Webinar technical rehearsal guide

Your technical rehearsal is crucial to ensure all speakers and team members are aware and prepared for the various technical features of your platform and to work through/plan any of the technical nuances for your live webinar. The technical rehearsal should not be the same as your panel preparation session, which should be held prior to the tech rehearsal so you’re aware of all the content needs/details.

It is important to note that not every feature (i.e. breakout rooms, etc) of the platform needs to be utilized to make for an engaging webinar. Only worry about testing those you will be using on the day.

You are encouraged to utilize our HBA Zoom Tech Support Tips as you go, which include helpful links and learnings from HBA staff to help you through the process.

Before your technical rehearsal, the event technical leader/host should:

• Ensure your platform settings are set up as listed in our Zoom Tech Support Guide
• Set up a separate Zoom meeting with the same meeting setup as your live webinar
• Share this new meeting with all speakers/necessary team members prior to the rehearsal

During your technical rehearsal:

• The tech leader/host should use the HBA Webinar Technical Rehearsal notes as your guide and record all details
• Start off by running through the general flow of the webinar from start to finish, logging:
  • Who needs host or co-host privileges
  • Who will be doing the intro/review technical tips for attendees
  • Who will be running the slides/will screen sharing pass from speaker to speaker?
  • When will polls be launched
    • Note: there is often a little “dead air” while waiting for poll results to come in, so prepare your speaker to perhaps fill that dead air with commentary
• When will breakouts be launched, how many in each room, and for how long
  • Note: HBA does not recommend pre-setting breakout rooms. Instead, we recommend randomly assigning attendees based on how many you want in each room. 
• Who will be visible on camera and when
  • HBA recommends that only those speaking at the time share their webcam, so your speakers may need to turn on/off their webcams during the presentation.
  • Examples:
    • Single-speaker event:
      • Introduction speaker shares webcam for welcome, tech tips, introducing speaker then turning webcam off.
      • Speaker shares webcam when introduced.
      • At the end of the speaker presentation, speaker leaves the webcam on, moderator turns the webcam on to begin Q&A so both are visible via video.
    • Panel event:
      • Introduction speaker shares webcam for welcome, tech tips, introducing panel moderator, then turning their own webcam off.
      • Moderator turns webcam on, and begins introducing the speakers who share webcams one by one when introduced
• Also review items such as:
  • Will the webinar be recorded? Who will press the record button?
  • Will the speakers have handouts or links to share?
  • Review participant controls, securing settings as listed in our Zoom Tech Tips and any technical elements being planned.

Finally, remind all speakers/team members to arrive to the meeting about 15 minutes early on the day-of and ensure whoever is presenting the slides has the final version of the deck.