7x How to start a conversation during a virtual event

Do you think webinars are mostly about sending information? Then you're wrong! Your virtual event is the perfect opportunity to start a conversation between you and your attendees and even between the attendees. The greatest thing about it is not only that your audience will stay captivated during your presentation when you start the conversation, but it's also a great opportunity to gather even more information about them. 

But how do you start such a conversation? There are a number of ways to do that. With these tips, you'll get the conversation going and make sure your next virtual event is incredibly interactive. Of course, first make sure the chat is active: the private or public chat. After all, your viewers do need a place to start the conversation and hold it. 

1) Start with an anecdote

A classic that always works well: start with an anecdote. An anecdote can be anything, a joke or a personal story. Storytelling ensures that you grab your audience's attention and that they want to respond. You also create involvement, which is very important when you want to start a conversation with your audience. You set the tone! 

2) Ask your audience about their experiences 

After you have started a story, it is time to ask your audience what their experience is. You are literally starting the conversation now because you are asking for a response. It's nice when you highlight responses from your audience during your live event because this is where you show that you really see and notice the viewers. It makes it personal and it keeps the conversation going. Are you sharing knowledge during your virtual event or webinar? Then it's easy to ask what your attendees know about it so far. You gather valuable info this way and you know how far in-depth you can go for the biggest group of your viewers.

3) Ask your audience what they want to talk about

If you go on and on about a topic that nobody cares about, people will drop out. So if you want to start the conversation, keep it going and hold the attention, be straightforward and ask what your audience wants to know more about. A simple question is already enough for that, for example, asking if the viewer wants to know more about topic X or about topic Y. This also says a lot about your audience and is very interesting for you. Good thing we've just got the perfect tool for that: polls!

4) Start a conversation with polls and quizzes 

Polls and quizzes are a great and accessible way to make your webinar or virtual event interactive and challenge attendees to respond. During your webinar, you can see the results in real time. 

With a poll you gauge opinions. You can see how this is distributed right away. Mention this during your live webinar, it is a super easy way to start the conversation during your virtual event. In the chat, your attendees can respond to each other and even discuss the topic you brought up.

A quiz is used to measure knowledge and is also fun to use as a game element and a good way to start a conversation. Afterward, discuss the results and provide additional explanations.

5) Let the moderator start the conversation

The live chat is the most important tool when it comes to engaging the conversation. That's where it all happens! If you are hosting a webinar with many viewers, it is recommended that you bring in a moderator. The great thing about a moderator is that they can also start the conversation in the chat. The list of viewers is on the screen and the moderator easily starts a conversation with them. We often do this during our own webinars and see that it really activates someone to send a message. You start the conversation yourself and lower the threshold to send a message back. So proactive moderation is really one of the best tips when it comes to starting the conversation. 

6) Organize a Q&A 

Hosting a Q&A (question and answer) is one of the most interactive forms of presentation and a way in itself to start a conversation. The viewers are even the ones that start the conversation! To make sure you can start right away, it is useful to already ask your subscriber to fill in a question on the registration page. During the webinar, the attendees will almost certainly send you a question, because that is why your attendees are watching your webinar. Do you notice that it is still disappointing? Then ask the participants specific questions yourself. For example, start the conversation with: who has a question about topic X? That way, someone knows how to ask questions in a more targeted way. Preparing a few questions yourself beforehand also motivates an attendee to ask questions.

7) Start with an icebreaker

Finally, perhaps the most fun tip! Use icebreakers. The name says it all: it's a way to break the ice. We came up with some cards with dilemmas on them. It's especially good to use this when you're hosting your webinar with multiple presenters or when you're broadcasting a table talk. What makes it so fun is that it's a little different than usual to start the conversation. Do this at the beginning or end and set up a poll so your viewers can join in and respond in the chat afterward. 

Want to start more of the conversation yourself but don't know how? Icebreakers are available for download via the button below!

Get the icebreakers

Download card deck