Reducing Audience Anxiety During Online Events: Our top tips

Here are our top ten tips for making sure your online audience feels welcome, comfortable and ready to engage!

1. Send them an agenda before the event so they know what to expect and can plan their day accordingly.

2. Make it clear that you won’t be putting anyone on the spot or asking them to share screens. A lot of audience anxiety stems from ‘Am I going to have to speak in front of all these people?’ If you make it clear that the answer is ‘No way!’ people will start to relax.

3. But if you really want people to actively participate in your event, ask them in advance if they’re happy to do so and give them time to prep.

4. Schedule lots of breaks. More than you think. Every hour, minimum.

5. Did you know that seeing a reflection of yourself makes you more critical of yourself? It’s unnatural and weird to look at yourself for hours on end and can add to an overall feeling of Zoom fatigue. Give your audience the go-ahead to turn their screens off and listen to the collective sigh of relief.

6. If audience members do want to leave their screens on, let them know that it’s totally fine to eat and drink on screen (just make sure they’re on mute!)

7. Ask people to use the ‘Raise hand’ function if they want to speak. It eliminates any awkward ‘No, you go…’ back and forth’s and makes life easier for the event leader.

8. Or use the chat! People might prefer to type questions rather than risk interrupting a speaker. Encourage people to send over questions or comments (just make sure someone’s keeping an eye on it and responding!)

9. Use breakout rooms for any discussions or workshops. It goes without saying that people feel more comfortable sharing in smaller groups.

10. Let people know you’ll be circulating any follow-up notes, videos or presentations. It means people won’t panic if they miss something!

Whatever form your event takes, we’re here to help. We’ve got experience in digital events, live events and everything in-between (hybrid events are definitely the hit of 2021!)