6 Webinar Formats: How to Pick the Right One

The format you choose shapes everything about your webinar: how your audience engages, how many speakers you need, how much prep is involved, and how long the session should run. Picking the wrong one means your content might be solid but the experience falls flat.

This guide covers six webinar formats, what each one is best suited for, and the trade-offs that come with it, so you can match the format to your goals before you start planning the rest of your setup.

Exploring Different Webinar Formats

At its core, a webinar is an online event where attendees participate from any device connected to the internet. However, there are various types of webinars available, ranging from Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions to panel discussions and interviews.

Each webinar type offers different advantages depending on what your goals are for the event. Some offer more engagement opportunities, while others provide more control over how much time is spent on each topic.

Let’s take a closer look at each type of webinar available:

1. Ask Me Anything (AMA) session: An AMA session allows participants to ask questions directly to the presenter or panelists in real time. You can get the audience involved via chat or even put them on stage during the webinar. AMAs provide ample opportunities for audience engagement as well as allow speakers to answer questions quickly without relying solely on pre-scripted material.

Compared to a Q&A webinar, an AMA is more focused on thought leadership and industry expertise.

2. Panel discussion: A panel discussion involves multiple thought leaders discussing specific topics related to a particular field or industry. This type of webinar allows speakers to share their perspectives while allowing participants to draw their own conclusions.

3. Interview: Interviews are just like they sound. They generally involve one speaker asking another person questions about their expertise or experiences related to a given topic.

The interviewer or webinar host typically controls the flow of the conversation while the speaker educates the audience using questions as a prompt.

4. Speaker presentation: Speaker-centric webinars consist primarily of one subject matter expert educating an audience on a specific topic. They may use a lecture or demo approach or simply go through slideshows and videos. These types of webinars give audiences an in-depth look into a certain topic by providing comprehensive explanations and detailed instructions.

For tips on making this format work well, see our webinar presentation tips.

5. Company showcase: Company showcases are built around introducing new products, services, or features to an audience. The host walks through key capabilities using live demos, screen shares, or pre-recorded walkthroughs, often paired with polls or live Q&A to keep the session interactive.

This format works well for product launches, feature announcements, and customer onboarding sessions where you want to show rather than tell. The key is to lead with the value your product delivers rather than treating the session as a sales pitch.

6. Q&A sessions: Q&A sessions involve attendees asking questions directly related either to specific topics covered during a presentation or general inquiries about products and services offered by the speaker’s company. They allow audiences an opportunity to learn from questions asked by other attendees and can give companies valuable feedback on specific offerings.

Understanding the Benefits and Drawbacks of Each Format

Webinar formats come with a variety of benefits depending on the type and purpose of your event.

• Q&A and AMA Sessions offer personalized answers to questions from an audience in real time but require some prep work to collect questions and prepare backup questions in case people are not as active as planned.
• Panel Discussions provide varying perspectives on complex topics. The challenge with choosing this format is getting multiple speakers to provide varying viewpoints on one topic while navigating clashing personalities and schedules.
• Interviews provide an informal setting for discussing various issues. You may only get one perspective on the topic, but it will be easier to work with your partner to create the content and schedule the webinar. It’s also a great format if you want to provide value in a shorter time.
• Speaker-centric sessions allow one presenter full control over the session. The only thing to watch out for here is engagement. If one person is talking the entire time, it can lose momentum. Try to include interactive elements, audience shout-outs, or questions so that you can keep your audience’s attention throughout.
• Company Showcases promote products and services without the need for multiple presenters. If you choose to use this format, just remember to provide value above all else. Even if you are talking about your product, you do not need to pitch so heavily that it drives people away.

Some of the best webinar formats, or at least the most popular and engaging ones, are the interview, panel, and AMA webinar formats. The Game Changers webinar series is a good example of an interview format. Because the structure is fairly simple, the webinars can be hosted on a weekly basis and for only 30 minutes. If you are interested in building a recurring format like this, see our guide to building a webinar series.

Each format has its own advantages and drawbacks that need to be considered to make the right decision for your webinar. With proper preparation, each event can be a success.

How to Choose the Right Format

Start with your audience and your goal, and the format will usually become obvious.

1. If your goal is education, a speaker presentation or interview gives you the most control over depth and pacing. Speaker presentations work when you have one expert who can carry a session solo. Interviews work when you want the same depth but in a more conversational, accessible tone.

2. If your goal is thought leadership, a panel discussion or AMA puts multiple perspectives on display and positions your brand at the center of an industry conversation. Panels work when you can recruit speakers with genuinely different viewpoints. AMAs work when you have a single expert with enough credibility that the audience will show up with questions.

3. If your goal is product awareness, a company showcase lets you demonstrate value directly. Pair it with live Q&A to keep it interactive and prevent it from feeling like a sales pitch.

4. If your goal is community engagement, Q&A sessions and AMAs give your audience the most active role. These formats work especially well as follow-ups to a content-heavy session, where attendees come back with questions from the previous webinar. They also pair naturally with a recurring webinar series where your audience builds familiarity over time.

A few practical considerations that should also factor into your decision:

Session length

Interviews and AMAs work well at 30 minutes. Speaker presentations and panels typically need 45 to 60 minutes to cover a topic with real depth. There are no hard rules, but shorter sessions tend to hold attention better, so resist the urge to go past an hour unless the format demands it. For more on timing, see our guide to the best time for webinars.

Preparation time

Panels and interviews require speaker coordination and pre-calls. Speaker presentations and company showcases are more self-contained. AMAs require the least scripted prep but need strong moderation to keep the conversation productive.

Number of presenters

If you are a small team and coordinating multiple external speakers is difficult, interviews (one guest) and speaker presentations (solo) are your lowest-friction options. Panels (two to four guests) are the most logistically demanding.

The best approach is to test two or three formats over your next few webinars and compare engagement. Your webinar analytics will show you which format produces the strongest attendance, engagement, and post-event conversion for your specific audience.

Find Your Format

Choosing your format is one step in a larger webinar setup process. Once you have decided on a format, the next steps are selecting your platform, building your promotion plan, and designing your follow-up sequence.

Sequel supports every format covered in this guide, from solo presentations to multi-speaker panels, with built-in engagement tools, branded registration pages, and on-demand replay. See how it works or book a demo.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most common webinar formats?

The six most common formats are Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions, panel discussions, interviews, speaker presentations, company showcases, and Q&A sessions. Each serves a different goal, from education and thought leadership to product awareness and community engagement.

Which webinar format gets the most engagement?

AMAs, panels, and interviews consistently produce the highest audience engagement because they are conversational by nature. Speaker presentations can also drive strong engagement if they include interactive elements like polls and live Q&A throughout the session.

How long should each webinar format be?

Interviews and AMAs work well at 30 minutes. Speaker presentations and panels typically need 45 to 60 minutes to cover a topic with depth. Avoid exceeding one hour unless the format specifically calls for it.

Can I mix webinar formats in one session?

Yes. Many webinars combine formats, for example a 30-minute speaker presentation followed by 15 minutes of open Q&A. Mixing formats can keep energy high and give your audience multiple ways to engage.

How do I decide which format is right for my webinar?

Start with your goal. Education points toward speaker presentations or interviews. Thought leadership points toward panels or AMAs. Product awareness points toward company showcases. Then factor in your team size, preparation time, and how much audience interaction you want.