We've put together some easy-to-follow tips to help you plan for, deliver, and measure the success of your RingCentral Webinar.
We also recommend viewing the webinar video tutorials in the Resource Center in the RingCentral app for desktop and web. You can also watch our How-to videos.
Before scheduling your webinar, create your webinar agenda, determine how you want to engage with your audience, and identify your cohosts and/or panelists.
Setting the webinar agenda
On what date and time will you host the webinar? How long will it run?
▪ Will you take questions throughout, between each speaker, or at the end of the webinar?
▪ Will you allow your audience to ask questions anonymously? Will you answer questions offline?
Determining the responsibilities of your presenters
Will you have a moderator introduce, mediate, and/or close the webinar?
What will presenters be sharing?
Who will control the presentation assets, such as shared desktops and slide transitions?
Who will manage attendance and facilitate Q&A?
Planning your event presentation
Will all participants join remotely? Will they sign in separately in different locations?
▪ If you are hosting a hybrid event, with some participants joining online and others joining together at an onsite location, do you need to book a conference space? What equipment will you need?
Using a prep session to rehearse your webinar with cohosts and panelists lets you run through your event agenda so that you can assess how long each presenter needs to deliver their presentation, become familiar with webinar tools, determine hand-off cues, and make adjustments before you go live with your audience. You can have as many rehearsals as you want prior to your event by starting the prep session.
You can use the prep session to:
Review webinar controls.
Set up your virtual background, if desired. We recommend that each speaker use the same background: either your company logo or something non-distracting.
Walk your presentation team through the webinar features, including presenter chat and Q&A.
Run through slide transitions.
If you or your speakers are presenting video, follow the same instructions as recommended for RingCentral Video meetings.
Check everyone’s equipment. Remind them to use high-quality, noise-reducing headsets to eliminate echo.
Remind speakers and panelists of any time restrictions.
Review your plans for managing Q&A, including who will read questions aloud, who will answer certain types of questions, and which types of questions you might want to answer offline.
On the day of your webinar, you can invite your panelists and cohosts to a prep session that begins 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or an hour before your webinar’s scheduled start time. During this final prep session, you can:
Review the agenda and presentation order, your agreed-upon verbal or chat hand-off cues, and the flow of your QA session(s).
Test connections and technical functionalities with your presentation team.
Confirm that everyone has a stable internet connection.
Conduct a soundcheck to ensure that your presentation team can hear and be heard. Remind your panelists to mute their mics when it isn’t their turn to speak.
Check video connections.
Close unnecessary apps and browser tabs that could slow down your device.
Review webinar controls and check if anyone has any last-minute questions about them.
Running the event
When everyone is ready, start your webinar by clicking Go Live in the bottom menu. In cases that the host cannot start the webinar, the cohost can start the webinar on behalf of the host.
Kick off your presentation and introduce your presentation team and topic.