Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Webinars: You get what you pay for

Too bad loading my dishwasher was more interesting than this webinar:
Stories, Comics, and Manga - Oh My! Making Learning Stick For Your Audience!
Have you ever wanted to turn basic information into a more effective communication? Join a discussion with Dan Bliton to discover how storytelling strategies can channel and drive your communications and learning activities to increase audience retention and make your message stick. This event explores visual storytelling (comic books, graphic novels, and Manga) and why you should care what stories your new employees are reading (hint ? changing workforce demographics). Perspectives drawn from lessons learned in several markets and Booz Allen Hamilton?s award-winning learning organization. A take-away job aid and web site references summarize the approaches discussed and list additional resources.
A prominent software company presented this program for "free" (it wasn't exactly free since they took all my contact information and will probably be in touch with me for the rest of my life). It doesn't matter who presents the webinar, in my limited experience; they are uniformly bad. Some are worse than others.

Presenters, the webinar you broadcast today will linger for many years. Please, for the sake of attendees investing their time in your message, do at least the following:
  • know your medium inside and out. This particular presentation dramatically lowered the standards for all PowerPoint users when the slides spun out of control. Several times.
  • if you can't join Toastmasters, do as the Toastmasters do. Have an ah-counter listen to your speech (beforehand) and count the number of "ums," "ahs," and "you knows." Then, stop using them.

I would have counted the filler noises myself, but at 53 minutes and 51 seconds, there was no way I was listening to this presentation again.

I wish I could have my hour back so I could spend it working on HTML and CSS instead so I can communicate my own stories more effectively. For the time being, I forswear all webinars.

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