'Do People Tend to Listen More or Read More in Webinars?'

I was recently asked "Do people tend to listen more or read more in webinars?" and having answered it, I learned several other people were curious, hence I'm sharing the results here.

Whether people listen or read more in webinars depends on some fairly specific and simple things:

If the webinar involves something prerecorded (not live) and the webinar has audio and video content then people will begin both listening and viewing then just listen while multitasking, only viewing when something in the audio stream catches their attention.
If the webinar is live, has both video and audio content and the participant is physically remote from the source and alone (such as in ecommuting, working from home, at a remote location, etc) then as before, the participant will begin both listening and viewing then just listen while multitasking, only viewing when something in the audio stream catches their attention.
If the webinar is prerecorded (not live) and is video without audio content then people will start viewing and continue longer but eventually multitask, going to and from the webinar information stream as cognitive resources allow.
If the webinar is only audio content and regardless of live or prerecorded material people will listen and multitask, however the tasks will require minimal cognitive resources. They will stop the audio stream if a task presents itself that requires lots of visual attention (what's called "Ea/Ev" cognitive demand and is recognized by a need to "shut down" their auditory centers so their visual centers can process more information. This is why people shouldn't txt/talk on cellphones and drive).
If the webinar requires that participants be in a group (physically with other people at some location) and contains video, audio or both, then participants will follow the lead of whomever they recognize as the Alpha in the group. If the individual in question is the group Alpha, they will pretend to pay attention and wonder why in heck management is subjecting them to this. If the Alpha is in management, they will be sure to talk to HR. If the Alpha is in HR, they will watch to make sure others are paying attention and pat themselves on the back for bringing this incredibly valuable training into the company.

Anything else I can answer for you?

Joseph

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