80+ Best Questions to Ask a Guest Speaker During a Webinar

Are you planning a virtual event and hoping to spice it up with a guest speaker?

Don’t settle with any old speaker. 

Prepare someone who can spark the attention of your target audience, offer insights, and motivate them.

32% of attendees say that an engaging speaker is the most attractive part of the webinar.

Yet, before you can bask in the glory of a successful event, you must ensure that you have the appropriate questions to ask a guest speaker. 

Because, let’s face it, no one likes listening to a Q&A when the same old questions are asked repeatedly.

By asking your guest speaker the right questions—those that will get your audience to sit up and pay attention—we can promote an engaging learning experience for both the speaker and the attendees.

What Makes a Good Question to Ask a Guest Speaker at a Webinar?

Make sure you prepare a good question that will initiate an informative response before you ask a guest speaker a question during a webinar. An excellent question should be precise and will focus on the webinar’s subject

Asking a question that has already been addressed or that is unrelated to the topic at hand will only tend to waste the speaker’s time. An excellent question should also be concise and simple to comprehend. Do not ask a complicated or drawn-out question that could confuse the speaker or other audience members. 

Finally, a good question ought to be polite and respectful. Keep your language professional, avoid conflict, and keep it pleasant.

Checklist for an insightful question to ask
Checklist for an insightful question to ask

Do Your Homework - What Are Your Guest Speaker’s Passions?

You should spend some time learning about a guest’s background and interests before attending a webinar or event that features them. Knowing what the guest speaker is passionate about can help you ask more meaningful and engaging questions.

Look for information about their professional experience, published works, and any interviews they may have given. To learn more about their personalities and hobbies, you may also look through their social media pages.

You may show to the guest speaker that you are really interested in their work and respect their ideas by completing your homework. You could also be able to find points of connection or shared interests that will make it easier for you to communicate with the speaker.

Do Your Homework - What Are Your Guest Speaker’s Current Challenges?

In addition to learning about a guest speaker’s interests, it might be good to be aware of any of their present challenges or obstacles. By doing this, you will be able to ask timely and relevant questions that will demonstrate to the speaker that you are knowledgeable about their work.

Search for recent press coverage or interviews that mention the speaker’s ongoing activities or projects. For information on their work, you may also check out their websites or social media pages. You can demonstrate your knowledge of the subject and your desire to learn more by asking questions concerning the guest speaker’s current challenges

Great guest speakers are often very busy, so you should schedule the webinar months ahead. This also gives you some time to prepare the webinar landing page and promote your webinar

Furthermore, you might be able to provide the guest speaker with insights or recommendations they find useful, which can result in a more effective and interesting session.

80+ Best Questions to Ask Guest Speakers During a Virtual Event

If you’re hosting or attending a virtual event with a guest speaker, you’ll want to make the most of your time by asking engaging and thought-provoking questions that spark discussion and provide valuable insights. Engaging questions will definitely create an interactive webinar environment.

Additionally, you want to listen carefully to what your guest speakers are saying. They might leave breadcrumbs to valuable information that would give you hints where to delve deeper. It might be a fantastic opportunity to uncover something about themselves.

These are the top 80+ most intelligent questions to put to guest speakers at a virtual event in order to get the most out of your time and learn insightful things.

Icebreaker Questions to Get a Guest Speaker Talking

Questions to Ask Your Guest Speaker About Their Career and Industry

Questions to Ask Your Guest Speaker on Leadership

Follow-up Questions to Dig Deeper

Fun Questions to Ask During the Webinar

Best Questions to Ask Based on the Guest Speaker’s Expertise

Asking the right questions can help you and your audience get the most out of a guest speaker’s presentation. In addition to general questions, it’s important to ask specific questions based on the speaker’s expertise. Whether they are a motivational speaker, CEO, author, or mentor, tailored questions can provide valuable insights and spark engaging discussions.

We’ve compiled a list of the best questions to ask based on the guest speaker’s profession, so you can prepare for a productive and informative event.

Best Questions to Ask a Motivational Speaker

Best Questions to Ask a CEO or a Founder

Live webinar speaker question and answer
Live webinar speaker question and answer

Best Questions to Ask an Author

Best Questions to Ask a Mentor

Live webinar speaker discussion
Live webinar speaker discussion

Best Questions to Ask a Potential Keynote Speaker

Multiple speakers during a webinar
Multiple speakers during a webinar

FAQ - Questions to Ask Your Guest Speaker

What to Avoid When Questioning Your Guest Speaker During a Virtual Event?

There are a few mistakes to avoid when asking your guest speaker during a virtual event in order to have a productive and interesting discussion. First, avoid asking questions that are too broad or generic, as they can be difficult for your guest speaker to answer in a meaningful way. 

Instead, concentrate on particular subjects or experiences connected to their area of expertise or business. Moreover, try to refrain from asking intrusive or overly personal questions since this may make your guest speaker feel uncomfortable and perhaps cause the conversation to fail.

Finally, avoid interrupting your guest speaker or dominating the conversation, as this can come across as rude or disrespectful. Keep in mind that the objective is to lead a fruitful and informative conversation that benefits both you, the other audience members and your guest speaker.

How do I Find a Guest Speaker for my Virtual Event?

There are a few measures you may take to discover the best speaker for your virtual event if you’re searching for a guest speaker.

Consider first asking for suggestions from your professional network or sector groups. These sources frequently include insightful information on possible speakers who could be a good fit for your event. In addition, you may look for speakers online through speaker bureaus or directories, which let you filter results based on factors like availability and skill level.

Once you’ve created a list of possible speakers, spend some time carefully researching each one, checking out their previous lectures, client recommendations, and internet presence to make sure they complement the topic and objectives of your event.

Finally, don’t be afraid to reach out directly to your top choices, providing a clear and compelling pitch for why they should speak at your virtual event.

Key Takeaways for Questions to Ask a Guest Speaker

Asking questions during virtual events is an effective way to engage with your guest speakers. 

To make the most out of the Q&A session, it is important to ask relevant and concise questions that have not already been addressed during the presentation. 

This may be accomplished by paying close attention and conducting some preliminary background and interest research on the speaker. 

That’s how you’ll get insightful and informative answers. 

Also, it’s crucial to refrain from posing improper or off-topic questions that could ruin everyone’s experience as a whole. 

By keeping these tips in mind and preparing a thoughtful list of questions to ask a guest speaker, you can make your virtual event a more engaging and enriching experience for all participants. 

So go ahead and start brainstorming those questions to ask a guest speaker!

To achieve the best results with webinars, we recommend using a professional webinar platform

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Erkki Muuga

Erkki Muuga

Erkki has over 10 years of experience as a software product manager and a proven track record in building and growing SaaS products. He has a keen eye for key differentiating factors and spotting truly valuable software features that enable business use cases.

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