EQUIPMENT
Tripod
A small tripod for your iPhone - This will enable you to sit and have a steady iPhone. One suggested item can be found here.
Mic
An external lapel mic - This will give more presence to your audio. One suggested item can be found here. But any lapel or lavaliere mic with a lightning connector will work with an iPhone.
Lighting
Ring light - This will light the subject (you) better and enable you to stand out from your background. Here’s one possibility with an iPhone tripod. If you like this one, we’d suggest getting the small tripod in addition to this so you have more flexibility on where to move your light.
If it's dark, and the camera is far away from the podium, the picture will be very grainy. Adding lights can be an expensive prospect, but if you can afford it, it makes a huge difference. Lighting is perhaps the single best thing you can do to improve the quality of your video.
Bandwidth & Speed
Speed Testing - Conduct a Speed Test on the equipment and internet connection being used for your webcast. If it’s consistently 5 mbps and above you should have enough bandwidth to maintain a good stream. Helpful tool: http://www.speedtest.net/
PROCESS
Schedule a rehearsal. The rehearsal or dry run is the single most important pre-event activity. Use this time to familiarize the presenters with the technology, test the content for compatibility and rehearse for speaker flow and timing.
Leading up to the webinar, send a reminder email twice - once 1 day before the webinar and once 1 hour before the webinar.
Prior to the webinar starting, have someone on your team dial-in to make sure the number is working for participants. Have this person send you a question so you know it's working (and can see what it will look inside the webinar software).
Let the audience know in the introduction how you will be dealing with questions (whether you'll respond to select questions at the end, try to take them during the session, etc.).
When doing a demo or showing software, try not to move too quickly (or scroll up and down a web page too quickly). Often, a refresh takes some time to complete based on the user's bandwidth. Plan on it taking about 5 seconds every time you change your screen for everyone to see the change.
Close ALL unnecessary applications, especially Outlook, Instant Messenger, etc. You do not want any personal or confidential info displayed, and you just don't want to interrupt the webinar with any notifications that pop up.
Start 2 minutes past the hour. This gives people time to call in, but does not make those on time wait too long and annoy them for being on time. Those who call in a couple more minutes later usually do not miss much. Also, starting on time helps people show up on time for future webinars. It is tempting as a presenter to wait for more people to join. Be strong, don't do it.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
BEST PRACTICES FOR GUEST SPEAKERS