Has this ever happened to you: you're running a webinar meeting and your voice "'hiccups" or cuts out at times. You notice it's especially bad when you are uploading (sharing) a new screen, image or slide with the people attending your Webinar.

Usually the source of the problem is that you have phoned in to your webinar using a VOIP (voice over internet protocol) service such as Skype or Vonage.

Here's why it happens

The way VOIP works is that image uploads take priority over voice. So if the image is, say 500kb and you have a 256kb line, for about 2 to 4 seconds, there will be hiccups in your voice as packets of your voice are sent at the same time as packets of your new screen image. The problem is especially bad if the material uses flash or shockwave -- as they take considerable upload bandwidth.

The attendees will get the image normally (depending on their line speed) and hear your voice with some slight breaks in the sound. With a high speed line, the breaks are almost (or completely) unnoticeable. With a low speed line the breaks become very apparent.

The solution?

Phone in to your webinar using a landline. Or do some testing to see if one particular VOIP works better for you than another. You could try uploading some images while connected to some of the various VOIP services with a friend or two (doesn't make a difference how many people) and see what works best for you.