How to Host a Successful Presentation, Workshop or Webinar
‘Host’ is the keyword here.
I have recently attended the best webinar in my life. Not that I attended that many of them — but enough to notice what was so outstanding about this last one. It was hosted by Tom Kuegler, who, by the way, didn’t pay me to write this story. I just feel genuinely inspired and want to share my observations as to what I noticed in his presentation.
We talked about how to grow as a writer on Medium. And I say we talked (not: Tom talked) for a reason. But let me get to this in a moment.
What it means to be a teacher…
I believe that teaching should be more about inspiring rather than telling students exactly what to do. This is true especially in the era when people go through their lives carrying Internet in their pockets at all times. Think about it — what most of us long for is not any specific information, but guidance. We talk of finding ourselves a mentor who would redirect us back into ourselves and advise on where and how to look for whatever we want to look for.
World’s most successful educational systems, such the one in Finnland, leave as much freedom and independence to the students as possible. That’s because advanced educators understand that the role of a teacher is to share and be available when the novice needs them, rather than to instruct in the one and only right way to do things.
The same is true when you host a webinar, give a presentation or organise workshops. That is your act as a “ teacher”, and so it becomes very important not only to pay attention to what you teach, but, ultimately — how you do it.
If you stand equal to your students, sharing what you know and asking them for feedback — this is when you become an outstanding teacher.
If you encourage questions and answer them to the best of your knowledge — this is when you unquestionably become a great mentor.
If you stimulate independent thinking rather than make your students repeat your mistakes — this is when you render them independent and courageous to bravely walk their own path.
Being able to empower your students to act on their own is the best outcome you can aim for as a teacher. Because teaching is not about you and proving your own importance or expertise. It is about giving away everything you’ve got to them.
… and a host at the same time.
When you give a presentation, you most certainly also adapt the role of a host. This is when the way you feel becomes very important — not only for you, but also for your audience.
It is the same as if you hosted friends over at your house for a week. It is obvious that they will only feel at home as long as you feel comfortable having them. Think about it: it is often the vibe of the host that provides the experience for everybody involved.
Hosting a presentation or workshop is no different. If you want to make an impact, you need to own the space — be it an online video frame or a physical conference room. If you feel well-established there, your audience in turn feels you, and they pick up on this feeling.
If you feel confident, you are in power to pass this confidence on to your listeners.
As much as you don’t want to welcome guests in your house throwing around swear words, you also don’t want to teach before you are emotionally prepared. This doesn’t mean that you are not allowed to fail, feel anxious or sad. Just the opposite. You need to give yourself full permission to feel everything. This is how you make yourself own it all — your knowledge, your feelings and your state of mind — instead of them owning you.
Naturally, you begin to feel in charge. And your audience appreciates it, as they feel your power is coming from a place of authenticity and vulnerability. This is the kind of power that virtually everyone is attracted to — even if only unconsciously.
5 qualities that make an outstanding presentation
Back to Tom’s presentation during his webinar.
As I was logging in to the webinar room, I could say I was free of expectations for what was about to happen. I had my Mom in the other room saying that whenever I feel bored with the guy’s presentation, she is up for watching a movie together. And this was what I thought — if it got too cheesy, I would just opt out.
But I didn’t opt out and actually I was as engaged as ever, not only listening, but also actively participating. Here are five qualities that made this webinar for me:
- Tom shared his personal experience as a writer in a very authentic way. He didn’t pretend to be someone he was not and wasn’t trying to prove anything. He simply talked about what he knew and if he wasn’t sure about something — he would just openly admit it. In my eyes, it added to his credibility much more than if he would be claiming to know everything.
- He answered questions and encouraged interaction between the participants. I mean, he actually answered every single question that was asked by his audience in the question poll. I could feel that he genuinely wanted to engage with us, as well as he wanted us to be engaged. And indeed, many attendees were sharing their tips and knowledge, asking each other questions and typing relevant comments in the webinar chatbox. It felt like a real exchange, rather that routine ‘hi-hellos’ or ‘amazing-webinar-Tom’.
- The participants were not many — up to 50 people in most busy moments. I don’t know whether that was intended or not, but I felt that being a part of a relatively small group facilitated this exchange. We could refer to each other by name and it almost felt like we were in the same room, able to communicate with each other in real time.
- Video. For a big part of the webinar Tom was on video, and I personally liked it a lot. It made him more real and reachable as a human when he was talking. His audience could see him, because he allowed himself to be seen — quite literally, but also metaphorically. The experience automatically became more authentic and human-like which, for me, facilitated learning.
- A cherry on top for me: I really felt like the main focus of the webinar was inspiring, rather than instructing. Tom presented himself as an expert, but not an all-knowing expert. I perceived him as a ‘normal guy’ who just figured some stuff out. If he knew how something worked, he would share it. If he didn’t know — he would admit it. It just made it very easy to relate to him.
So the receipe for giving a successful presentation is actually quite simple. There is something you need to put your mind to before all else, something even more important than your expertise and content. It is your manner of being.
Instead of imposing a role of a “teacher” on yourself — relax. Be yourself and connect to the audience in your own way. There is a tagline used by one of Medium publications, which sums it all up, short and sweet:
Don’t instruct. Share.
