In a webinar or any virtual meeting, the quality of the audio and “how you sound” can make or break your ability to connect with your audience. I also say a well delivered webinar is like a radio show with pictures, it needs to deliver meaningful content that is fast paced and well choreographed to keep the audience engaged, etc. As in radio, dead air or awkward silences will drag a great production down.
Regardless of how compelling the content is, if there’s one minor, yet recurring complaint from webinar attendees, is that poor audio will adversely impact their experience from simply being annoying, to dropping off completely. All that hard work to first attract them and then get them to attend is forever lost.
Its no different than going out for a meal and only to have the entree not prepared the way you ordered it, or the soup to arrive late, it can mar or ruin your experience.
Many times the poor audio is actually on the attendee’s end, from a slow internet connection, that makes the sound robotic and choppy, to other issues out of the control of the webinar producer. But they don’t know that or care where the root cause is.
Sometimes though, the problem is squarely on the side of the panelists especially when unwanted background noises from typing on a keyboard (why would a speaker do this during a live webinar is beyond my comprehension, but they do!), dogs barking, the weed whacker by your window, cell phones going off, heavy breathing and a myriad of other disturbances….if your microphone can hear it, the chances are, so will your audience.
That raises the practice of using the “mute function” to keep all of these background noises off the webinar, and whether or not that is using the muting capability of your webinar hosting platform, or activating the switch on your VoIP or land line headset, it can be risky from both a human factors and technology perspective.
The biggest human factor problem is the speaker that gets so excited when it is their turn to speak, that they forget to “un-mute” themselves, get on a roll, and what does the audience hear…..dead awkward silence.
Worse is when the technology doesn’t cooperate….. which always seems to happen when you are live and can least afford to have it happen. You keep clicking on the microphone or telephone icon, and you continue to stay in the muted state.
Sometimes the moderator or another panelists will try to send a “chat” to the speaker to let them know to unmute themselves, other times it’s too late and the connection with the audience is lost.
Having done hundreds of webinars myself, I’ve often fallen victim to this, and it can be unnerving once you realize what has happened and attempt to recover.
My advice is whenever practical, to avoid using the mute function, and:
1. Find a quiet place to do your webinar from so you won’t have to mute.
2. Have all cell phones and non essential apps turned off, especially the Outlook reminders that pop up every 15 minutes.
3. If you do have to mute, to clear your throat, cough or sneeze, or to take a drink of water, make sure once you’ve handled your issue, to un-mute yourself.
For more information on other audio best practices, download a free copy of our eBook, “The Five Things You Must Know About Webinar Audio” or “WebinarReady – A Step-by-Step Guide to Hosting Successful Webinars”, and I’d love to get your feedback and thoughts on to mute or not to mute.
Enjoy,
Mike