How to get over your fear of webinars

Oh my goodness, I love webinars. Getting to hang out with my audience in a live setting is pretty cool, considering you guys are spread out all over the world and I wouldn’t normally get to hang out with most of you.

But, I wasn’t always a big fan of them. My first webinar in 2017, I was so terrified that my voice was all shaky and I rushed through my sales pitch because I was so scared of selling to my audience. 

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10 tips to overcome your fear of webinars

I’ve done a TON of webinars since my first webinar in 2017 and each time I’ve improved – and that’s honestly the only way you get better at doing them. 

There’s no magic way to get better at doing a webinar except for just doing them. 

I can’t remember at what point they stopped being scary and started being fun, but now I no longer dread them. Yes, I still have that little bit of fear that pops up when I hit the “go live” button, but it goes away within the first few minutes usually. 

Today, I’m sharing 10 quick tips to get over your fear of doing a webinar. 

 

1. Know what you want to say – write an outline before your webinar

 

Doing this has been a game changer for me, because when I’m nervous, the first thing to go is my memory. 

So, knowing exactly what points I want to make on each slide is super important to make sure I don’t forget my lines or skip anything important.

 

2. Rehearse! 

 

Doing a full run-through of your slides is SO important for feeling prepared when you’re ready to go live.

I have this nasty habit of self-sabotaging by under preparing for my webinars. Don’t do that. It never ends well. 

 

3. Think of answers to the most common questions ahead of time

 

If you’re doing a live Q&A and you’re worried you’ll be blindsided by a question, brainstorm the most common questions you get asked and jot down a quick answer you can refer to during the Q&A.

 

 

4. Do a full run through of the tech

 

Most platforms will let you set up a practice event and go live as if it were the real one. Make sure you do this ahead of time, so you can see how the webinar room works. 

Every platform is set up differently, so even if you’ve done a webinar before elsewhere, it’s important to know where the key features are – little things like how to share your screen and how to unmute your mic are pretty important. 

Read more: How much does it cost to create and launch an online course?

 

5. Avoid the need to over-deliver

 

This was something I struggled with for a LONG time. 

I felt like I had to deliver soooo much value to my audience, so I would jam pack my webinar with content and leave my viewers feeling overwhelmed.

Don’t do that. Teach them a few things, but don’t feel like you have to jam pack it for it to be worth their while – because they’ll get more out of it if they’re not feeling overwhelmed.

Read more: Why you shouldn’t create a “comprehensive” online course

 

6. If you must, don’t turn your camera on

 

As much as I do recommend having your camera on, because seeing your face live can really help build trust and connection with your audience, if you really can’t bear to have your camera on, you can always run the webinar with your camera off. 

 

7. Hire a friend to man the chatbox for you, so you don’t get side-tracked

 

The chatbox is THE most distracting thing when you’re presenting, so I recommend hiding it somehow. If you have to stick a post-it note over your screen to hide it, do it.

Otherwise, you’ll see people asking questions throughout and you’ll get distracted.

If you’ve got a friend to keep track of the questions then you’re free to just present, and answer the questions at the end.

Also, it’s pretty much inevitable that someone will complain that they can’t see or hear you – if it’s just one person, your friend can message them and tell them to refresh their page or try a different browser.

If it’s more than one person, the problem is on your end and your friend can tell you to fix it. 

 

 

8. Keep it simple

 

Don’t feel like you have to make this elaborate presentation the first time around – don’t overcomplicate it.

 

9. Watch other people’s webinars 

 

If you’ve never done a webinar and never watched one, I highly recommend signing up to a few online and watching how they’re structured, how the people present them, etc. 

It’s a great way to get a feel for how you’ll do yours.

 

10. Remember when you’re selling that you’re actually HELPING your audience

 

The sales pitch at the end is usually the scariest part of your webinar and SO many people rush through it because they feel like their audience don’t want to hear it – I was one of these people too.

But, quick mindset shift here: Your sales pitch is HELPING your audience by presenting them with the solution to something they’re struggling with.

I highly recommend going back to episode 251 of the Socialette Podcast with Bay Bradfield because she talks a lot about the mindset around selling and it’s so valuable.

Read more: Overcoming imposter syndrome in business

 

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