Webinar training is presentation coaching for the formats where your audience can leave the moment you get boring, which means the entire program has to be built around them, not around your script. This case study is about the day an AARP team sat down and watched ten minutes of their own webinar, and what they built after one of them finally said what everyone was thinking.
I worked with AARP on and off for about five years. They brought me in mainly for presentation training, which I now call high-stakes presenter training, and also for media training. We also did hybrid trainings for some of the webinars they deliver to members all across the country. These webinars can reach enormous audiences, potentially millions of people.
What was going wrong with the webinars?
They knew there was a problem, and the audience knew there was a problem. The big problem: webinars tend to be boring. I am being kind by saying it that way, because they realized it was actually them being boring. The good news is that it did not have to stay that way, and it did not stay that way.
What they were doing previously:
- Putting up graphics
- Not turning on their camera
- Basically just reading to people
That might work in an audio podcast, but it was not right for a webinar format. In fact, if they did that in an audio podcast, they would realize it sounded exactly like people reading off a script. It was not even just the tonality. It was how the script was written.
And here is the part that matters even more now: with AI tools, many people are having ChatGPT or Google Gemini write a script for them, and it sounds the same everywhere. There are certain words that only AI uses, and certain members of the audience will notice and feel cheated. If your organization speaks to the public, that sameness is a real risk to trust.
What happens when a team watches its own webinar?
The way we opened the training was by watching a ten minute section of their webinar. They did not know I was going to have them do that, and it went exactly as I thought it would. People were fidgety. They were bored. They were looking at the ceiling. They were starting to get upset with themselves. And one person finally said, "Okay, I don't know if I can take hearing me bore everybody in the room."
After some nervous laughter, the real work began.
We stripped away everything that did not work and only added in pieces that were effective for reaching this particular audience and motivating them. Motivating them to take action. The group was excited, the group was energized, and the group felt like they really had brand new systems and frameworks for supporting their members. I have seen this play out many times at many organizations, and I was proud to share it with AARP.
Thank you so much for your work with our entire team. We saw noticeable results and were able to make on-the-spot adjustments. I look forward to receiving your post-training materials and seeing what you have in store for us. Tim Wollerman, VP, Outreach, AARP
What did five years of training look like?
One training day does not build an institution's communication culture. Over roughly five years, the work with AARP spanned presentation training, media training, and hybrid webinar programs, with subject matter experts learning to present to large audiences both live and over web streaming events. Here is how one of the people who brought me in described it:
I brought Jess in to AARP to do multiple staff training sessions on Presentation. The staff were all subject matter experts but needed to be taught how to present the material to large audiences, both live and over web streaming events. These were sessions for high level employees and they could be a tough audience if they felt their time was not being well spent. Not only was Jess very knowledgeable on his topic, but the staff uniformly said that the courses were interesting, extremely helpful, and enjoyable. They also said they would like additional training sessions with Jess. I have sought his input since this time on additional presentations and have always found his input to be both insightful and very helpful. Jess not only trains but also becomes a valuable resource for the staff. I plan on hiring Jess for future staff training sessions when needed and I recommend him unreservedly. Scott Gould, Sr. Agile Coach CSP, CSM, SAFE SPC 6, PMP, AARP
- Watch yourself first. Nothing motivates change like experiencing your own webinar the way your audience does.
- Reading is not presenting. Graphics plus a disembodied voice reading a script is a podcast done badly, not a webinar.
- AI sameness is detectable. Audiences notice generic scripts, and they feel cheated when they do.
- Build audience-first. Strip away what does not serve your specific audience, keep only what moves them to act.
For more from the same playbook, read how a Gartner executive fixed a story that flopped and how a Hay Group meeting ended in applause.
If your organization runs webinars, member programs, or virtual events that are not landing the way they should, a focused presentation training engagement will change that. Tell me about your team through the quick quote form.
Not ready yet? No problem. Start with a copy of my book Media Secrets or grab the 7 Media Interview Secrets and put a few ideas to work first.