Must Go Online!
My guidance for online webinars, training, and virtual sessions
Leading online training, workshops, or regular webinars requires particular skills, practice, and a fair portion of courage. Our industry has changed. Classroom training, customer visits, and “Go-live” support must be done remotely, and it will stay this way for a while. It is a time when we have to work on improving our virtual presence. Indeed it is different than we are used to.
During these days, weeks, and months we are getting opportunities to master and experiment with virtual sessions. I call this period “a virtual learning phase,” observing what works and what doesn’t. I’ve started collecting points, hints, and notes and writing them as personal online guidance. I could soon recognize having a quiet place, reliable technical equipment, and cleaning all unnecessary applications on your desktop are a must. I’ve also discovered that to grow to the master level, details start to count.
Personal Online Guidance
To quickly follow my online guidance, I learned to use rules.
Rule 1: Be yourself!
Don’t try to make it perfect! Don’t try to replicate, play, or copy someone else’s style, but build yours step by step. The audience recognizes and appreciates it.
Note: Sure, once you find yourself giving online sessions, you must have excellent experience and personal stories to share. So why not do it? People love to imagine real-life stories and better “bridge” business situations during your training.
Rule 2: Be prepared!
There is nothing worse than attending an unprepared session. It is a time-waster for all people involved. Plan in advance! In a “hurry,” we incline to make more mistakes. Reduce this risk to a manageable level and plan it!
Note: From here, I’ve logically moved to the next stage, focusing on managing the efforts and time needed for my preparation. I’m testing checklists, and they seem right.
Rule 3: Warm-Up!
Before the session, think about hypothetical questions for the topics you are about to present and your best answers. Secondly, “play” with the application if you plan to use one. “Precook” it. I call it “warm-up.” I am doing it before every training session.
Note: When silent moments occur during the session, ask and answer hypothetical questions from your packet; it sounds “silly,” but you encourage the audience to be active. It works remarkably!
Rule 4: Tailor it!
Different groups have logically different expectations. To conduct a session for a mix of end-users, business consultants, sales teams, and on top with IT administrators is hardly a manageable situation unless you set the rules. Make it very clear to whom your session aims at and act accordingly!
Note: Stay calm if someone tries to “hijack” and “jumble” your session. Repeat to whom the session is aimed and offer a certain adaptation level, but do it after your official part. To reach the master level, be ready for plan B! I call those moments “agile style.”
Rule 5: Structure matters!
Set up the basic structure of your session and build “learning blocks.” I use 4 max 5 blocks per day (Better 75 min then 90 min each) and plan breaks. Challenging topics in the morning, and more in the practice afternoon. It is the golden rule.
Note: I follow the same steps for each block. 1. Short intro into the topic, 2. Simple demo, 3. Practice, and 4. Q&A. Between blocks, short breaks, and optionally you may include answers for “ additional topics.” To keep short breaks short, I’m using the following slide.
Rule 6: Adjust it!
Each group focus on a different “?” End-users want to understand HOW to use applications in their daily life. Avoid sharing too many details, explaining flexible combinations, and please skip the “sales pitch.” Too much information confuses end-users.
On the other side, business consultants, trainers, and colleagues focus mostly on presenting WHY. They need to understand details because knowing “Why” provides a tremendous advantage in customer discussions.
Note: For end-users, build real business cases, and I highly recommend using personas in users’ stories. Take inspiration from one I am regularly using.
Rule 7: Listen Actively!
“The reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is so we might listen more and talk less.” Zeno of Citium
In online sessions, you can hardly read people’s reactions. Take enough time to explain what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. After you asked a question, listen actively, don’t interrupt, and ask if they are finished.
Note: Erasure completely “I don’t know” from your vocabulary. No one knows all the answers, but in such moments, pardon yourself and ask for time to find the correct answer. Don’t forget to come back.
Rule 8: Practice, Practice, and Practice!
To reach the master level, you have to practice as much as you can. Actively search for opportunities, always learn, think, and adjust what you could do better. Be open to experiments, and apply different variations, practice them with other groups.
Note: Excellence is a matter of steps, education, and training.
Rule 9: Feedback and Test!
Be open to constructive criticism and ask proactively to get feedback, always. Believe the worst scenario is a session without evaluation.
Note: I used to have a hard time getting any feedback. Without feedback, you can hardly improve. I tested different techniques to get what I needed, and I finally found something that works quite well. I’ve started to include in my session an anonymous short test. While I am sending correct answers privately, I got an additional opportunity to ask for feedback. So simple, and it works!
I hope you enjoy my online guidelines, and feel free to comment on them. Don’t forget to share your best practice and rules on leading online sessions. I will appreciate it.
