Webinar toolkit

Webinars are a great way to connect with colleagues, staff members and external stakeholders.

They let us communicate about important organisational updates in a cost effective way and they're relatively easy to run once you know how. All you need is the right equipment and access to the right tool.

Find a list of webinar tools available here

• Laptop/Desktop
• Headset: headset microphones or landline phone will ensure that the audience can clearly hear your presentation
• Webcam: Most laptops come with a built in camera but if you are working from a desktop computer you will need a separate webcam

You may need to set up an account to enable you to access the tools listed below.

Cisco Webex

An enterprise solution for video conferencing, online meetings, screen share and webinars. It provides for controlled ‘room’ access and this may be suited to clinical consultation and larger meetings.

The Cisco Webex portfolio Includes:

• WebEx Meetings – web and video conferencing for up to 1000 participants
• WebEx Events - large scale Webinars for up to 3000 participants with chat, polling and Q&A
• WebEx Training – allows you to give online training with live instruction for up to 1000 participants

Read more about Cisco Webex Meetings.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams offers a tool for video and audio conferencing. It allows document sharing and storage, screen sharing and messaging.

Up to 250 participants can join a video call on Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams is available if you have already been migrated to the national HealthIrl domain.

If you are not on the HealthIrl domain you can use Skype for Business or Webex instead.

If you are not on the national HealthIrl domain you can still attend a Teams meeting (by clicking on the invitation link received), but you will not be able to schedule a meeting.

Once you have chosen your webinar tool the next step is to learn how to use it. Online training is available for all tools on the links listed above.

Before:

• Pick the day and time: consider a time that will allow for maximum attendance
• Prepare an agenda ahead of the meeting based on the goals of the meeting
• Share dial in details for those with slower internet connections and send the slides in advance if possible to those who have registered for the event
• Make sure you have the right equipment; headset, microphone, backup computer, spare batteries, printed copy of your slides
• Decide on an event MC to keep the webinar progressing at pace; they will talk through the housekeeping details, introduce speakers, announce tea breaks and invite questions as appropriate
• If you’re presenting make sure your presentation document is open before the start of the meeting

During:

• Ask people to mute their microphones or if you have the ability mute them yourself for the first five minutes while you introduce the webinar and talk through the agenda
• Let people know if there will be breaks & opportunity to ask questions
• Ensure that MC introduces panel members
• Use chat facility to share relevant links
• Allow for Q&A depending on your meeting subject –you can use the chat facility for this
• End your webinar by thanking everyone for attending –advise people that presentation slides will be shared with everyone afterwards

After:

• Follow up with participants and send an email thanking them for joining you
• You can also ask them to provide feedback and rate their experience. Some webinar tools can be used for a sort evaluation survey when the webinar ends
• You can also send a recording to people who registered but were unable to attend the webinar
• Measure and evaluate: Using in-platform metrics, you can analyse registration and webinar performance. You can also incorporate audience feedback and make tweaks to your webinar process to make your next webinar an even greater success

Do

• Choose a topic that interests your audience: pick a specific idea that will interest your audience. If your idea is broad, narrow it down and cover one part in detail
• Make sure that your presentation is nice to look at and meets HSE branding guidelines - Visual identity guidelines - HSE.ie
• Promote the webinar in advance: grow registration numbers by promoting the event in advance. You can include it on the weekly staff broadcast to highlight the date. Include a clear call-to-action for people to sign up to attend
• Practise the following with colleagues: opening up the meeting, muting all microphones, recording the webinar, responding to chat box and keeping chat box closed
• Use polls, chats and calls-to-action, or to show your viewers PowerPoint slides or videos

Don’t

• Overload your presentations with lots of text that people have to read. Keep any PowerPoint slides simple
• Run over the time allocated: respect the time your attendees have given by staying on script. Instead of going down a rabbit hole about unrelated topics; take notes of other subject matters that might make good subjects for future webinars
• Let the event stress you out. Webinars are new to a lot of people and you are not expected to be perfect but just to do your best. Practise and preparation are your friends, stress is not