The Webinar Alternatives to PowerPoint That You Must Be Aware of

The Webinar Alternatives to PowerPoint That You Must Be Aware of

If you’re getting started with webinars, or even if you’re an experienced practitioner of them, you might think that you need to use Microsoft PowerPoint for every webinar. After all, a webinar is just like a taught class or seminar, right? The only difference is that it’s transmitted over the Internet, instead of involving all the class takers attending in person. And, most live classes uses PowerPoint. But, the fact of the matter is that there are some key differences between an in-person class and a webinar class, and so PowerPoint might not just be the most suitable mechanism for your webinars. This article explores some of the main PowerPoint alternatives.

The first option is not to prepare a presentation at all, and instead to just concentrate on answering questions from the audience. Although this might seem like a more ad-hoc approach, it can be very valuable, as you know that you are addressing exactly the areas that your audience have concerns about. In this case, your delivery method will depend entirely on the questions that you are asked, but your voice will be more important to you than any prepared slides.

The second option is for you to give a visual demonstration. This might be of a piece of software. It might be a demonstration of a web site, or a number of web sites. By showing the exact steps that are needed to accomplish a task, you are giving excellent value to people on a webinar, particularly in they are the type of people who do not enjoy reading manuals. So, always consider doing a live demonstration as a method for reducing the amount of pre-webinar preparation that you need to endure.

The final method is one that is commonly used on webinars. That’s to use mind mapping software to make your presentation. The most common piece of software for this is called Free Mind, and this piece of software is excellent as it is open source and available for nothing. In this case, you prepare a mind map and talk around the items on it. This gives you flexibility to move around your presentation much more easily than a PowerPoint presentation. FreeMind is also excellent for presenting whilst conserving bandwidth, as everything can be done with a simple black and white presentation style.

Make sure that you don’t automatically move to Microsoft PowerPoint for your next presentation, as there are many other alternatives, some of which might suit you far better. Look for an ad-hoc question and answer webinar, give a virtual demonstration, or use mind maps. All of these can be quick to prepare and will allow you run more webinars without being overburdened by preparation.