The principles for engaging an audience are the same, regardless of whether it is in person or virtually.  There are good and bad in-person presentations. Equally, there are good and bad webinars.  The key is to follow the principles of engagement.

If you run or are looking to run a webinar for colleagues or clients, think about the outcome you’re after. What does success look like? How do you want your colleagues and clients to feel after the webinar?  The overall objective of any presentation is of course to make sure the participants are engaged. Webinars can be an incredibly effective medium as long as the key principles of engagement are followed.  The online audience is a discerning one – as a presenter you’re only ever one click away from being disconnected, so keeping the audience engaged has to always be in the front of your mind.

So what are these principles of engagement? Through my experience running career-development webinars for global companies for nearly a decade, I’ve compiled a checklist of best practices:

Engaging with versus talking at  -  There are a number of different ways that we learn and process information. Being talked at is the least effective way to learn. A one-way online presentation, therefore, without any interaction through polls, raising your hand or chat is the least effective way to engage an audience.  I recommend six to eight polls per webinar session, giving the audience time during the webinar to reflect on the material and concepts you’re presenting.  By sharing the results of each poll, you’re also building a community. Although the polls are anonymous, the audience can see where they fall in the pack.  “Ah, I’m not alone. Others have had the same experience I’ve had.”

Leveraging your voice and images  -  Remember that the audience does not have the benefit of in-person cues, thus your slides and your voice play an even greater role when running a webinar. Use these to your advantage.  Make the slides interesting through colourful and fun images that reflect and underpin the content you’re presenting.  Avoid putting your audience to sleep through bullet points and massive amounts of text (‘death by powerpoint’). It’s important to keep your voice animated throughout, as if you were having a conversation with someone.  If you’re not interested and enthusiastic about your subject matter, your audience won’t be either.

Providing an easy, logical framework  -  Self-reflection is a higher level of learning than passively listening or following instructions.  This is why creating an easy and logical framework for the participants to work through the issues is critical. The framework I have found useful is the following:  what’s the issue, where are you on the spectrum, why does it matter and then the ‘how to’.  Jumping straight to the ‘how to’ does not allow the audience time to reflect on how the issue impacts them on an individual level.  The more participants can make the link between why it’s important and meaningful to them, the greater the chances are that they will be motivated to learn and behave differently.

Adding personal stories  -  So often we forget that as humans we are first and foremost emotional creatures. Adding personal stories connects the audience to the material.  Maya Angelou (poet, singer, and civil rights activist) reminds us that “Others will forget what you said, but never will forget how you made them feel.” Storytelling is the best way to create chemistry with people. A great anecdote hooks people, takes them on an emotional journey and conveys a memorable message.  Personal stories show our vulnerability, one of the most powerful ways to get others to like us and follow us.  In effect we are building a level of trust with the participants. With trust they will listen to what we have to say. Without trust they will discount what we have to say.

Referring to participants by name  -  By referring to someone by their first name, we are making it personal.  During the webinar acknowledge comments made on the chat referring to someone by name,  “Susan, thanks for your asking about xyz. We’ll cover that in the next slide.”  “Johannes, thanks for your comment on career progression.”  When the audience raises their hands, acknowledge of few of the raised hands by name as well.  “I can see by the number of hands raised -  Nita, Mohammed and Sadir – that you’ve also had the same thing happen to you. Thanks for sharing.”  The audience no longer feels like part of a faceless group but rather an integral part of the community experience.

Today’s audiences increasingly want to be part of the experience. They are keen to have their voices heard (which is one of the reasons social media has become so popular).  I have found that even for in person presentations, the audience prefers a more engaging workshop format rather than standing behind the podium and ‘preaching’.   ‘Good’ webinars are essentially workshops that apply the key principles of engagement in order to connect with colleagues and clients across geographically boundaries and time zones.

References
Learning & teaching methods
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/11/20/how-do-people-learn-most-effectively/#27f8e09e1f05
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/teacher-talking-time
Landsberg, Max, Tao of Coaching: Boost Your Effectiveness At Work By Inspiring And Developing Those Around You, Profile Books, September 8, 2015
 
Meaning & Motivation
Sinek, Simon, Start with Why, Penguin, 6 Oct. 2011
Start with why -- how great leaders inspire action Ted Talk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA
 
Vulnerability
Brown, Brene, Dare to Lead, Random House, October 9, 2018
The Power of Vulnerability Ted Talk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o
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During the Women in Fund Finance panel discussion in London on Return to Work after taking leave (whether that be maternity/paternity, career break, bereavement, etc) there were a number of insightful themes that emerged. As chair of the panel, here are my top three observations:

Managing your network – Don’t burn any bridges. Your network includes the people who know you, know the value you bring and trust you. This is one of your most valuable assets. Trust is the platform to have productive conversations around leave and potential changes to your work schedule upon return. Be sure to consider the business needs in your suggestions and proposals and keep the focus on the impact and outcomes you can deliver rather than the time you spend at your desk or in the office.

Combatting lack of confidence  - Taking leave can negatively impact your confidence. One approach to minimising any decrease in confidence is to stop and reflect what you’ve GAINED from the leave. What perspective perhaps do you have now that you didn’t have before, and how is that a benefit to the business? You may also have learned things about yourself that you hadn’t realised before, making you a more rounded person with a higher level of emotional intelligence (and we certainly need more of that in the workplace!). 

​Designing your leave & return in a way that meets YOUR needs – We are all individuals. Each of us has our own unique needs, interests and talents.  Design your leave and return in a way that supports you being at your best, at home and at work. Getting the home/life integration right for you means that the time you spend at home will then support your performance at work and vice versa. Think about the IMPACT you want to make, in your personal life and in your professional life. Time is a limited resource. Focus on the things that really matter to you. One size definitely doesn’t fit all!

Looking ahead, what changes might we see when it comes to leave & returning to work? A number of mega trends are occurring simultaneously (technology advancement, millennial demands for more flexible working/leave and demand for talent) which may accelerate the change in the way society views leave.  The assumption that someone who takes leave is not committed, not a hard worker, or not interested in career progression is increasing looking out of date. The other mega trend is of course that we are living longer, and thus likely to be working longer. It’s in this context that we need to consider the topic of leave from both the perspective of the employee as well as the employer.

This past summer my husband & I cycled from Rotterdam to Vienna – 1,400 miles in total, self-guided, with all of our belongings in the paniers on our bikes!   It was an amazing trip, working as a team, taking each day at a time and dipping into the local cultures, which cycling allows you (forces you?) to do.
We cycled on average 60 miles a day, some days more, some days less. The longest daily ride was 75 miles. What I came to appreciate is that my career prepared me well for the physical and mental challenge of such an adventure
Here of the five key skills or mindsets I identified as having been developed in my professional life which supported my long-distance cycling:
1.       Solving problems - The original plan was to take a train from Brussels to Andermatt, Switzerland, the source of the Rhine. Due to maintenance work on the regional train lines, it was not possible to take a bicycle fully assembled on the train. After much discussion with the unfriendly staff at Brussels train station we learned that there were regional trains running as normal to Rotterdam. We ended up starting in Rotterdam & following the Rhine route to Germany where we then crossed over to the Danube.
2.       Playing to my strengths - My navigation skills are quite poor. I relied on hubby for that. On the other hand, my foreign language skills and ability to be resourceful and ask for help are quite strong. I was in charge of booking the night's accommodation, checking us in and negotiating with the hotel owners for a fan (it was in the upper 30's for almost the entire trip!)   You can't be an expert at everything. Focus on what you do best.
3.       Accepting that not all days can be brilliant - You shouldn't make a decision about a job, or a career or other important decisions based on one bad day. We all have them – that's life!  When stepping back, the trip was brilliant. On one individual day, or one individual moment, I may have preferred being somewhere else. One particularly hot day we were cycling in Switzerland. It was a Sunday and we struggled to keep hydrated as everything seemed to be closed.  Deep breath…tomorrow will be better..
4.       Doing proper research and preparation – While we didn't research every part of the trip (there's never enough time to do all the preparation you'd like to do),  we did ensure our fitness levels were good and that we packed a few key essential items for the trip, leveraging the knowledge of our neighbour who has decades of cycling experience.  Collaborating and networking tend to yield the short cuts.  Like a colleague's advice, our neighbour's advice saved us many hours of research.
5.       Prioritising based on desired outcomes – Start at the end. Over dinner each evening we discussed what our goal would be for the next day.  Which city did we want to end up in at the end of the day's ride? Based on that, we then had to plan our entire day so that we could arrive in the town at a sensible hour.  We needed to ensure we struck the right balance between seeing the sites we wanted to see, avoiding bad weather where possible & ensuring we had decent access to food and water based in the size of towns we were cycling through.   And after four weeks literally on the road, I came home with a renewed sense of confidence. I'm not sure what challenges life is going to throw at me, but I feel ready!  We are now thinking about our next cycling adventure… Washington State to California?
For more information about cycling routes in Europe: http://www.eurovelo.com/en/eurovelos
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Networking is one of the key skills needed to navigate the workplace: it is essential to help you not only move in the direction you want to move in, but also to give you visibility of potential opportunities. Not knowing where you want to go, is also a perfect reason to get networking!

People are a great resource. They provide you with the shortcuts in life... you can read websites and public information, but people will tell you the 'real dea'l and will be able to address your specific questions.  So often I hear my coaching clients say, “I don’t have time to network”. I ask, “Can you afford not to network?”

In that context here are my five top tips for effective networking:

1. Figure out what your networking strategy is based on your career strategy. In this way it will be more targeted and fruitful.
2. Introduce yourself with a sentence about what you are interested in or the direction you’re looking to move into. That’s the piece others will want to connect with you on!
3. Give before you take. Think about how you could help others, perhaps by sharing a connection, a piece of information, a recommendation, etc
4. Listen to the person in front of you. Listening is a gift!
5. Connect the dots between ‘your story’ and the story of the person you’re chatting with.

Maya Angelou, American poet, sums up what effective networking looks like:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

As produced for the The George Washington University Women in Business Spring 2018 Conference:  As the theme for this year’s 9th Annual GW Women in Business Conference is #MakeYourMark, it’s a good time to think about your strategy for participating in the conference.  What are you hoping to get out of the event? Where are your areas of confusion? In what way are you hoping to get more clarity?  In addition to attending, listening and asking questions at the various sessions, how might you gain more specific insight into how to make your mark in a future career? You guessed it – it’s through networking. Click here to continue reading ​www.gwwibspringconference.com/new-blog/

Yes, we made it...54 miles from London to Brighton in under 6 hours, graced with beautiful sunshine and amazing team spirit.  But the best part of the day wasn't actually reaching the finish line... it was witnessing the 4,000+ other riders who took time out of their lives to support a cause they believed in.  Their efforts and the variety of charities represented was inspiring.  Credit is also due to the organisers Skyline, who seemed to manage the mind-boggling logistics with ease.

The feeling of "I'm doing this in memory of my mother, my father, a friend, or for those less fortunate than me” was present throughout.  Riders were good spirited, even when vying for a lane through the traffic or on the wrong end of an accident!  Our training paid off as we passed a number of younger riders, especially up the hills and over the South Downs!  Having said that, our son Zach (perhaps the youngest of the day’s riders) somehow managed to pull away from his parents all too easily despite much less training; such is youth.
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A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR DONORS!   We reached our £2,000 ($3,250) target! Without YOUR SUPPORT we would not have been able to experience such a heartening event and the warmth of knowing that we have enhanced the chances for a street child in Uganda to forge a better path in life through education.

With appreciation!

Christine, Tom & Zach
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Written for Citrix, GoToWebinar, November 2015

Have you ever felt that your confidence was holding you back from getting that bigger role, promotion or higher pay? And have you ever wondered how others manage to look confident, even in the most challenging and stressful situations? How do they do it? (It's it really annoying, isn't it?)

The link between confidence and career progression is widely documented. So why is confidence so important. In a business environment that's in a constant state of flux, being confident to take on something new is crucial, no matter what your profession, industry or sector. The good news is confidence is NOT something you're born with despite others giving the impression that it's a natural gift - this is simply not true! This fact alone has enormous positive implications for your career or business prospects.

So what's standing in the way of YOU and having the confidence to be all you can be and reach your true potential - it's the F word  - FEAR! Fear is not the enemy, but rather a natural human emotion.  The real enemy is lack of courage. Confidence therefore is about having the courage to do new things and step into the unknown. The world number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic, illustrates this point beautifully when talking about how he gets through those 'clutch moments' (which all of us have in our business & personal lives!): *"The first thing is to make sure you are in the moment. That's much easier to say than to do. You have to exclude all distractions and focus only on what you are about to do. In order to get to that state of concentration, you need to have a lot of experience and a lot of mental strength. You are not born with that. It is something you have to build by yourself".

Now for the HOW to crack the confidence code, moving from a position of fear, to building courage and finally to taking that scary action. Here are my top tips:

1. Get over the fear by knowing your higher purpose - You have to think about what you will achieve - the end goal or outcome - by getting over that fear and taking action.  Now with 30+ years experience in business, I make sure my voice is heard so that I could have a positive impact on others, including clients. My younger self, however, was very shy and timid but then I realised (with the great advice of someone who I now see was a mentor!) that I've got to speak up if I want to make a difference, influence others and 'have a seat at the table'. Being held back by our fear prevents us from being all that we can be.

2. Tap into your courage memory bank -   I think this is what Djokovic was referring to when he mentions having experience. Think back on those times when you were in perhaps an adverse situation and you had the courage to take the difficult action.  If you've done it once you can do it again!  Visualising those past moments of overcoming tough times slows your heart rate and can focus the mind on the new task at hand!

3. Give yourself regular pep talks -  What key words work for you?  For me it's simply "I CAN do this".  Combining that with a repetitive activity you enjoy is even more powerful. I love running so if I'm about to face a stressful situation that requires courage I go running (with positive music streaming through my headphones) and repeat that mantra "I CAN do this!". Figure out what routine works for you - we're all different. The speaker, writer and behavioural expert Marissa Peer suggests looking in the mirror every morning and saying "I am enough".  Sometimes we are so hard on ourselves - this is a good reminder that we are in fact enough. Be careful how you speak to yourself - YOU are listening.

By cracking the confidence you are taking back control of your personal and professional life. You are no longer letting the circumstances dictate the future. YOU are deciding how you're going to react and how you're going to behave. And if things don't quite turn out as you hoped, then what? Try again... you've had a good practice run -   it's sure to go better the next time. And just think you had the courage to do something, rather than make excuses why you "can't" do something. That in itself is something to store in your memory bank!

*Source: Lunch with the FT, Peter Aspden, 15 October 2015
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Written for the Georgetown University Women's Leadership Institute for its Leadership Lessons from the Field: Executive Voices blog series

​Work hard and your career will progress, right? Wrong – this is FALSE and this myth holds many women back in their career progression. The truth is hard work is only one factor to career success, and this is especially true in today’s quickly evolving global economy where the only certainty is in fact change. Women Leaders are well versed on the subject of what it really takes to move their career forward and how to lead transformation in their organizations in this ‘new normal’ business environment.
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What does this ‘new normal’ look like? Technology has accelerated the pace of change and the globalization of business. (It took the telephone 75 years to reach 100million customers, while it took Candy Crush only 1 year to reach 100m customers!) While technology has enabled flexible working and led to the viability of virtual teams, it’s also made business more complex & competitive. Restructurings are no longer one-offs or extraordinary times, but rather common place across all industries & sectors. It’s now a given that you won’t have a job for life and thus the responsibility for progressing your career falls firmly on your shoulders . While your company, your manager, or the HR department may support your goals, YOU must be in the driving seat.

In the midst of this economic transformation , how do I avoid getting stuck in the old and take advantage of the new? Here are my top three tips (S-I-S) for a successful career navigation plan:

S – Stretch yourself – Achieving work-life balance remains a dream if we’re not also investing in the work piece. Be proactive in pushing forward the strategic direction of your career and take risks (albeit well thought out) in order to experience personal growth. Think about what you need to develop further in order to move in the direction you want to move – especially when it comes to building the right relationships and letting others know what you have to offer and how you can ‘solve the problem’.

I – Invest in relationships – When women talk about ‘success’ it’s intertwined with success in our personal lives, so investing in relationships means investing both personally and professionally.   It’s also the personal relationships that give us the support and grounding we need to sustain our professional lives. Looking back on my own 30+years in business, it’s the relationships with colleagues, managers and clients that I remember most, rather than meeting deadlines or delivering projects. The irony of course is that profits & people are intricately linked.

S – Speak up – As a career consultant I have met so many incredibly talented and competent women over the years and I often hear frustration that career progression has been stymied. Visibility is so often the Achilles heel. If others don’t know you, how can they know the great work you do? In a world of constant restructurings and revised business strategies, it’s nearly impossible for others just to see the work you do – they’re simply too busy! They themselves are trying to cope. At the end of the day, we all want meaning in our work, and this is why it’s critical to let others know what you’re achieving and suggesting how you might assist them . This approach not only benefits you, but it also benefits your colleagues, your bosses, your company and your industry as it puts you in a position to reach your full potential and have maximum impact on the business.

While change can be a scary thing, it can also create tremendous opportunities for career growth. Embrace the change and figure out how to position yourself so that you can play at your best in a way that supports and achieves the business goals. Like any smart business person, align your offering (your talents, skills, relationships, etc) to the needs of the client or business. That’s the key to navigating your career through change!

Following nearly 30+ years in business, Christine Brown-Quinn, embarked on a new career in 2010 as The Female Capitalist® to share with professional women globally, practical, hands-on business strategies for career progression. Through her webinars and in-person workshops, Christine unveils what really matters in getting ahead in the corporate world. As a former Managing Director in International Finance, Christine is well versed in what it takes to forge a thriving career in highly pressurized, alpha environments.
@FemaleCapital #CareerTip #womeninbusiness
Georgetown University, College ‘82