During Your Event (Instructors)

🎓 This article is for instructors.

This article walks you through what to do during your event, in roughly the order it happens — from arriving early through taking attendance and wrapping up. The goal is to help you run a smooth event while ensuring every attendee gets the credit they earned. For pre-event preparation, see Prepare for Your Event (Instructors).

Arrive early or sign in early

Whether your event is in-person or virtual, arrive (or sign in) with time to spare to verify everything is working.

For in-person events

Check that seating, lighting, and audiovisual equipment are set up correctly.
Test your laptop, projector, and any required cables.
Confirm your presentation is loaded and the Paperless Attendance Slide is at the end.
Have your printed Attendance Recording Guide copies on hand for walk-ins.

For webinars and hybrid events

Sign in to your webinar platform at least 15-20 minutes early.
Test your microphone, camera, and screen sharing.
Confirm the correct screen will be shared when you go live (not a personal desktop or unrelated tab).
Have the Paperless Attendance Slide at the end ready to share.

Set up for attendance recording

A quick pre-presentation check ensures attendance recording works the moment you need it.

Open your PowerPoint or Keynote presentation.
Navigate to the Paperless Attendance Slide at the end of your deck.
Confirm the Event Code displayed is correct for this specific event. See Find the Event Code if you need to verify.
Have your registered attendee list ready in your CEU Events account so you can mark attendance during or after the session.

⚠️ Important: Each event has a unique Event Code. If you're presenting multiple events back-to-back, double-check the slide before each one to make sure it shows the right code.

Prepare for attendee interaction

If your event includes Q&A, polls, breakout activities, or other attendee participation, set expectations early and have your materials ready.

Outline how and when attendees can ask questions.
Have any prompts, polls, or interactive materials cued up and ready to launch.
For webinars and hybrid events, decide whether questions go via chat, raised hand, or another method — and let attendees know upfront.

Take attendance during your event

You can record attendance in two complementary ways:

For pre-registered attendees you know: Mark them as Attended in your CEU Events account — either during the session if you have a moment, or right after. See Mark Attendees as Attended.
For all attendees (especially walk-ins, larger groups, and webinars): Pause near the end of your presentation at the Paperless Attendance Slide. Walk attendees through scanning the QR code (or entering the URL and Event Code) to self-record their attendance.

For webinars, generating an attendance report from your webinar application gives you a reliable list of who participated — use it to mark attendees as 'Attended' in CEU Events after the event.

What to tell attendees about attendance and certificates

When you reach the Paperless Attendance Slide, take a moment to explain what's happening and why. Clear communication at this step prevents almost all post-event confusion. Cover these four key points:

CEU Events handles the credit reporting and certificates for this event — a platform designed specifically for continuing education, with privacy in mind.
An account is required to retrieve a certificate. Attendees who don't have one can create it in seconds during the recording process.
Certificates are available instantly — attendees can download theirs before the end of the presentation.
All applicable credits are reported by the end of the next business day.

Here's a sample script you can personalize to match your style:

"Credit reporting and certificates for this event are handled by CEU Events — a platform designed specifically for continuing education, with privacy in mind. To receive your certificate, you'll need a CEU Events account. If you don't have one yet, you can create one in seconds during the next step."

"Your certificate will be available instantly — before the end of this presentation. All applicable credits will be reported by the end of the next business day."

"Please scan the QR code on the screen (or visit ceuevents.com/attendance), enter the Event Code shown, and follow the prompts to sign in or create your account and confirm your attendance."

Wrap up your event

Before signing off or letting attendees leave the room:

Confirm everyone has had time to record their attendance.
Thank attendees for their participation.
Mention any follow-up you'll send (such as a recording link for webinars or supplementary materials).
For in-person events, hand printed Attendance Recording Guides to anyone who hasn't yet recorded their attendance, so they can complete it as soon as possible.

Format-specific recommendations

Different event formats call for slightly different real-time emphasis.

Private event (typically 8-10 people)

You can comfortably mark attendees as Attended in your CEU Events account during or right after the session, since you know everyone.
Use the Attendance Recording Guide and Paperless Attendance Slide as a backup for any walk-ins.
Field questions personally — the small format invites more conversation.

Webinar

Test your link, microphone, camera, and screen share before going live.
Plan to display the Paperless Attendance Slide on the shared screen near the end.
Generate your webinar app's attendance report after the session to cross-check against CEU Events records.

Conference or large group event

The Paperless Attendance Slide is your primary attendance recording tool — you can't realistically mark each attendee manually.
Allow time at the end of your presentation for everyone to scan and record.
Have printed Attendance Recording Guides ready to hand out to attendees who have trouble scanning.

Third-party promoted event

Coordinate with the organizer on logistics they're responsible for (room setup, AV, materials).
The Paperless Attendance Slide is your primary attendance recording tool, since you likely don't know attendees by name.
Pause clearly at the slide so attendees have time to record.

Hybrid event

Run both the in-person and webinar checks above.
During attendance recording, give clear instructions to both audiences simultaneously — both will use the same Paperless Attendance Slide.
Have printed Guides for the in-person audience.

Best practices

Build attendance recording into your closing. The last 3-5 minutes of your presentation should give attendees time to record their attendance before they leave or sign off.
Display the Paperless Attendance Slide for 2-3 minutes minimum. Attendees need time to scan, navigate the workflow, and confirm — rushing leaves people behind.
Set expectations clearly. A 30-second explanation of how credit reporting and certificates work prevents the bulk of post-event support requests.
Don't assume technology will work flawlessly. Have backups for everything — printed Guides for in-person events.
Stay until attendees confirm they've recorded. Especially for smaller events, lingering for a minute after the close lets you answer any last-minute questions about attendance.

Troubleshooting

An attendee says the QR code or Event Code isn't working. Confirm the code on the slide is correct for this event, and that the attendee is going to ceuevents.com/attendance (not a different URL). See Find the Event Code to verify.
Walk-ins haven't pre-registered. Hand them a printed copy of the Attendance Recording Guide so they can self-record during the event. See Use the Attendance Recording Guide.
A webinar attendee couldn't record before logging off. Send them the Attendance Recording Guide for the specific event after the session.
Still having trouble during your event? For most real-time issues, the simplest fallback is printed Guides and clear verbal instructions — then resolve any system issues after your event. If issues persist, contact CEU Events support.