The Top 5 Technical Audio Problems In Webinars & How To Fix Them

Posted by BeaconLive

Audio Problems In Webinars? Here's How To Fix Them

By now, you’ve gotten the hang of organizing virtual events. You can plan, produce, and execute online meetings, like webinars, to build brand awareness and offer critical industry content. 

 

You also know that nothing can throw a wrench in your webinar like when technology fails. Experiencing audio and video issues during crucial moments of your event is incredibly frustrating. 

 

Not only that, technical difficulties can be harmful to your bottom line and negatively impact the virtual attendee event experience, leaving them less likely to attend another one of your webinars.

 

While many audio and video issues seem to happen out of nowhere, you can often prevent them with a little bit of foresight and knowledge. Knowing what to do during a tech disaster is the key to maintaining the integrity of your online event. 

 

Let’s take a look at how to prevent technical difficulties during your next webinar and what to do if you experience audio or video problems. 

 

How To Prevent Technical Difficulties During A Webinar 

Technical issues are bound to occur unexpectedly during your virtual event. Some of the top problems with webinar audio are interruptions that shift the focus away from the actual content. 

 

Here are some tips for preventing audio issues before they occur:

  • Present In A Quiet Place With No Distractions 

  • Silence All Mobile Devices

  • Encourage Your Speakers To Create Controlled Environments 

  • Never Use The Built-In Microphone

  • Test Your Webinar By Calling From A Landline 

  • Charge All Batteries 

  • Practice Your Presentation For Optimal Flow

  • Always Conduct A Dry Run 

 

By taking these steps to prevent standard technical audio and visual issues, you’ll reduce the chances of you fumbling to troubleshoot sound issues during your webinar.

Troubleshoot Audio Issues-Infographic

The Five Most Common Technical Issues With Proven Solutions 

Even if you take all the steps necessary to prevent technical issues, they can still pop up during your virtual event. 

 

1. Participants Can Hear An Echo When The Host Speaks 


If participants hear an echo during the webinar, chances are there is an equipment issue on your end. 

 

The audio from your computer speakers is being picked up by the microphone and coming through to the webinar. This creates an echo that will keep your attendees from enjoying the online event. 

 

You can eliminate the echo by having all your exhibitors and speakers use dedicated headsets. If headphones aren’t an option, ask all participants to mute when they aren’t speaking. 

 

If you have speakers using different audio sources in the same room, ask them to share a microphone to prevent echoing. 

 

2. Ambient Noise Is Distracting Attendees And Ruining Recording Quality


No matter how professional your microphone is, ambient noise will ruin your event’s sound quality. Even essential room items like a ceiling fan or squeaky desk chair can cause distracting background noise that impacts the attendee experience and ruins your recording quality. 

 

Before you start your webinar, make sure that electronics that can cause a distraction, like printers or fax machines, are unplugged and silence mobile devices. Turn off notifications on the device you are presenting on. These could interrupt you. 

 

Position your microphone away from your computer. The whirring of PC fans tends to run more frequently when you are streaming or recording with hardware. 

 

3. Attendees Cannot Hear The Host

 

Nothing stops a webinar in its tracks, like being unable to hear the speaker. This issue could have multiple causes on both the presenter side and the attendee end. 

 

Be sure to include some troubleshooting tips ahead of the webinar so guests can take action if they are unable to hear the presenter. 

 

Let's take a look at how attendees can troubleshoot the lack of sound during a webinar. 

 

How Attendees Can Troubleshoot Audio Issues

  • Check Connections: Confirm that your speakers and headphones are connected. Unplug and reconnect your audio hardware from the device you are using for the webinar. 

  • Turn Up The Volume: Check your sound settings to ensure the volume is turned up and no channels or tabs on your browser are on mute. 

  • Refresh The Webinar: Click the refresh button and rejoin the webinar.  Use this opportunity to check the strength of your internet connection. 

  • Try Another Browser Or Device: Finally, if all else fails, access the webinar from an alternative device or browser. 

 

If hosts find themselves with audio issues during their event, their webinar service provider can troubleshoot and solve the problem quickly. Look for a webinar platform that has HelpDesk staff to monitor attendees and hosts for technical issues. 

 

This means that hosts can focus on running their webinars rather than troubleshooting audio issues. 

 

4. Choppy Images Or Sound 


Inconsistent sound or images may be the most frustrating webinar tech issue. It’s impossible to enjoy a live virtual event when the video feed is flickering, or you can only hear bits and pieces of what the speaker is saying. 

 

There are ways to fix these issues to ensure attendees will focus on the content and not the technical difficulties. 

  • Switch Internet Browsers: Plug-ins and settings can affect the quality of the video or sound during your webinar. Always use the browser recommended by your webinar service provider

  • Check Available Bandwidth: If your internet connection isn’t strong, your audiovisual quality will always suffer. 

  • Shut Down Background Programs: Disable software working in the background of your device. Apps that take up a lot of bandwidth can slow everything down. 

  • Prevent Updates: Don’t let your device download or update during your webinar. This can put a strain on your computer and cause inconsistent streaming.

 

The number one cause for choppy images and sound is typically poor internet connection. If all else fails, switch networks. Try accessing a new wifi network or using the hotspot on your phone to improve the quality of your webinar feed.

 

5. OnDemand Content Will Not Load 


Offering your recorded webinar content OnDemand is a great way to create evergreen content and improve webinar attendance long after it has concluded. 

 

Sometimes technical issues can plague these downloads and cause headaches for attendees trying to access your content. 

 

Trust your OnDemand content catalog to a content hosting company that can create media libraries to post to existing websites or on a new landing page. 

 

This will give you the option of monetizing your content for passive income and track users to see what content is most accessed. This will help inform your webinar planning decisions going forward. 

 

Keep Technical Difficulties At Bay During Your Next Webinar  

When your webinar goes off without any pesky technical issues, you can communicate your message to your audience, which helps you achieve your event goals. 

 

Partner with BeaconLive to prevent technical difficulties. Their live customer service and HelpDesk team will monitor your webinar for tech issues and offer technical support to hosts and attendees. 

 

BeaconLive offers cloud-based solutions that don’t require problematic plug-ins. They provide a streamlined process to produce and execute your webinar, so you can focus on meeting the expectations of your event stakeholders and providing an engaging experience for your event attendees. 

 

Contact BeaconLive today to get started on your next problem-free webinar. 


 

Topics: Webinars & Webcasts, Webinars: Best Practices

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