Need To Eliminate Boring and Dull? Here’s a Sure-Fire Way to Gamify Your Next Webinar…

 

If you are in marketing or business development, webinars are an effective way for you to get publicity and sales.  Informational webinars attract people who are either moderately curious about something you’re offering, or they might be actively searching for a solution to their problem. It is a huge way to attract prospects who are ripe to become your customers. 

If you are an HR professional or a corporate trainer, webinars present a number of advantages.  They are cheaper than holding regular meetings, participants have access to the webcast afterwards, and attendees can still interact live with the presenter. Although we know that very few do.

Haven’t you found there is something about a webinar that encourages complacency in the listeners?  There is very little interaction and engagement.  We operate on the assumption that webinars offer all the benefits of live instruction, with the efficiencies of online communication… and we know that reality is something different, don’t we? 

Here are the sure-fire strategies to gamify your next webinar:

1.       You’ve got to have a script.  What are your objectives? Make sure from the beginning that you know the outcome you want to achieve and decide how you can create levels and then theme it so that everything ties together. Take the script and break it down into logical, sequential order so that you can add levels.  In 60-90 minutes, you can probably only address 3-5 concepts, so you’ll have that many levels.

2.       Decide how you will reward people for staying engaged. What kind of interaction do you want from them?  Plan and design your points and badges and how you are going to assign them. Provide your participants with some form of handout that includes a score card. Let them know that it’s on the honor system and they will be keeping track of their own points and badges. 

3.       Let your participants know that they are going to be earning points and badges (either as individuals or as a part of a team) throughout the webinar. They will have the chance to contribute and ask questions to earn points. Start giving points right away, within the first minute or two so they realize “Wait, I need to listen more closely, I could have gotten some points here.” 

4.       Keep the points and badges quirky and fun to earn. Within an organization, you have to think, “Even though everyone is at their own computer, what might we do to form teams?”  Think teams, competition, collaboration, and how we can help each other acquire the knowledge or information we need.

5.       No matter what your content, keep it very upbeat and move fast.  You want screen movement so as you award high fives or badges, you can have confetti flying, horns blowing and applause. I even like to use a slow-down technique like an avalanche. When you are almost at the “win” state create some kind of barrier like an avalanche with loud booms, snow falling, and snow balls that make them go back a step or two.

6.       What does the winner win?  What they actually win at the end is entirely up to you.  It can be something tangible or intangible.  It’s really more about keeping them engaged and having the fun with it. Make sure they understand what the reward is for staying engaged and learning the content. 

It’s time to eliminate the boring and dull, and learn how to add gamification to emphasize interaction and collaboration, competition and engagement.

For more ideas on Gamification:  http://www.monicacornetti.com/gamification/ or www.sententiagames.com

Let’s play!