So, here I am, just about to launch a course on webinars and live video production, and I experience the worst two virtual presentations ever. In this blog, I’ll share the gory details and let you know how you (perhaps) can avoid the same fate. All that said, this is more a writer’s self-therapy for me than learning for you, though perhaps you’ll get a chuckle or two.

Insist on a Practice Session and Presenter’s Login

The first presentation was a webinar I was presenting on the Zoom platform. I didn’t insist on a practice session because I’ve participated in many Zoom calls and conferences, and hey, I’m launching a course on this stuff so I don’t need no stinking practice session. When it came time for the event, the link that the webinar administrator session didn’t work; I could login to Zoom, but didn’t join the presentation. Twenty minutes after starting time they sent another link, which worked and the webinar began (after many attendees had left).

Long story short, it seems that the initial link was a borrowed link from another participant. Or something. What I should have done was insist on a presenters login. To explain, when you set up a webinar, you designate presenters by name and email address. All systems that I’ve worked with send the presenter an email with that login information. I didn’t get mine until 20-minutes after the presentation began and I should have insisted upon that login from the start.

I also should have insisted upon a practice session, not necessarily for me, but to ensure that all hands were on the same deck. Sometimes I’m the weak link; sometimes it’s on the other side. Either way, it’s best to figure that out before the event, which would have lead to a smoother start for this first webinar.

My Macintosh, Keeping Me Safe From Unauthorized Webex Screen Shares

The second presentation was for a consulting client on the Webex platform before a standards committee considering their technology. There was no opportunity for a practice session, but again, I was pretty confident that I could participate without any hiccups. At least until my HP Windows notebook couldn’t log into Webex. I tried rebooting, and got the same error message, so I switched to my brand new Apple Mac Mini. I logged in, configured my audio and video, and was all set, feeling a bit relieved I have to say. Another disaster avoided.

Then the Webex administrator handed me control over the screen and the share screen control was grayed out. Long story short, my wonderful Mac security settings prevented me from sharing my screen until I changed my security settings, which required that I change the settings, log out of Webex, and log back in. My client thought that was a bad idea and decided just to drive the Powerpoint herself.

This generally isn’t a bad idea when all you have to say is “change slides” every 90 seconds or so, but I use lots of animated bullets and pointers in my presentations to help focus attention, maintain interest, and make sure I cover all the important points. While my client tried gamely, there’s just no way for anyone to predict when another presenter would want to switch from point 1 to point 2. So, the presentation was rough, to say the least.

Then the Lawnmower Guy Showed Up

The presentation was split between myself and the client, she took slides 8-9, I took the rest. She just started slide 8 when the lawnmower guy started mowing.

Not to make too fine a point of it, but here in my little town in Virginia, I have a unique relationship with my lawnmower guy. He winters in Central America and starts mowing when he returns in the spring. I don’t typically know when that’s going to be, but he’s been mowing my lawn for 20 years so it always works out. But he hadn’t returned so far this year, and the lawn had gotten quite shaggy. My wife and I are selling our house, with the first showing early next week, so lawn care was becoming an issue.

Once I heard the mower, I quickly ran outside to try to delay his w...