Virtual Training Tips
Over two years into a global pandemic. Two years of virtual workshops and training. And yet, what I’ve noticed (whenever I’m a participant) is that many still do not realise what needs to change when a training/workshop moves from in-person into the virtual world. Sure, the world is opening up and we’re seeing more requests for in-person training now but, with hybrid work and the realisation that global access is now available virtually, virtual training is here to stay.
So, here’s a list of tips for virtual training (Note: training is not a 1-hour talk/lecture; it involves engaging participants, and it could be full-day sessions running several days in a row):
1. Set clear ground rules. Do this right from the get-go. This is a given for any training but becomes even more crucial in virtual settings where we have less visibility of our participants.
2. Modify your content for the virtual world — this may come instinctively to some, but not to others, so it has to be mentioned. Yes, it’s additional work. But, even if this is a training program you’ve run a hundred times before, the exact same content cannot be used if you want the training to be as engaging and effective as in-person sessions. This means reviewing and rethinking all the activities, exercises, discussions, and role-plays that had been created — they will all need to be modified in some way (which means your slide deck will need to be modified too).
3. Invest in a good, sturdy, laptop stand or camera tripod (if you use a separate camera connected to your laptop). Your set-up should have the camera at eye level or slightly higher. You shouldn’t be looking down into your laptop (and have participants looking up into hairy nostrils), and talking down to your participants.
4. Keep the group small (ideally 20–25 pax, 30 max). Factoring in the toggling between screens, explanation time for usage of various apps, troubleshooting technical difficulties, and more frequent breaks, more time will be needed for the training compared to in-person. It also means you can have a view of everyone on one screen, at any one time. Do bear in mind, that training is not a webinar where you can accommodate a hundred passive participants; you will need to run small group activities in break-out sessions (see #9), and ensure you check in on each group during their breakouts — you won’t be able to do this effectively if you have too many participants. So, keeping to smaller groups everyone gets the help/attention they need, their questions answered, ensures each individual’s learning is secured, and it also helps you keep to time.
5. Invest in additional screens. Virtual training is tougher on the trainer than in-person ones because it requires multi-tasking. You have more things to keep track of: questions/comments in chats, slides, videos of participants, other apps (discussion boards, polls, quizzes, etc.) you might be using in the training. You need the extra screens. I have 3 screens whenever I conduct training and I keep all the essentials open, so I have an eye on everything that’s going on at any one time (participants’ view of slides, my slide notes, chat), and I have a full view of all my participants.
6. Drop the virtual backgrounds unless absolutely necessary. These backgrounds are obvious, never blend well, forming a weird halo around you, a bit of your actual background sometimes pops in and out, and creates more of a distraction than your actual background. So I never use them. If I feel a need to cover my background, I’d much rather invest in a physical screen I can put up behind me.
7. Give more frequent breaks. Virtual training is a lot more draining on participants than in-person sessions, so give more frequent breaks, 10 minutes minimum (no, 5 minutes isn’t enough, and we all know this when we’ve been given these 5-minute breaks). I give a 10–15 minute break every 60–90 minutes (90 minutes is the absolute maximum, and I always check in with participants to see if they need a break or prefer to continue). If you are truly strapped for time, give your participants a 5-minute break — that is the absolute bare minimum. As a participant, I’ve had the unfortunate experience of sitting in a training program that went on for 2.5 hours non-stop (that trainer insisted on pushing ahead with the content) — I was screaming internally and wanted to slam my head on the desk. A break is a much-needed breather not only for the participants but does good for the trainer as well.
8. Use online whiteboards instead of a physical one in your room. Don’t forget that whilst it might be 1x1m in real-life, on your participants’ screens, it shrinks to 2x2inches so they won’t be able to see what you wrote (even if you have great handwriting and fat markers). Some trainers use a separate camera pointing to the whiteboard/flip chart. But why complicate the set-up when you have online whiteboards readily available (with functions for team discussions, brainstorming, reflection, etc.) that capture everything which can then be emailed to participants after the training? A physical whiteboard/flip chart which the trainer writes on in their home/office, cannot do any of that!
9. Create meaningful group activities that can be done using online apps (which include #8 above) to engage participants. Don’t put participants in breakout rooms just for the sake of having a breakout activity and ask them to “share stories and experiences”. What if you have participants who don’t like speaking much? It has happened to me (as a participant), the entire training was peppered with meaningless breakouts where we simply “shared experiences/stories”. Some people never spoke up at all, those that did stopped after a few rounds because they grew tired of a repetitive, aimless activity.
10. Limit the use of online apps to 2 or 3. Don’t go overboard with them. The more apps everyone has open, the more bandwidth is used, and this will affect both video and audio quality. I usually keep it to 2 apps per session. More apps also mean more time will be spent briefing participants on usage, and troubleshooting.
11. Be aware of the lighting in your space. Ensure there’s good lighting so you don’t disappear into darkness when the sun moves behind some clouds or when a thunderstorm kicks in. Take note of where the light comes in and how it changes as the day progresses, or with bad weather. E.g. if the light from the window comes from behind you, you will need to draw the curtains and place a light in front of you. If the light hits only one side of your face, you’d need another lamp to light up the other side of your face. Warm light is more flattering than white light. My space, for example, is blessed with bright light during the day so I need to draw the shades. But when there’s a thunderstorm, I open them. Towards the later part of the evening/at night, my desk lamp and room light go on.
12. Invest in a good noise-cancelling Bluetooth headset! I cannot emphasise this one enough. It cuts background noise; you do not want to have to compete with your neighbour’s crying baby or barking dog, or a plane flying over when you are in full-day training 5 days in a row! It makes your voice much clearer so your participants hear you better. You will also hear participants more clearly when they speak. Also, with a good headset, you will not need a separate microphone — I use wireless earbuds in all my training and coaching sessions. As a participant, I’ve been in sessions where the trainer/speaker simply uses the microphone on the laptop and it is incredibly annoying when there is noise in their background, and you struggle to hear them. My preference is also for wireless earbuds because earbuds are unobtrusive and more comfortable, and there are no wires dangling in front of me, getting in my way; overall, better aesthetics, and less distracting.
13. Extra energy and enthusiasm are a necessity for virtual training! Energy is bound to dissipate when you are only a few inches big on a 15-inch laptop screen. So you need to be more animated, inject more energy into the session, make it more lively, to grab and maintain your participants’ attention.
14. Remember to look at the camera! :)
15. Use simple words, shorter sentences, and articulate clearly, all the more so if English isn’t your participants’ native language.
16. Pause — give people space to absorb, think, digest. I’ve noticed people tend to go on and on, without taking a breath particularly when it’s a virtual session.
As you can probably already tell, virtual training requires more energy, investment in equipment, is more complicated to set up, and requires constant multi-tasking. More thought and effort are needed to design a virtual program that engages participants remotely.
I’ve been a trainer for 20 years, designing and delivering training programs, and training and coaching trainers across 13 countries in Asia-Pacific. I hope this list is helpful or at least sheds some light as to what trainers have to consider/do when conducting training virtually. This is by no means an exhaustive list. If you have any other suggestions/ideas to share, do comment below!
Feel free to reach out and connect with me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/evonnefouesnantong-ennoveconsultancy/
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
