5 Speaking Tips for Webinar Hosts

Running a webinar is a form of public speaking – I know – SCARY, right??

However, if you’ve never run a webinar before, and you haven’t done public speaking, you might be nervous about how your speaking might go.

You may be asking yourself:

• What if I lose my voice?
• What if I forget what I’m saying?
• What if my voice shakes?

These are all valid questions for the new webinar host – but there are also a few other key webinar communication tips to consider. These can be applied to more than webinars – use these tips for webinars, public speaking, networking, and more.

 1. Practice SPEAKING your webinar our loud

Unless you’re an experienced speaker or presenter, please, please, please review and speak out loud your webinar materials a few times – at least for a friend or someone you trust. Practicing speaking will make you more confident in the delivery of your expertise, and not be worried about other things beyond your control.

 2. Speak slowly and clearly

When you practice, make sure you speak clearly and slightly slower than your conversational tone. A great way to do this naturally is to pay attention to the consonants at the beginning and ends of words. When you practice this, it may sound a little ‘forced’ at first, but once you do it a few times, it will be easier. This makes it easier for your global audience to understand you!

 3. Keep your global audience in mind

Be aware of any local ‘slang’ or expressions that may slip into your webinar and language Yes, be yourself, but be prepared to explain your ‘skookum’* webinar topic in a way that’s clear and accessible.

 4. Breathe

This ties back into the practice tip in my first point. You want to train your breath to support your voice for this type of speaking. Breathe into your lower belly area and release your jaw and tongue as you breathe. Doing afew of these before you start will get you in the right breath space to deliver your webinar!

 5. Enjoy the silence and invite your audience to engage

People are showing up to hear you. So invite them to ask questions in the chat so you can show them your best tips. Don’t be afraid of silence. Silence is that beautiful space where people can formulate their questions and also digest your knowledge.

And there you have it – 5 speaking tips for webinar hosts. Now go forth and create and share with us that webinar you’ve been yearning to do!

If you have further questions about webinars or public speaking, then make sure you sign up to my list so you can receive weekly tips and insights into speaking, webinars, confident communication, and more. 

* Skookum is a Chinook Jargon word that was (and still is) used in the Pacific Northwest of North America. It means ‘strong’ or ‘mighty’ in some contexts, but today it’s most often used in place of the word “cool” or “neat”. ie. “Wow, that’s a really skookum new hat you have there!”