By Jami Gibson

…3…2…1…silence. As I was beginning our Pro Learning Lab webinar last week, dead air hung between me and the 40+ attendees on the call. In my five years presenting webinars, I had never encountered this issue before. Despite having online backup from three locations, we couldn’t troubleshoot what was happening and why. I had come to find out, Citrix, provider of the GoToWebinar software, had a server failure that wiped out telephone and VOIP connections to numerous meetings. We were one of the unlucky ones.

Since we had waited nearly 30 minutes, unsuccessfully, for the issue to resolve, we decided our best option was to reschedule. I kept our attendees updated on the situation, and thankfully, all were extremely understanding, which definitely quelled an otherwise frantic moment for me.

I’m sure at some point, you’ve also experienced technology issues that threw you for a loop while presenting. One can prepare for a presentation by being ready for the worst case scenario: a complete technology fail. If you’re prepared to deliver without the assistance of your technology, you won’t skip a beat if the worst case scenario does happen. Webinars are different in that they depend on technology. Therefore, any tech failure can really hinder the delivery of a presentation.

So what can you do if you find yourself in my position? The audience in your number one priority, so it’s important to keep them updated on the situation; what is happening, what steps are you taking to resolve the issue, and what do you expect of them. I found a helpful article on LinkedIn that addresses the unique situation of webinar tech fails and four steps one can use to keep calm and carry on.

Thankfully, our rescheduled webinar went off without a hitch and was an outstanding presentation of case studies and Q&A. If you missed “How to Influence Site Location Decisions in a Talent Shortage,” we recorded the session! Click here for more information!