Ask the expert anything sessions!
I run a semi-regular series of webinars on any subject that’s interesting to my readers which means topics on 4X4s, cars, towing, camping and especially future-focused technology.
So far I’ve interviewed Emme Hall who was the first to drive the Rivian EV offroad, the CEO of Atlis Motor Vehicles on 4X4 EVs, the Managing Director of OKA, the founder and managing director of MAXTRAX, the owners of Saber Offroad, round-the-world traveller Marcus Tuck, Land Rover Experience on the new Defender, the CEO of Lazer Lamps, the boss of INEOS in AsiaPacific, Weightcheck on caravan weights, Toyo Tyres on Tyres, EVFireSafe on EV fires, EVolution who are converting a Range Rover Classic to electric and Senator Ross Cadell on EVs. And many more!
I’ve also interviewed owners; the Y62 Nissan Patrol and the Ford Everest. I believe in diversity, and equality/equity, so delved into the topic of Women and 4X4s too. Even had some fun talking about recovery tools!
All the webinars can be found on my Webinar Playlist on YouTube.
The webinars run for about 45 minutes, and I’ll usually start off with a few questions of my own before the readers come in with their questions which we answer live. Everything is hosted on Zoom, so we have a Q&A function, screenshare and whiteboard. The session is recorded, then I add some background clips and captions, then upload it to my YouTube channel.
If you know someone who’d make a good guest, please let me know!
Information for guests – people that watch
- You can ask questions before, or during the webinar. We’ll try and get to them all. Please feel free to contribute, we want to know what you think! If you miss the webinar live, you can find it on my YouTube channel a few days afterwards.
- All times are Melbourne/Sydney local time.
Information for panellists – guests I interview
Preparing for the webinar
- Ideally you have a computer and webcam. At worst, a mobile phone will do, but if you use one, please also use a headphone rather than the phone’s speaker system.
- I will need your email address so I can send you the invite. Do not send that invite to anyone else – it is personalised for one person. I can send invites to other people if needs be.
- You must join the webinar using the link I emailed you.
- I need a short bio mostly focused on what people can ask you about, not product promotion please.
- It is a very good idea to practice with Zoom ahead of the webinar time – make sure your video and audio works, and how to screen share. When the time comes to go live, we want to go live not struggle with technology! Download the app and practice.
- The webcam should be ideally situated at or just above your eyeline. Nostril hair is great but doesn’t make for the best look. Try to have soft lighting in front of your face, not harsh light from the back.
- Make sure your background is boring, and you’re in a quiet area. It is a good idea to use a picture as your background and add your logo to it.
- Practice screen sharing so you can show pictures, but video doesn’t really work.
Running the webinar
- The webinar should fit into a slot between 18:00 and 21:00 Melbourne/Sydney time, because that’s when the bulk of my readers are free, but that can be changed for international guests or if the webinar is likely to attract non-Australian viewers (I have a large following in the USA and UK).
- Please be ready to join at least 20 minutes early for a systems check – we’ll go live at the appointed time though.
- We’ll just have a chat, as if it was a campfire but we don’t keep moving to avoid the smoke. You’re on because you are a subject matter expert in something, so just talk about it.
- Really, really not into overt product promotion. Your expertise is the best advertisement for your services.
- We can do polls on the fly, and use the whiteboard feature.
- Attendees cannot speak or show video unless we allow it. They can use the Q&A function to ask questions or the chat function.
- The webinar will be recorded, and I’ll do some light editing. You get to see the result before it goes live.
- I don’t mind debate and differences of opinion!
- Please keep answers short – especially if you are one of multiple guests!