commands for:

• Muting all or individuals phones.

• Other controls for minimizing background noise.


Preparing for the Web Meeting (continued)

You are invited to a webinar... Here is the login information.

Webmeeting

1. Ten minutes before start, open a browser and go to http://xxxxx.com

2. Enter Meeting number: XXXX

3. Enter Access Code: XXXX

4. Enter your email address.

5. Enter your First and Last name. (Prevents potential confusion about

people with the same first name.)

6. Join as Participant.

Conference Call

7. Call In Number: XXX-XXX-XXXX

8. Access Code: XXXXXXX

You are invited to a webinar... Here is the login information.

Webmeeting

1. Ten minutes before start, open a browser and go to http://xxxxx.com

2. Enter Meeting number: XXXX

3. Enter Access Code: XXXX

4. Enter your email address.

5. Enter your First and Last name. (Prevents potential confusion about

people with the same first name.)

6. Join as Participant.

Conference Call

7. Call In Number: XXX-XXX-XXXX

8. Access Code: XXXXXXX

Invitation:– Send invitation to attendees.

– Include information about the session, including date/time, login

information, and location of session materials.

– Recommend that attendees at the same location get together and

use a single login and phone line.


Conducting the Web Meeting


Before the Web Meeting

• Host and Presenter(s) should sign in early to

webmeeting and conference call.

• The Host sets attendee privileges.

– Depending on the technology used, the host may be able to

control access to application sharing or other features such as

chat or raise hands.

– The Host may be able to control the participants ability to

independently scroll through the presentation materials. By

turning this off, you ensure that the participants are all seeing the

same material at the same time.

• The Host controls who will be the Presenter.

• Start the actual session on time, out of consideration for

everyone’s schedules.


Before the Web Meeting (continued)

• Have the presentation files readily available.

– Important: Avoid running files from a network drive.

• May cause performance issues because of network traffic,

especially for large complex files.

• Instead, copy files to your PC and run them from there.

– Hint: Add conference call

information to the title slide of the

presentation you use to start the

webmeeting.


Starting the Web Meeting

Conference call:

– Greet the participants as they join the call.

– Provide instructions about muting calls.

– Attendees should avoid placing the call on hold

since this can cause "hold music" to play in the

background of the conference call.

– Use any other available teleconference commands

to minimize background noise.


Starting the Web Meeting (continued)

Web Meeting

• Remind participants to use their first and last name when they log

into the web meeting.

– Minimizes the potential confusion caused by people with the same first

name. (Less important for small groups where participants know each

other. )

• You may have to provide login or phone information to attendees at

the last minute.

– Have it ready to email to them.

• If attendees are unable to login to the webmeeting, they can still

attend by phone.


Recording:

• Let the participants know if the meeting is being recorded or not.

– Recording a session is useful for topics such as training by a subject

matter expert that is not likely to be repeated.

– For facilitated discussions, the participants will speak more freely if the

session is not recorded.

Starting the Web Meeting (continued)


Increasing Participation


Increasing Participation

Set expectations when the meeting starts.

– Tell attendees what level of participation you are looking for.

– In small groups, it may be possible to have people speak

freely when they have a question.

– For large groups, ask them use available features such as

Raise Hands or Chat if they have a question. This helps the

host control the dialog.

– Suggest that attendees use available chat features or email if

they want to communicate privately with the Host and

Presenter.


Increasing Participation (continued)

• Use multiple presenters.

– Different voices and perspectives adds interest.

• Suggestion: Separate the Host’s and Presenter’s

responsibilities:

– Presenter focuses on presentation. Speaks and advances slides.

– Host monitors Chat and Raise Hands and informs presenter.

• “We have a chat question from Mary.”

• “John raised his hand. I think he has a comment.”



• Stop frequently to ask questions. Wait for responses.

• Direct questions to specific individuals.

• Listen carefully. Ask for more info from speaker and

others.

• Leverage your past experiences with similar audiences.

– What are their concerns and issues?

– You may find it helpful to visualize the audience.



• Meet with some of the participants before the meeting.

– Encourage their participation.

– Let them know about specific topics you would like them to

discuss.

• Break up long sessions into smaller segments.

– It is hard to maintain the group’s focus for long sessions.

– Example: Four day online class.

• Class meets together twice a day for 2 hour sessions. Focus on

difficult topics and review of exercises.

• Students work independently on self-paced materials during breaks.

• Instructor remains available via email and phone.


Raise Hands

• Use Raise Hands feature to track who has questions or

wants to speak.

Host ViewParticipant View


Chat

• Use Chat feature to get comments or

questions from attendees, or to send

info to specific attendees.

from John Smith to Host & Presenter:Hi. Finishing up a call. Will be right on.

to John Smith (privately): Hi John. OK.

John Smith


Polls

• Use Polls to get feedback, vote,

and test knowledge.

• You may be able to share the

results immediately with the

participants or save it later for

analysis.


Whiteboard

• Use the Whiteboard for collaborative exercises.


Questions

Ray Magnan - Web Meeting Best Practices May 2011

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