Ideal number of slides for your webinar presentation

In today’s technologically advanced world, where every new software is deemed as ‘trendy’ and is promoted as ‘something you cannot live without’. It becomes easy to get lost in the array of new technologies. What’s more, you need to constantly pretend you’ve heard of or used the ‘new something’ that is being raved about (we’ve all been there, at the end of the day, no one wants to seem out of date). While we do agree, knowing about every tech advancement out there is unnecessary, there are ones you should leave your old-fashioned ways for and implement into your business environment. One of those is a webinar. Everyone has undoubtedly heard of its growing popularity. But you might ask what is a webinar and why is this webinar software so popular?

Webinar is short for a web-based seminar. In essence, it is a presentation or a lecture which is transmitted over the web using video conferencing software. However, its main advantage lies in its key interactive elements which ultimately make it so popular. Hosts and webinar attendees can discuss and receive information while also share files and documents, all in real-time (why not learn more about the importance of real-time collaboration ).

Since you now know the basics, it is relevant to address one of the most frequently asked questions — what is the ideal number of presentation slides needed for a successful webinar? However, it is not always as straightforward to say you need an X amount of slides in your presentation. The formula to success just isn’t all that simple. The number of slides will always depend on the depth of information, the type of presentation and your target audience. However, there is a basic structure which could be used as a starting point. Understanding this will guarantee to take you one step closer to mastering the art of webinar presentations.

0–10 minute presentation

If your webinar presentation is relatively short, it is probably a good idea to keep the number of slides on the lower number. We would suggest, if your meeting is under 10 minutes, to have around 5 text-based slides (not counting the title/introductory slide). Considering each slide is not completely packed with information and text, you should generally give yourself around 2 minutes per slide. 1 minute to say the information, followed by 1 minute to explain or support it with extra facts.

10–30 minute presentation

If your web meetings are closer to an average meeting time of 30 minutes then you should consider giving yourself a bit more time for each slide. Typically, longer presentations deal with multiple issues at once or issues which are more complex. Meaning, they require more time to explain. We would, therefore, recommend having around 10 slides, each taking around 3 minutes. At this point you have some leeway, allowing you to ask the audience to contribute on a particular aspect of the slide but bearing the time in mind, you might want to restrict this interaction with the audience to only a few individuals.

30–60 minute presentation

If you are preparing a presentation which is over 30 minutes but under 60, chances are your topic is more complex. At this point you will need to have around 12 slides, meaning you need to spend anywhere between 4–5 minutes on each slide. This will allow attendees to ask follow-up questions or ask for clarification on certain aspects. Moreover, by allowing the audience to ask questions, you are also improving the engagement level within your webinar and guaranteeing its overall success.

Over an hour?

If your webinar is over an hour, you are presenting for way too long! It’s time to think about your audience engagement at this stage. With such a long meeting presentation, it is easy to lose the attention of your attendees and make your meeting completely unproductive and unsuccessful. At some point, your audience will no longer retain the information you are providing them with. Avoid this and make your webinars more effective.

Once again, this is not a set formula which would guarantee that a certain number of sides will equate to a successful and effective webinar. There are certain disciplines which require slides of extreme depth. However, do not just assume you will need a certain amount of time per slide. Do a practice run before the presentation and determine the exact time it takes for you to present all the information on each slide. And don’t forget to take these statistics from every webinar!