Ace the webinar

It was last week when Anand Mahindra chairman Mahindra Group posted a meme that went viral on social media It displayed a scene from the 1960s film MughalEAzam with a speech bubble where Salim seems to say Utho Anarkaliwebinar khatam hua With the number of discussions classes and lecture demonstrations that have taken the virtual route in these times all clubbed under the term webinar it struck a chord In the new world chances are you arent too far away from your next webinar either And if you are looking to get started heres what those who have taken the plunge have to sayAccessibilityAmong the merits of the format accessibility tops the list as virtual programmes or webinars have diminished distances and made them available to people in different parts of the world A girl sitting in Pondicherry can now sign up for a course that was earlier restricted to Mumbai applicants A homemaker can now do this too from the comfort of hisher home says Dr Omkar Bhatkar cofounder and head St Andrews Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts SAPP BandraA webinar by SAPPSelecting a platformWhile there are several platforms now available to conduct online meetings and webinars Dipti Rao directorprojects The Art X Company believes that this decision must be based on the nature of the session You need to do a little research about the platform that suits you best Zoom worked for us But even there you could pick the meeting or webinar options based on whether you want questions from the audience through video or using a chat box Zoom also allows you to spotlight someone as they speak This ensures you arent looking at all the speakers when one is speaking as they might tend to appear bored or disengaged she explains Asad Lalljee CEO Avid Learning that has been conducting master classes and talks online finds both Zoom and Transcipt by BookMyShow useful Zoom is also a boon Rao says for lower bandwidths and prevents people from dropping out midsessionA different mediumAs Lalljee observes it is not uncommon for as much as 65 to 70 per cent of the audience to drop out within the first five minutes of a webinar It does not involve physically walking out of the space and hence is much easier to do he says This comes with the added burden of restricting verbosity and keeping the session both engaging and interactive without losing crucial time in introductions This is also why webinars tend to rely on several aids like slides images reference material and on occasion polls too People tend to switch off in virtual sessions and polls are a good way to reignite their interest and highlight whats going on says Rao adding that slides should also be employed but judiciously using a combination of faces and text You have to adapt your presentation style You cant talk the way you did in a regular class You need to use more imagery and more technology says Bhatkar revealing that he uses an acoustic guitar for poetry readings online unlike in their offline avatars to keep it interestingTarini Sethi on a webinarAs in Mahindras meme a common topic of discussion with webinars has been that of onscreen fatigue We need to keep things less theoretical more relevant and offer solid takeaways in a short span of time Rao suggestsDurationIn a physical setting often an interesting lecture spills over from its onehour slot to the next one and youd hardly complain However in the virtual space duration is a key factor in building and retaining audiences Rao feels one hour is ideal no session should extend beyond a twohour limit Thats too much for virtual sessions she asserts Lalljee finds an hour too restrictive and has decided to now add halfanhour for questions at the end of every session but wouldnt exceed the time limitDipti Rao and Omkar BhatkarTech troublesIf all those bookshelves in the background are keeping you hooked and curious Rao tells us it might be the test run that got them there in the first place We attempt to curate the frame a bit for the speakers though there isnt too much you can do she says Test runs all the experts believe are crucial and yet theres only so much one can do in the face of dropping Internet connections varying data bandwidths and power cutsAsad LalljeeCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news