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Presenter Best Practices

Below are a list of best practices for presenters:

What should a presenter have available for the presentation?

  • For audio events, a telephone with a quality headset or handset for EACH presenter/presentation room.
    • Speakerphones have poor sound quality and tend to pick up background noise. If you must use a speakerphone try putting something padding under the phone (things around the office such as legal pads or newspapers will do the trick) and make sure the phone is away from computer fans, projectors, and air conditioning units.
    • Cellphones and cordless/wireless headsets or phones of any kind should be avoided as they are subject to disconnection and interference.
  • For video events, an speaker that will be on video should have an internal or USB webcam.
    • A quality headset is recommended as the audio source on video events. A webcam's internal microphone will work, but a headset will produce higher quality audio.
  • A hard copy printout of your slides.
    • Make sure you print out the same PPT file that has been uploaded. In case your computer or internet connection fails, you can reference your slides while someone else flips the slides for you without any interruption to your recording.
  • A wired internet connection.
    • Wireless can work, but we do not recommend it as the signal can be subject to drops and interference. Wireless internet should NOT be used for video events or screen sharing.
    • It is recommended that you test your system briefly before joining the events pre-call.
    • To further improve computer performance, it's recommended to restart your computer shortly before the event and close any unneeded programs or browser tabs.
  • Log off of your VPN
    • VPNs can reduce your available bandwidth, which is especially important when broadcasting video.  We recommend logging off your VPN while presenting.

How can I test my system for presenting?

For any testing, you should use the computer and browser that you intend to present from. Two seemingly identical computers can have very different program and system configurations.

Once you have received the Guest Admin, please log into the webcast Live Studio to test your system.

  • Click the thumbnails or the Next Slide button in the slide tool to flip slides. If your computer is working correctly, you should see the slides advance.
  • There should be a Presenter Discussion box in the lower left corner of your screen. Type a message into the box provided and click Submit. If your computer is working correctly, you should see your message in the chat log.

If you will be using your webcam or screen sharing on an event, please test your system here:  https://event.webcasts.com/test

Please note that if you run into any testing issues, you may be asked to provide a screen capture of the results of this system test.
 

What if I have issues with the Webcast Live Studio during a live call?

The Live Studio checks the presenter's connection status approximately every three seconds. When the Live Studio detects a sustained connection drop (an approximate 10-15 sec. without a response from our servers), a message is displayed in the Live Studio alerting the presenter:

"Could not connect to the server. Please check your internet connection.(1)".

This message appears in an overlay and the presenter cannot click on any Live Studio elements while their connection is down. Once the connection has been reestablished, the message will disappear automatically and the presenter can resume their Live Studio interaction.

If the Live Studio becomes unresponsive without an internet connection failure:

  • The presenter should first attempt to re-launch the Live Studio by closing the Live Studio browser window and clicking the "Launch Live Studio" button on the Guest Presenter page (or the Event Summary page for admins managing their own live events).
  • If the presenter is unable to re-establish their internet connection or the Live Studio remains unresponsive after re-launching, the presenter may need to contact their IT team for assistance.
  • If the presenter is unable to flip their slides for a sustained period of time, it is recommended to designate an individual (preferably a colleague familiar with the content) to assist with flipping slides for the webcast audience. The presenter should reference slide numbers from their print out copy of the slide deck as they speak to the material.
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