Present Media lets a host play videos or show slides directly on the webinar stage. There are many use cases for presenting media during a webinar, such as:
Countdown videos to fill the minutes before you go live.
Ads, sizzle reels, or promos to run between segments.
Product demos or recorded walkthroughs you’d rather play than perform live.
Partially simulated webinars, or blended pre-recorded segments with live hosting.
This feature differs from a pre-recorded webinar, which auto-plays a single video from start to finish.
What you can present
During a live webinar, hosts can present two kinds of media on stage:
Videos from your Wistia account — build a queue and play them one at a time.
Slides — upload a PDF from your computer and advance through it on stage.
Only hosts can add media to an event. Once media is in the queue, any host can bring it on and off stage during the event.
Tip
Hosts can join the event room any time before the webinar goes live to upload media to the queue. Audience members can enter up to 30 minutes before the start.
Videos vs. slides
Videos and slides behave differently on stage:
While a video plays, hosts and panelists are muted and can’t be on stage. Remove the video to bring people back on.
While slides are up, hosts and panelists can stay on stage and speak. Anyone off stage is muted.
If you need to talk over a moving video, screen-share it instead.
Present a video
On your webinar overview page, click "Join event room", then "Join as host".
In the side panel, open the Present tab and click "Add", then "Choose videos"
Select a video from your Wistia account to add it to the queue. Click "Add" anytime to queue more videos or slides.
When you're ready to play the video during your webinar, hover over it and click "Play on stage". The video will begin playing on stage right away.
When the video ends, you can play another video in its place (the two swap and the new one starts) or remove it from the stage (the layout reverts to its previous state).
Note
When a video is playing, hosts and panelists will be muted and cannot be brought on stage.
Present slides
In the Present tab, click "Add" then "Upload slides" to upload a PDF from your computer.
When you're ready to present, hover over the presentation thumbnail and click "Add to stage".
To advance slides, use the arrows on the stage, the arrows on the thumbnail, or the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.
Both hosts and panelists can control slides. Presenters must be on stage to be heard; anyone off stage is muted.
Remove or delete media
To take media off stage, click "Remove from stage"; the layout will revert, and hosts and panelists can return to the stage. To delete media from the queue entirely, hover over the thumbnail and click the trash icon. You must remove media from the stage before you can delete it.
FAQ
Can I loop a video I’m presenting?
Presented videos don’t loop automatically. To repeat a short clip, countdown, or intro, upload a version with the loop built in, or play the video again manually when it ends.
Can I upload a PowerPoint file with my slides?
You can upload PowerPoint slides as a PDF; PPT and PPTX uploads are not supported. Export your deck from PowerPoint, Google Slides, or another tool as a PDF, then in the event room open Present, choose to add slides, and upload it. This avoids the window-sizing and alignment issues that can happen when screen-sharing a deck.
I’m a panelist. Can I upload slides?
Only hosts can upload slides, but both hosts and panelists can control them on stage. You must be on stage to be heard; anyone off stage is muted.
My video didn’t play automatically. How do I start it?
Presented videos don’t start automatically in a live webinar. You must hover over the video in the Present tab and click "Play on stage". Automatic playback only applies to pre-recorded webinars.
Can I talk over a video while it’s playing?
No. When a video is on stage, hosts and panelists are muted. To speak over content, screen-share the video instead (you can optionally disable tab or system audio), bring the screenshare and your speakers on stage, and use the Spotlight layout so the screenshare fills the stage while presenters stay audible.