The key to creating virtual conferences that work

With conferences, retreats and in-person meetings rare these days, and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future, we have all discovered which kinds of face-to-face events can (or can’t) transfer to the internet. It’s already clear that a great virtual event takes more than a solid Wi-Fi connection and decent web conferencing software; it takes careful planning, effective facilitation and the right mix of channels.

As someone who has attended and spoken at many in-person and online conferences, I’ve learned a lot about what makes for good and bad events. Whether you’re planning a massive online gathering for thousands of attendees, or a simple meeting for a dozen colleagues, the same basic principles apply. And even if you’re just attending an event, rather than organizing one, a grasp of these principles can help you figure out which events are worth your time, and how to get the most from the ones you attend.

Setting up a structure
 

Right off the bat, if you’re creating an online version of what was originally envisaged as a live event, you need to rethink your schedule, structure and content. A full-day session is one thing when everyone is in the same space, but when you’ve got people dialing in and participating over video, it is absolutely exhausting. Between the focus required to stare at a screen all day and the awkwardness of feeling like you have to be camera-ready yourself, connecting over video is a lot more tiring than connecting in person.

You may need to break your event up into smaller chunks (like a series), add extended breaks throughout the day, or set it up it so that people can jump in and out when they need to refresh their attention. That way, attendees can decide which portions of the day get their full attention, and which portions they will half-listen to while they take care of other tasks.
 

Rethinking structure also means rethinking presentation. The obvious setup—someone talking to a camera, followed by video or text Q&A—can get tedious very quickly.

Organizers need to make sure that any essential information is shared in multiple forms: While the world has rightly turned against text-laden slides for in-person presentations, all that text can be helpful to audience members who are struggling to marshal their attention during a virtual event. It’s also useful to include some sessions that are audio only. Flagging these as “eyes optional" will make it possible for people to dial in by phone while they get outside for a walk, or take care of some chores around the house.

In addition, organizers should be sure to publish transcripts of all your presentations so people don’t have to re-watch the videos to absorb key lessons and insights.
 

Tone is another important factor. As long as you don’t get too cute, your event will probably benefit from a little levity; ask speakers to inject some lighter touches into their presentations, like some pop-culture references or candid photos of their chaotic home midcrisis, especially if they’re usually all business.

How to act

Once you’ve established a basic structure, you can set expectations for how participants will show up and engage.

If at all possible, design some portions of your event around audience participation, since most of us are even hungrier for human interaction right now. Again, think in terms of a variety of platforms and formats: Consider creating a Slack or Teams space with different channels and threads for people who want to establish continuing conversations over the life of the event, or a voice-only conversation room that can serve the role of the hallway at an in-person conference. You should also choose a videoconference platform that offers a chat sidebar for any questions or materials related to the immediate subject—fortunately, that is standard in just about every major platform.