Please, Spare the Charade! Serial questioning on webinars needs to stop!

Webinars have become the digital amphitheaters where knowledge is disseminated and communities are engaged - supposedly.

Amidst the plethora of webinars (guilty - I've been on one or two...), however, there's a recurring and, in my humble opinion, infuriating practice that I believe stifles not only the richness of the discussions but also the patience of the audience.

It's the routine of hosts asking a single question to a panel of experts, only to robotically progress down the line, soliciting similar yet often diluted responses - not at the fault of the guest, at the fault of the host for not listening to the first answer, realisign it had been answered and asking an alternative or follow up question.

This routine all too often culminates in a tedious carousel of empty insights as the remaining panel effectively repeat themselves.

Make the merry go round stop

Imagine the scene. You’re tuning into a webinar on the cutting-edge developments in SEO, and a host, with all the enthusiasm they can muster, poses an intricate question about machine learning to the first speaker.

You listen intently as the expert, drawing upon their rich experience, provides a response that's nothing short of revelatory. Yet, instead of unpacking this insight further with the expert, the host proceeds to the next panelist, and then the next, invariably eliciting a watered-down echo of the first response.

This isn’t an issue of poor intent; it’s an affliction of convention. Hosts often feel that by giving each panelist an equal opportunity to speak on a subject, they are respecting their contributions and providing a democratic platform. However, in doing so, they perpetuate a practice that’s neither engaging nor effective.

Have you ever watched the news?

Contrast this with the gilded practices of the OneShow or the in-depth interviews from your favourite podcast hosts. Do you hear them ever speak like this when interviewing a panel of guests?

They recognise that depth comes from a nuanced, sometimes adversarial, conversation with one interviewee. Podcasts, at the apex of the spoken word media, have exemplified focused engagement with their guests, occasionally exploring debates or fine-tuning insights across just a few.

The charm of these platforms lies in their ability to create an atmosphere where the guest can truly converse, not merely take turns answering a common prompt.

For webinars, the consequences of neglecting this intimate dialogue are dire, as they diminish the value proposition for the audience, whose time is neither infinite nor free from distraction.

Quality over Quantity

This isn't about playing favorites or creating a hierarchy among panelists. It is, however, about preserving the gravitas of insights and the depth of discussion. In a world where attention is a commodity and authentic interaction is the rare currency, it's important that webinars ensure that every minute counts.

It’s easy to see why audiences switch off when they become witnesses to such systematic, disengaging patterns. Each additional response might be exposing them to slightly varied perspectives of course, but at the cost of audience fatigue and a diluted overall impact. The pursuit of inclusivity should not overshadow the pursuit of excellence; in fact, inclusivity should enhance the quality of engagement rather than diminish it.

A call to action for webinar hosts

There is hope, however, and the remedy is not overly complex.

Webinar hosts can break free from the 'carousel' by putting in the effort of pre-planning sequences of interaction. These could include one-on-one interactions for the most poignant questions or arranging a series of direct duels between panelists on a topic they might vigorously disagree about. You could also think or discuss before hand how stances differ on a subject or if you know one panellist is going to give the most succinct answer, do the others have any juicey statistics or examples to add? This not only saves time but also allows for a more dynamic, engaging and memorable experience for the audience.

This wouldn't just make the webinar more digestible and engaging, but it could also open the floor to organic cross-examination that can be so instrumental in unpacking complex ideas. All it takes is the acknowledgment from hosts that such serial questioning serves no one. It’s the low-hanging fruit of engagement that, once plucked, allows for a more fertile ground of discourse.

I'm not just having a rant... I want to make content good again

I write this not as a disheartened critic but as a hopeful advocate for the future of digital discourse.

Webinars, with their potential for global reach and expert insights, can be the modern equivalent of Athenian forums that fostered the exchange of ideas. But they can only achieve this potential by steering clear of the tokenism that serial questioning represents.

The intent, I believe, has always been right, yet the execution has sorely missed the mark. By endeavoring for quality over quantity, and engagement over merely giving a voice, webinars can become the intellectual feast they were always meant to be.

The choice lies squarely at the feet of the host—will they continue the cycle or will they too learn to evolve the art of questioning? The spark of innovation in the webinar format requires nothing more than a willingness to change the repetitive and, quite frankly, trite framework that currently exists.

To the hosts out there, I implore you—flip the script, rewrite the narrative, and watch the webinar landscape transform into a symphony of insights and interaction. The captive audience that now watches with dulled attention could become an active participant, eagerly awaiting each new episode in the ongoing saga of the online seminar.

The time has come to dismantle the chaise longue of conventional wisdom on webinars and craft something new; something immersive, something that respects the audience's intelligence. It’s not just in the interest of the panelists or the hosts but also in the collective pursuit of knowledge and understanding.

In the end, the audience isn't just there to validate the presence of the panel—it's there to be part of the intellectual odyssey that webinars have the potential to be. It is up to the speakers, the facilitators, and the event organisers to take the helm and dare to voyage into these uncharted territories of engagement, leaving the mundane and the mediocre far behind.

Sort of rant over...

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Need someone to host your next webinar that won't say "and what do you think" three times in a row? Get in touch - I love talking to people. wavesconnects.com