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A lot of us are still spending quite a bit of time on Zoom and other video conferencing platforms\\u2014 a trend that does not look like it will go away any time soon. As a virtual facilitator and webinar leader I\\u2019ve found several things that help foster audience engagement so that participants are attentive and interactive while on video conferences.\\xa0

In today\'s podcast, I\\u2019ll share some tips and tools you can use to immediately start engaging your audience more interactively on video conferencing. While we all know that the foundation of a great video conference or webinar is content, other things such as keeping all channels open and getting audience feedback make the difference.\\xa0

Tips

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• Keep all communication channels open \\u2014 different people like to work on different platforms, and building flexibility into your communication channels will enable this for them and ensure optimal attendance and participation.

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• Keep your audience engaged \\u2014 keeping people\\u2019s attention for long periods on video isn\\u2019t easy, but one good way is to keep them interacting with you on your virtual activity. Every five minutes or so, try asking them to answer a question verbally or put up something in chat, raise their hands, or to do a thumbs up/down virtually.

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• Encourage feedback \\u2014 one really important thing in virtual facilitation is to use information from the participants. You can use a poll right before or after the event (mentee.com is a good tool) and I like to ask people to put comments and questions in chat. People like feeling heard and useful, it will keep them coming back.

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• Make it personal \\u2014 use people\'s names. I know that sounds incredibly simple, but just saying the person\'s name in a session is important because it makes them feel like they\'re recognized as individuals, rather than you\'re speaking into this sea of meaningless people.

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• Content is queen; it always was \\u2014 if your content is strong and designed engagingly, it will transcend any technological issues you or others may have.

About Karen Tiber Leland

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Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

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She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

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Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

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Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

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Resources

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If you are interested in a complimentary consultation on either your CEO brand or your business brand, please feel free to contact me at Karen@Karenleland.com or go to KarenLeland.com.

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I will be delighted to schedule an appointment with you to take a look at how and what you\\u2019re doing and give you some advice on how you can convert your social following to customers a bit better.