How to Spot and Fix the Micro-Moments When Engagement Slips

Do you multitask during webinars? 😉 (Doesn’t everyone multitask during webinars?)

This is a question that I’ve started asking during programs, and the responses provide everyone with a good laugh.

Here are some of the things people do during webinars:

• Write emails, scroll social media, and respond to Slack

• Eat lunch, make lunch, clean up after lunch

• Plan dinner or text a partner about dinner

• Play phone games and catch Pokémon

• Paint nails, clip nails, unpaint nails

• Pet cat, dog, or friendly lizard

• Wordle, Sudoku, and crosswords

• Watch birds, clouds, and deer eat the landscaping

My next question is, when do you realize that it is okay to multitask? What cues do you receive that tell you that it’s okay to listen with half your brain? These are the most popular answers:

• When it starts late.

• During introductions that drag on and on.

• Speakers who don’t interact with participants at all. It’s as if they've forgotten about the chat function.

As webinar hosts, all of these problems are fixable. Start on time by ensuring the hosts and speakers log in 20 minutes early and verify that all technology is in working order. Shorten introductions to 30 seconds and don’t read the speaker’s published bio. Play the role of chat ambassador so participants have a chance to interact with the content and each other.

Every barrier to engagement that occurs in most webinars can be addressed. When these issues are resolved, the webinars become more engaging, which encourages participants to forget their multitasking ways.

I call this Reverse Engineering, and it is a strategy you can use for any benefit, content, or event that isn't as engaging as it should be.

Here’s the process:

1) Pinpoint the barriers to engagement. You might do that by picking apart average conferences, meetings, events, emails, and research studies - like the above webinar example. Alternatively, you can view your benefit from your member’s perspective and try to identify what experiences might be neutral or negative.

2) Once you’ve identified all the neutral or negative experiences, think about how to make those same experiences positive.

What event, content, or benefit is not as engaging as it should be? Now Reverse Engineer your way to engagement greatness!