Secrets to share for spectacular participation
It’s time to sparkle online!
When facilitating online it can be easy to focus on giving but easy to forget about the importance of receiving. As facilitators and meeting hosts we work best when we have a completed feedback loop with our participants. We monitor whether the information we're giving has been received and understood, and adjust our approach and activities accordingly.
Whilst leading face-to-face events we have a myriad of ways to "read the room" both consciously and subconsciously. Through the many virtual events that Walsh's Learning to Achieve have designed and delivered, we've learnt not only how to read the virtual room, but how to teach participants to give us a readable room as well.
Over the next few paragraphs we'll share with you our secrets for spectacular participation...
Light the fuse
At Walsh's Learning to Achieve we like to start our online events by sharing our expectations of how the session will run.
Explain that in order to get the most from our time together it's helpful if we all turn off notifications, put other devices away and switch off our second screens.
Tell participants that even just nodding their heads or giving you the thumbs up really helps you. Make sure to mirror those cues when your participants are contributing too!
Guide them through the platform tools such a reactions, chat and virtual raised hands. Whilst we've been working online for many years, we shouldn't assume that everyone else has.
Many groups will believe that they have to be muted unless they are asked to unmute themselves, or it's time for a Q&A. If you are working with a smaller group then explain that as long as they don't have too much background noise to distract their colleagues then it's OK to leave their microphone on. It allows conversations to flow with questions being raised more organically and answers coming more naturally.
Even in bigger groups it's worth making it clear that when you throw out a question it's like a simple "call and response". It's OK to answer, whether that's verbally or via the chat function.
Fire up the cameras
Don't be afraid to request "cameras on". When facilitating face to face participants wouldn't dream of walking into our event space and then sit facing the other way for the rest of the day!
Body language impacts communication. Even simply following eye movements can help you see the effectiveness of diagrams, slides and other content sources.
Use humour to encourage switch ons at the start of the session if the situation is appropriate - "It's like presenting to a brick wall!"
Of course there are times that participants don't wish to share their home working set up. That could be because they are working from the kitchen table with dirty dishes in the background, or there are kids and pets running around. We've all been in that situation. Make it clear that everyone on the call will empathise and they'll get more from the session by showing their face. However if they don't want to, respect their decision and move forward.
Illuminate your interactions
As presenters we are basing our next communication on how participants react to the last one. We're listening out for the "ooohhhhs" and "aaahhhs" to our fireworks!
To help you iterate you can ask for a thumbs up - virtual or on camera - for agreement or acknowledgement.
Add another level of interactivity by creating a dynamic agenda with your participants. "I'm at a fork in road. Which one shall we take next - content A or content B?" Get people to answer in the chat. Make sure to pause until 60-80% of attendees have given their choices. Don't just take the first answer! You can make a meaningless vote into a fun competition and draw more answers out of your attendees.
Questions are our most powerful tool to keep participation levels up. Even a simple "Did you get that?" can help you check that your pace and mode of delivery is working for this particular group.
Try a content-based closed question to test understanding. True or false, yes or no answers can be given verbally, via reactions, polls or the chat function.
You can also use open questions to see whether content has been absorbed. To answer open questions requires more thought from participants. If using open questions in larger groups consider asking for answers in the chat function.
Get a bang from activities
Great facilitators don't only broadcast or transmit information. They create memorable interactions with that information. Luckily our online tools are here to help us do just that.
Breakout rooms are one of our favourite tools at Walsh's Learning to Achieve. We love to put a question to a group and then put pairs of participants in breakout rooms to discuss. In pairs participants get to know each other a little better, and there is nowhere to hide from the discussion either!
When designing your next event head over to wordsearchmaker.com to create a fun activity of relevant words to fill the awkward first few minutes whilst people are arriving. It's a great ice-breaker to show how screen-sharing works, get people thinking and most importantly, engaging.
There are unlimited ways of introducing playful interactions into your meetings, but always remember their primary purpose - to demonstrate that participants understand the content you are presenting.
We specialise in designing and developing virtual events, so if you want to bring your event online, we're here to help.
