Define a theme, goals and an audience

- [Narrator] Without a clear purpose,…a Twitter chat can become vague and confusing.…Before hosting your first individual chat session,…it is important to select a theme for your Twitter chat.…Tied closely with the hashtag chosen for a Twitter chat,…choosing a theme is an important decision…that will mandate the direction of your chat,…differentiate your chat from others,…and identify for Twitter users what your chat is about.…McGraw-Hill, a publisher and education company,…hosts a monthly chat called MHE Careers…where a panel of guests discuss current topics…in career development and human resources.…

The monthly topic of choice changes each time,…but their chat is always focused…on the same overarching theme…of career development and human resources,…so attendees have an expectation of what will be discussed.…Choosing a broad but relevant theme for your chat…not only helps manage participant expectations…but narrows down the pool of topics you're choosing from,…which saves time.…When selecting a theme it needs to be broad enough…