Lesson 6:
Decide Format and Presentation Style
By Daniel Janal
Founder, Great Teleseminars
There are a number of different formats that make for effective teleseminars.
- Traditional Seminar: You talk and the audience listens.
- Classroom: You present information in an interactive environment as students ask questions.
- Talk Show: You interview a guest.
- Interactive: You moderate or act as facilitator. You might present as well. This format is flexible on purpose to meet your marketing or educational needs.
Traditional Seminar: The mainstay of the seminar business for the past quarter century is the seminar in which an instructor speaks for 45 minutes to an hour. There is no interaction during the session. There might be time for questions at the end.
The advantage is that people are comfortable with this format. The format also suits a standard presentation that you might deliver in front of an audience, so you should be comfortable presenting the material.
One possible disadvantage is that it could be boring for the audience to hear only one voice. Today's audiences like to ask questions. You can schedule questions to be asked at a given time or several times during the presentation to encourage interactivity, but not so that they disrupt your lesson.
Classroom: Similar to the traditional seminar, this format allows for more interactivity. You allow participants to jump in and ask questions.
The advantage is that people feel a part of the seminar and get their questions answered immediately. That can increase satisfaction and they feel like they are getting their money's worth.
There is no disadvantage to this format because it serves your clients' needs. However, you must be the type of presenter who can think quickly on your feet and direct the environment.
Talk Show: In the talk radio format, you interview a guest. The main benefit is that you give your audience the opportunity to hear and interact with a well-known or well-respected authority. Another benefit is that you get the chance to mingle with that person too and, in many cases, learn from them.
This is a great format because you don't have to create any material. The guest does. You do have to help direct the guest so she covers the main points that will benefit your audience. You can collaborate on creating the questions you will ask the guest to make sure the seminar offers value to your clients. But the guest does 90 percent of the talking. Compared to creating a seminar from scratch, this is a piece of cake. Another benefit is that you don't have to be the expert – you can invite an expert to present their material!
Here's how it works. You invite a person who is the expert and you let them present or you interview them like a radio show. They’re happy to deliver it for your audience. Why? Because they’ll get additional exposure to your audience and publicity.
Do you want to pay a guest? It all depends on who the guest is. If you’re dealing with someone who is rich and famous and their appearance is a real coup, then they have a lot more bargaining power than someone who is starting or who wants to promote their book and get publicity rather than getting a few dollars for presenting. Frankly, the administration and the accounting is a nightmare to determine what percent they get, who gets what, and on and on. And you’re going to be getting orders for these seminars months and years into the future. Do you really want to have to write a check for 10 percent of this, or a few dollars every month? It just doesn’t become very time effective at that point. You are better off paying them a flat fee.
You also might be able to convince a person to come on your "show" by offering them a copy of the recording and giving them the right to reproduce and sell it. That way you both win. I’ve given product to my guests and they were delighted because they didn’t have anything to sell. Now they have an interview where they’ve been showcased. They have a professionally produced product. They can make money by selling it on their web site or in the back of the rooms when they speak. So this is a good bet for them!
There’s also the publicity factor. You are promoting this person and what they’re doing to your list which could be quite substantial or very targeted. There could be great opportunities for that person to get consulting which pays a lot more than selling tapes. I did a seminar with Alex Carroll on the topic of how to get publicity on radio talk shows. He got several new clients from the people who heard the seminar. They were willing to pay his consulting fee so he made a lot more money than I did. That was great because I benefited and he benefited and when that happens, it’s a wonderful win-win relationship.
Another very good thing about having a guest is that while I’m promoting them to my list, they can promote my service to their list. So think about the publicity opportunities for you. If you have a guest, be sure they promise to promote you and your service on their web site or in their e-zine. In fact, their ability to promote YOU might determine whom you want to invite as a guest.
If a potential guest doesn’t have a list, maybe you don’t want to have them because you’re not getting any bang for the buck if you’re not getting any promotion. Of course, if your target audience wants to hear the information that this person has, then you benefit.
The next step, of course, is to create the material. You and your guest decide on the topic and write 10 questions that will bring out the information you want your clients to hear. It’s important to have those 10 questions because that way you’re sure that your guest makes her points. She might want to sell her book, but she just can’t come right out and say “buy my book.” But if you can give her five or 10 questions that point out the benefits of the book and how you’ll benefit from reading it, then it will become very evident in a non-sales, non-threatening way that this a product that people should buy. That’s the best kind of marketing. You’re the host. They’re the guests. You stick pretty much to the script. But you can be extemporaneous as well. Be sure your guests can talk off the cuff. Some people like sticking to a script. Ask.
Interactive format: In this style, you act as moderator and let your clients do most of the talking. You are the moderator and facilitator. It is your job to get your clients to interact with each other. This format is wonderful if you want a lot of group interaction. It also requires a certain skill set to act as a moderator.
For training on how to deliver content over the telephone and moderate a session, please contact Susan Friedman.
In selecting a format, there is no right or wrong answer. All formats are acceptable. Pick the one that suits your style and your marketing purpose.
Action Step:
What format will you use?
- Traditional seminar
- Classroom
- Talk radio
- Interactive
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