22 The Linguist Vol/57 No/4 2018
ciol.org.uk/tl
FEATURES
need to learn about the subject. Reflect on
your brief: will you be providing a primer
for newbies, a survey of a new area, or an
in-depth exploration of a narrow niche? Have
a good brainstorm for ideas, flesh them out,
see what starts to emerge, do your research.
Make the content as concrete as possible,
with examples and anecdotes, and maybe
some quotes or pictures to illustrate your
points. Look at your own work and
experience. Start a swipe file of 'found'
material from your online and offline
peregrinations that might come in handy. I've
been presenting a webinar-based course
for five years now, so I keep an eye out
for interesting snippets and fresh ideas to
slip into my slides straightaway, like a
photograph of a humorously ambiguous
street sign or restaurant menu to illustrate a
linguistic point.
In short, make it all as memorable and
engaging as you can – perhaps with a line
from Friends, a clip from YouTube or a live
demo. Remember how much more fun it
was to learn a language with entertaining
audiovisual material, rather than constantly
having to slog through artificial exercises like
the classic La plume de ma tante (sigh).
I try to pack my webinars with useful
content to give attendees value for the hour
that they're giving me, so I look to maintain
a decent pace, although hopefully without
rushing, gabbling and confusing everyone.
Give yourself enough time to explain; give
them enough time to listen and read. And
don't rush on to the next slide before they've
had the chance to digest the last point on
the current one (as someone once told me).
You can't see your
audience, so you have
to do without the
feedback of smiles,
nods, frowns or yawns
Could online presenting be a new source of revenue
for linguists? Oliver Lawrence offers some insights
"I think we're ready to start now," says
Lucy. A bead of perspiration forms on my
forehead. A spider is spinning a web in
my peripheral vision. I'm blinking at the
screen. The countdown to my debut online
presentation has begun. Gulp… The nerve-
jangling prospect of giving my first webinar
(and my first conference presentation in
the same week) had been preying on my
mind since eCPD invited me to present
several months earlier. Seventeen webinars
later, I can look back with something
approaching fondness.
So what were my attendees hoping for? Of
the webinars that you've enjoyed, what made
them a success? When you have a webinar to
prepare, those questions make a good place
to start. The answer, simply, is that it's about
what you say and the way that you say it: it's
about content and structure on the one hand,
and presentation and delivery on the other.
Sound obvious? Then let's unpack it a bit.
First, of course, only accept the gig if you
know about the subject and have plenty to
say about it. Think what your audience will
A world of webinars
©
SHUTTERSTOCK
