1. Data protection. People must know why you’re collecting data, what you’ll do with it and how we’ll protect it. If you don’t know this yet, think about this and make sure you are complying with GDPR guidelines.

2. Timing. Think about the event impact as soon as you start planning the event, and use our impact tools to help design the most impactful event possible. Have your evaluation questionnaire ready before the event so you can send it as soon as possible. 

3. Your audience. Who is taking part in your event, and how might you survey them? Is it important for you to monitor your audiences (e.g. the gender diversity or affiliations of your participants)?

4. Collecting your data. Events have lots of opportunities but also challenges in terms of data collection. In many cases, participants register for the event. This is a data collection opportunity. You can also use interactive presentations or tools (e.g. Mentimeter or the Zoom poll feature) that you can use to collect data in real time. A challenge is after the event: you rely on the participants to be willing to spend time sharing their feedback. In some cases, you might get a low response rate. You will also encounter participant bias.

5. Collect data early. Respecting GDPR, what data can you collect at the registration stage? Can you document a pre-event confidence level on the topic that you are addressing in your event, for example? 

6. Clear communication. Tell the audience that they’ll be surveyed, what you expect to learn from the data and why this is valuable for you (and in time, them). Clear communication can help with response rates. 

7. Standardisation. Use the same approach across different events so that the data you collect is comparable. This will also help you set a benchmark for the quality of the change you want to create or for the satisfaction of your event participants. 

8. The questionnaire is part of experience. Make sure that your questionnaire is short and engaging. Check that it works well, has no typos, uses clear language and only asks relevant questions. 

9. Short and long-term change. Don’t expect to see long-term outcomes immediately after your event! Change takes time. Ask questions that relate to short-term outcomes and indicators in the post-event questionnaire, and think about how you might assess longer-term outcomes in another way. 

10. Using the data. How will you use the data after you collect it? Who do you need to share the findings and recommendations with and what will you learn from these?

Webinars 

• Maximum of 90 minutes

• Moderated panel discussion

• Presenter with/without slideshow

• Discussion using pre-selected questions

• Free discussion - using chat or ‘hands-up’ feature to involve audience

• Letting people ask questions through a Q&A tool, questions are asked by a moderator

Workshops and training sessions

• 45 - 60 minutes or longer with breaks

• Clear learning goals developed and communicated, see our Guidelines for training delivery and development for more information.

• Use of interaction tools to involve learners and measure if learning goals are being met

• Q&A

• Break-out sessions in smaller groups, with a facilitator in each group

• Use of ‘workbooks’  with exercises that attendees receive before the event (take a look at one of our examples)

Café

• 60 minutes.

• An informal and interactive space where two or three people are invited to start a discussion about a specific topic

• Afterwards there is the possibility for a Q&A and networking

• If the cafe is not recorded a recap on the topic can be recorded for sharing afterwards

Pub quiz

• Maximum of 30 minutes.

• For socialising!

• Use mentimeter for questions and scoring board

• Chat for interaction

Flip the classroom

Attendees watch the presentation online before the event. During the event, the presenters lead exercises and activities related to the topic of the presentation. This means that: 

• The time during the event can be used for discussion. Make sure to prepare two questions for each speaker.

• Questions to speakers can be gathered before the event, for example in an open Google document.

• There is no time loss due to technical issues of people sharing their screen.

• The videos are usable after the event.

• Hardwire your internet connection: this will help avoid any issues with an unstable wifi connection, which can affect audio quality and the overall attendee experience.

• Test the audio before the webinar begins: organise a run through with all the speakers, making sure they are attending the test in the same place and with the same device they will use for the event, to ensure a good connection and that microphone, sound and vision are working properly before the live event begins. We usually plan a run through with speakers several days before the event. We explicitly ask them to do this from the location and with the device they intend to use for the event.

• Minimise background noise: try to host your webinar in a quiet place. If you must be in a loud environment, using a headset with a mic often reduces background noise compared with your computer’s built-in microphone. In fact, a headset is a general best practice for higher-quality audio than other built-in options.

• Dress: If using an event background, wear solid colours to avoid disturbing the background with patterns. Be mindful of any accessories or jewelry if you are expressive with your hands as the noise can be quite distracting. 

• Set proper expectations: create a clear event title and description for the content that will be delivered. Make sure you deliver on the content that was promised in the promotions leading up to the digital event. 

• Start on time: start the event at least five minutes early to allow attendees to join before it begins. The host should let attendees know when the event will start and if it will be recorded and shared afterward. If you think that people will join earlier, you can always start the event and prepare an automated slideshow (often called a narrowcast) or a timer to countdown until the start. See an example of a slideshow and timer we have used. 

• Set the tone: welcome attendees as they join the webinar or meeting, and if possible, start with an icebreaker question which people answer in person or in the chat.

Advice for speakers

• Ask someone to check the chat or Q&A  and then address these questions to the speaker. 

• Speak as if you’re face-to-face with the audience while ensuring you’re at the appropriate distance from the microphone for the best audio experience.

• When delivering a presentation, sharing images, files or video, give your audience a moment to open or take in what you’ve shared.

• Embrace the breaks! Take a moment after the end of your comments and allow for the audience to engage before continuing on.

Before the event

• Decide if the event will benefit from a hashtag on social media; how high profile is it? Is it lasting a day or longer? Are people likely to want to use it to connect with other attendees? Have you got a hashtag you want to use, and if so, has it been used in other contexts before? Check with someone from your communications team for advice. 

• Prepare promotional text - include title, date, time (including timezone), topic, speakers and a link to register. Think about all the channels/audiences you have and create texts tailored to each one. Make sure you tell them why should they attend - what will they get out of the event?

• Prepare key visuals for the event.

• Prepare your registration page - include your promotional text as well as any technical information registrants need to know.

• Prepare email confirmation, reminders and follow-up messages for attendees and speakers. Include technical joining information, relevant resources from the event or opportunities to join other activities.

• Prepare your post-event survey - set up a template if you are running multiple webinars so that you collect the same information each time and can then make comparisons. 

Sharing the event

• Use channels you own such as your own websites and newsletters; we collect all events together on our Events page. 

• Use social media/networking channels such as Twitter, LinkedIn to share details of your event. Ask your communications colleagues for advice about the best way to reach your desired audience. 

• Use mailing lists such as newsletters or ListServs.

• Tell your own colleagues about the event - do you use Slack? Or an internal newsletter?

• Keep track of the event registrations and send reminders if necessary - you can tweet a couple of times - or retweet what others have shared. 

During the event

• People may tweet during the session - share the hashtag at the start of the event and on the visuals associated with the event.

• Have someone responsible for monitoring and responding to social media posts/tweets.

• Have someone responsible for watching and responding to the platform’s chat function.

• Share the survey link.

• Inform people if you are recording the event and if you intend to share it - they need to be aware.

After the event

• Make your recording available online - whether that’s just on YouTube/Vimeo or embedded on your own site. We curate recordings of past events on our Webinars page. 

• Send a ‘thank you’ email to registrants with any resources such as the slideshow used in the event, the recording of the event and the survey link

• Don’t forget to check back on what people posted on social media about your webinar, to learn about what worked well (or didn’t!) and use this to inform planning for future events. 

• You may want to do a blog post or newsletter write-up of your event to share the resources and the recording.

Communicating with presenters

• Presenter brief: In order to make sure your speakers know exactly what you’d like them to do and when, it’s useful to set up a presenter brief that contains everything they need to know. Keep it as short as you can so that important information is easy to spot.

• Planning: Make sure your presenters are aware of what you would like them to do and relevant deadlines, so that you can get in touch to remind them to, for example, send their bio in, or attend the technical test session.

• Recording: Make sure your speakers are aware if you intend to record and share the session, and plan how you will respond to any concerns or manage any edits they request. 

• Promotion: Ask your speakers and partners to share the event announcements - offer draft promotional text which they can use.

• Wrapping up: After the event, send a ‘thank you’ email to your speakers and anyone else involved in organising the event, along with an opportunity to give feedback on the process.

• Testing: Offer presenters at least one opportunity to test any specific needs, including location and equipment.