Three Secrets To Creating A Transformative Webinar

Three Secrets To Creating A Transformative Webinar

by James Akers

 Summary:

1-It's important to remind yourself that you really are good at this, that you have indeed created a unique way to solve a problem, and that its all because of the hard work you’ve put in--but long-since forgot you did! (because you're not the kind to dwell on it, or go around bragging about your accomplishments).

2-There is no way you can "deliver too much information" because you’re so far ahead (again, because you've forgotten how far you've come), that no one would be capable of absorbing everything you tell them, even if you tried.

3-Think of you and your audience as actors in a life-and-death action movie, and deliver the webinar with the confidence, energy and humility of the hero who knows they can actually can get these people out of this burning building alive...but only if they listen. And if they don't listen? That's on them.

1) Re: Your qualifications as a guide - why you deserve to be confident

You REALLY ARE good at this-you’ve just forgotten because you’re too close to the action. You’ve long since forgotten how much you know, and the simplest way to remember is to remind yourself many people you help remain in need of help with the simplest first step

Remind yourself that what you are teaching really can change peoples’ lives for the better—or at least get them to the point where they realize the problem is their lack of effort, not you.

2) Re: Sharing too much:

 
The bottom line is that you can never really give away too much information. We course creators lose sight of how much we've accomplished getting to this point, so we think everyone's on our heels, but that's because we've already lapped the field. Even if someone memorizes what you say and does exactly the thing you say to do, they're still going to be wondering at every step, "Well, what did she do next...and what did he do after that..?” That’s why they’ll return to your content, and why a significant number will eventually take your course.

Your course is like a work of art: you make it look easy, but no one can really figure out how you did it until they’re invited into your studio and see you do it for themselves.

3) Your webinar as action movie...with life and death consequences:
(hat tip to Paul The Trombonist as heard on Jacques Hopkins OCG podcast)

Imagine your webinar as a movie and your audience as characters in that movie (hat tip to Paul The Trombonist):

YOUR CONTEXT / WHY YOU ARE DOING A WEBINAR:

A group of people (your audience) have been kidnapped. They're tied up in a storage room in the basement of a bank that's being robbed (their predicament of being stuck in life, unsure of how to reach their goal). One of the cops in the command post in charge of the rescue (one of your testimonials) says they know a person who can save them, and they call you. 

YOUR WEBINAR INTRODUCTION:

You answer the call, and because you can’t imagine living in a world where you don’t help, you pop into the room from an air conditioning vent behind one of the desks (they arrive at your webinar watch page) and explain to everyone its OK, you're going to have them out in 5 minutes if they just follow your instructions. Hope returns to their faces, and they gather around to listen as if their lives depended on it.

YOUR EPIPHANY STORY:

Some joker in the back of the group--trying to impress a co-worker—wonders aloud why they should trust you. You answer that you worked as a security guard at the bank for 10 years (while you got your PhD in neuroscience at night) and you actually helped design the bank building, which is why you knew the secret way in (you’ve been there and done that). But these hostages are in this situation now because the bank president never took you seriously (throw stones) and deferred to the mediocre architect over the safety concerns you voiced. Turns out there have been two other kidnappings in the last two years, but because of your knowledge—and your saint-like inability to hold a grudge—you put aside any grievance you were entitled to have and helped get all the hostages out both times. You can now see from their expressions that you’ve established your authority as a guide, and they’re looking at you as the only person that can save their lives. 

YOUR THREE SECRETS:

You tell them they have to do A, B and C or they will not get out alive. They treat these as the most important directions they’ve ever heard and they hang on every word.

WEBINAR TRANSFORMATION:

They follow your directions, they get out alive to see their families again, and they remain grateful to you the rest of their lives.

SUMMARY:

The above is meant to underscore how eager and forgiving your audience is to listen to and adopt what you have to say in your webinar. They showed up for the webinar under their own volition--validation of their trust and your expertise--and that are ready to soak up everything you tell them. You have their complete attention--not a single skeptic in the room--and if there is, he's the jerk who's gonna get shot by the kidnappers (Die Hard 1). All that remains to do is deliver on camera with the confidence that comes from knowing you are darn good at this, and that what you tell them will actually get them out alive (but with a few nuances—your special sauce—as to why its not so easy as the jerk in the back of the room thinks it is haha).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Author James Akers is a full-time procrastinator, architect, professional renderer, UCLA Professor of iPad Drawing, online course creator and proud father of Spencer, Natalie and Ian. He also teaches people how to become better designers with iPad drawing.