What is a webinar?
A webinar is a live online presentation, talk or training session in which one or a few presenters speak to an audience that watches and takes part through chat, questions and polls.
How does a webinar work?
People register in advance and receive a link. At the start time they join from a browser or an app, the presenters share their camera and screen, and attendees ask questions in a text box rather than speaking. Afterwards, registrants usually receive a recording.
Webinar vs meeting
In a meeting everyone can speak and share; it is a conversation. In a webinar the presenters control the stage and the audience mostly listens, which lets it scale to hundreds or thousands of attendees without turning into noise.
Ideal webinar length
Most webinars run 30 to 60 minutes, with 45 a common choice: long enough for substance and questions, short enough to fit between meetings. A retention curve from your own sessions will tell you where your audience’s patience actually ends.
Webinar best practices
- Deliver the main point early, not at the end.
- Keep slides sparse; people are watching you, not reading.
- Take questions throughout, not only at the end.
- Finish on time and follow up the same day.
Virtual Event Management Suite handles webinar registration, attendance tracking and retention curves, so you can see what held the audience and follow up by what each person attended.
Last reviewed 2026-11-01.