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PixelPath
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February 26, 2025
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Event Session Walkthrough

  • February 26, 2025
  • 1 reply
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I'm organizing a Zoom Webinar event and want to schedule a walkthrough session with my panelists beforehand. This walkthrough will cover:

  • Familiarizing them with Zoom webinar controls (audio, video, screen sharing).
  • Practicing entering and exiting the webinar.
  • Testing breakout room functionality.
  • Understanding the transition between the live webinar and the "backstage" area.

I have a few questions regarding this walkthrough and the webinar setup:

  1. Panelist Registration: Do my panelists need to formally register as attendees for the webinar in order to participate in the walkthrough or the live event?
  2. Early Access & Reusability: Can we access the full webinar interface a month prior to the event for our walkthrough, start and stop the webinar during the practice session, and then re-access the same webinar with all settings intact on the scheduled event date? In other words, can we use the same webinar link for a practice run and the actual live event?
Best answer by Ray_Harwood

Welcome to the Zoom Community and the wonderful world of Webinars, @PixelPath.

 

Panelists should be entered by the Host in the Panelist section of the Webinar on the Web Portal (Zoom.us). They should not register separately. Their Panelist credentials (emailed by Zoom) will get them into any session, including practice sessions.  Always admonish Panelists to never ever share their credentials with anyone – not ever! Chaos will ensue for the Host!

 

 The Host can start a “practice” session any time. Note that Webinars, once opened for attendees, can’t be “stopped and restarted.” But think of practice sessions like going to an auditorium to practice a play – the space is yours to do with as you please (within the restrictions of the Webinar app, of course).

 

In the same vein, when you start the “live” session in an auditorium, there’s no guarantee that everything will be the way you left it at the last practice. Carefully document the settings needed during practice, and on the day of the event, get there early and set things up according to your Run of Show, a document that contains the steps needed by Hosts and Panelists.

 

 But you’ve got the right idea: practice, practice, practice!

1 reply

Ray_Harwood
Community Super Champion | Customer
Ray_HarwoodAnswer
Community Super Champion | Customer
March 1, 2025

Welcome to the Zoom Community and the wonderful world of Webinars, @PixelPath.

 

Panelists should be entered by the Host in the Panelist section of the Webinar on the Web Portal (Zoom.us). They should not register separately. Their Panelist credentials (emailed by Zoom) will get them into any session, including practice sessions.  Always admonish Panelists to never ever share their credentials with anyone – not ever! Chaos will ensue for the Host!

 

 The Host can start a “practice” session any time. Note that Webinars, once opened for attendees, can’t be “stopped and restarted.” But think of practice sessions like going to an auditorium to practice a play – the space is yours to do with as you please (within the restrictions of the Webinar app, of course).

 

In the same vein, when you start the “live” session in an auditorium, there’s no guarantee that everything will be the way you left it at the last practice. Carefully document the settings needed during practice, and on the day of the event, get there early and set things up according to your Run of Show, a document that contains the steps needed by Hosts and Panelists.

 

 But you’ve got the right idea: practice, practice, practice!

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