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Live Events with a Virtual Audience

Are you hosting an in-person event or conference and want to extend the opportunity for remote attendance or participation? Review this resource as it will help provide recommendations to enable this dual-attendance model utilizing Zoom. This experience can be successful in both Zoom Meeting Room and Zoom Webinar formats.

In-Person Event or Conference with presenters engaging also via a Webinar

Considerations

Event Space - Whether on or off-campus, conference and event spaces often have dedicated workstations available. These, however, may not have built-in webcams. Review your event space in advance to understand the technology that is present and what you will need in order to accommodate a virtual audience. For on-campus events, review and reserve your space via the Conference Services website.

Audience - Before you get started, think about your two audiences: those in-person and those joining virtually. Determining the physical layout and configuration is often easy based on the event space; however, to have a meaningful experience for virtual attendees, consider what they should see and hear from the event. At a minimum, audio from the speaker(s) should be heard clearly by your virtual audience. Is there one speaker or a panel of speakers? Is there a podium in use or a "round table discussion"? Will there be slides shared? Will there be time for Q&A from the audience (in-person and/or virtually)?

For those events that have "round table discussions" or more complex event configurations requiring multiple video capture considerations, or with both virtual presenters and in-person presenters, consider contacting the ITSHelpdesk@luc.edu and/or Conference Services to describe your needs and help identify what solutions may be available within Loyola or with external services (such as Livestream or filming capabilities).

Virtual Event Lead - Considering the extra steps and attention required, it's good practice to assign a dedicated team member to manage and monitor the audio and video for your virtual audience. Below, you will find a checklist the "Virtual Event Lead" can utilize for setup and execution.

Setup Time - Event organizers should always arrive early to their event. Ensure you pad in enough time before the event for equipment setup, configuration, and testing in the virtual environment before the audience arrives. We recommend 30 minutes for an individual or two from your event team to focus on setup and review for the virtual component.

Checklist for Virtual Event Lead

Last Modified:   Tue, January 28, 2025 4:53 PM CST

Are you hosting an in-person event or conference and want to extend the opportunity for remote attendance or participation? Review this resource as it will help provide recommendations to enable this dual-attendance model utilizing Zoom. This experience can be successful in both Zoom Meeting Room and Zoom Webinar formats.

In-Person Event or Conference with presenters engaging also via a Webinar

Considerations

Event Space - Whether on or off-campus, conference and event spaces often have dedicated workstations available. These, however, may not have built-in webcams. Review your event space in advance to understand the technology that is present and what you will need in order to accommodate a virtual audience. For on-campus events, review and reserve your space via the Conference Services website.

Audience - Before you get started, think about your two audiences: those in-person and those joining virtually. Determining the physical layout and configuration is often easy based on the event space; however, to have a meaningful experience for virtual attendees, consider what they should see and hear from the event. At a minimum, audio from the speaker(s) should be heard clearly by your virtual audience. Is there one speaker or a panel of speakers? Is there a podium in use or a "round table discussion"? Will there be slides shared? Will there be time for Q&A from the audience (in-person and/or virtually)?

For those events that have "round table discussions" or more complex event configurations requiring multiple video capture considerations, or with both virtual presenters and in-person presenters, consider contacting the ITSHelpdesk@luc.edu and/or Conference Services to describe your needs and help identify what solutions may be available within Loyola or with external services (such as Livestream or filming capabilities).

Virtual Event Lead - Considering the extra steps and attention required, it's good practice to assign a dedicated team member to manage and monitor the audio and video for your virtual audience. Below, you will find a checklist the "Virtual Event Lead" can utilize for setup and execution.

Setup Time - Event organizers should always arrive early to their event. Ensure you pad in enough time before the event for equipment setup, configuration, and testing in the virtual environment before the audience arrives. We recommend 30 minutes for an individual or two from your event team to focus on setup and review for the virtual component.

Checklist for Virtual Event Lead