I have been thinking about how much up-front analysis needs to go into the planning of webinars, live online training or presentations. You know the old chestnut, “Fail to plan and you plan to fail”. Another cliche that springs to mind is, “What gets measured is what gets done.”
So if someone asked me to design or deliver a live session online, I’d expect to find the answers to some fundamental questions.
Here is the set of questions I’d ask. Although I’m offering it to you as a template, that does not mean it has to be superstitiously documented. You might think of the answers as stages in a thought process rather than paragraphs in a document.
Project setup questions for live online training and communication
Project Goals – Why are we thinking of doing a live online session? How will we know when it’s been a success?
Deliverables – What are the tangible things it will deliver – for example one, or a series of webinars with support material of various kinds?
Scope – Who is going to take part, where, in what numbers and how many times will it be repeated? What or who will be excluded?
Business Case – Is the cost of the solution more or less than the cost of the problem – what will it cost and what is the value of the business benefit it will recover, over what period?
Roles and responsibilities – who has the power and authority from the client’s side to make things happen or stop them? What resources and people will the project need and why?
Risks – What might stop the session(s) from being successful? How likely is that/those risks to materialise, how serious would the consequences be, and what can you do to forestall them?
Assumptions/Constraints – For example, can you be certain all users will have a favourable environment, IT setup and hardware in order to play a full part?
Controls – How will you know that the sessions have been planned and run in a way that pleases all stakeholders? What success measures will you monitor?
Reporting framework – Who needs to be informed or consulted about what and when?
Sign off – Who “signs the cheque” and who else has to agree to the plan for creation and execution?
I also think that in an adult world in which business imperatives rule, everyone has an interest in how the enterprise is spending its hard-earned dosh. So I’d include some things you might find surprising in a set of joining instructions for a live online event run in-house. Once again I’d stress that these sentiments might be no more than stages in the thought process, which help to shape the language and tone of communications as you advertise and market the seminar. It all rather depends upon an organisation’s culture and the role and seniority of the persons being invited to join. In other words, it’s a judgment call, but if you don’t have a good process than it won’t matter what you decide.
Here’s my starter for ten:
Template for what to include in joining instructions and briefings
Background – what the sessions will be, why they are important and where they fit into the general scheme of organisational or personal development.
Purpose – the specific beneficial outcomes of the session(s) in terms of business or personal goals and objectives.
Content – the broad areas of content the session(s) will cover.
Objectives/Expected Outcomes/Outputs – the entry requirements, objectives, expected outcomes, and outputs.
Audience – who it’s for – and for whom the messages, materials and activities have been made to match.
Resources, Team and Materials – what you need before, during and after the session, where to obtain the information or equipment and whom to contact in case of queries.
Methods/Dynamics – learning and communication stategies the session will use, for example what you’ll need (notebook, instruments), how you’ll interact with the presenter(s) and other participants, any ‘rules of engagement’, and the effort or self-control that’s expected of a participant.
Logistics – the IT configuration, hardware, software and telephony you’ll need to take part, together with how much uninterrupted time you’ll need and whether there is any associated cost.
Date – sufficient advance notice.
Contact – a point of contact with email/phone.
Order of proceedings – an agenda showing who, what and when, etc.
We’ve shown you ours, so please don’t be shy about showing us yours!
We’re always interested in alternative viewpoints and in better and more elegant ways of doing things.
