As a business professional, odds are good that you've attended a virtual meeting or online webinar recently. But if you haven't yet hosted one of your own — or even if you have and want to improve the next experience — there are a few important things to keep in mind which will make the experience as smooth and professional as possible. Here are some guidelines and recommendations.

1.       Prepare and test thoroughly     Put together your agenda or presentation well in advance and do a practice run beforehand. There's nothing more embarrassing than inviting a big group of people to your webinar only to have technical difficulties. Be sure to time your rehearsal and make sure you are within limits. If at all possible, send an outline or agenda to all participants for prior review.

2.       Make sure all attendees have access information        Most webinar and online meeting products require log-in information as well as a phone number to call, so make sure that all participants have the information they need to download access codes, URLs, and phone numbers in advance so they can get set up easily.

3.       Record the presentation     This will allow you to review it afterwards and look at areas for future improvement, see if all points were clear, check for questions that need follow-up, etc.

4.       For webinars, focus on educational content         If you're hosting a promotional webinar, your attendees (potential clients) want to know what's in it for them. They're much more likely to attend (and remain in your webinar until the end) if they're learning something of value. A good rule of thumb is to devote 90% of your time and material to education and the remaining 10% to promoting your products and services.