Zoom Webinars

What is a Webinar?

Most of you will have been on a Webinar at some point.

Most Webinars are someone giving a presentation with a slideshow. Perhaps a chair introducing them and managing questions from the audience. Or there might be a panel of speakers.

The audience can (if allowed) post questions to the speaker or panel using Chat or the Webinar Q&A feature. But the audience can’t see each other (as they can in a normal Zoom meeting) and interaction is limited if at all.

The difference between a Zoom WEBINAR and a Zoom MEETING

The main difference is that Webinars tend to be more of a lecture or presentation. While Meetings tend to be, well, “meetings” between groups of people (formal or informal). Meetings can still have speakers and/or a panel, but there is more opportunity for the audience to interact.

Webinars tend to have more people than a meeting. It can be easier to manage a webinar than a meeting if you have a large audience.

Zoom Webinars are also more expensive than Zoom Meetings (although you can purchase a Webinar license for just a month – like many Zoom add-ons).

	Meetings	Webinars
General use	Ideal for more interactive sessions – lots of audience participation or break your session into smaller groups	Like a virtual lecture hall. Ideal for large audiences or events open to the public. Typically, webinar attendees do not interact with one another. Most have a few people speaking to an audience.
Roles for people in the event	Everyone is “in the room” (presenters and attendees)	Presenters are on the stage and lit up – attendees are mostly just an audience
Exclusive features	Breakout Rooms (only in meetings)	Q&A feature (only in webinars)

Free PDF factsheet

Click here to download our free PDF factsheet ‘Choosing between a Zoom Meeting or a Zoom Webinar’

It includes …

Key differences
Times to use a Meeting vs a Webinar
What participation IS available in a Webinar? Q&A, Raise Hand and Chat
Meeting “Waiting Rooms” vs Webinar “Practice sessions”
Managing Tech check sessions (for speakers/panellists)
Breakout Rooms in Webinars?