Would you like 100% Engagement in webinars? Here’s how!
I’m all pumped up with energy and have been the last 5 days! Why? I decided to volunteer on a three-day training program over the weekend and I had a blast. It was the Life & Leadership Potentials Training from iPEC (Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching). I myself went through this training already a while ago. At that time, it was still an in-person event. Now with COVID19, the training was virtual, and I was very curious if it would be as powerful and inspiring as I remember.
The short answer: ABSOLUTELY!
I was completely blown away by the engagement, the clarity, the bonding, the vibrating energy among the participants calling in from four different continents. It was pure magic happening before my eyes!
These were 5 of the lessons I took from these 3 days about engaging people in a virtual environment:
1. Content – Content – Content! The content was super rich and valuable, which is of course essential. Offer stuff that is relevant AND applicable and let people practice and play around with that content to make sure everyone is comfortable applying it once they get back to the workplace.
2. Facilitation – it’s a skill & a mindset! The facilitator was knowledgeable, energetic, experienced, passionate about teaching, loved people and wanted us to challenge him (although I thought his biggest challenge was to be on a 15-hour time difference for 3 days in a row and still pull this off – that’s pure mindset!).
3. Rules: set them out very clearly at the beginning of day 1: be on time, be present, respect the time of your training buddies and come prepared. No excuses. We actually did a little game that you did not want to lose, but you got negative points if any of these rules were broken. But to be honest, it wasn’t an issue because the training was SO engaging, people just didn’t want to miss a thing!
4. Use ALL the tools that are provided to you by the system, in this case Zoom. Zoom has options for breakout rooms, polls, whiteboard, chat box, raising hands and annotation options that bring presentations alive and make the training super interactive and brings people together.
5. Camera’s on everyone! Again, no excuses. It is the most effective way to make sure that everyone stays involved, that people get to know each other and that real connections are built during the program. Our group actually decided to set up a WhatsApp group to ensure they stay connected after the training.
6. Share stories as a facilitator, but also let people share their stories and experiences. People just love to listen to stories, it builds on the human connection, it delights people, it surprises, it touches the heart and deepens the learning. As stories were shared this weekend, virtual hugs, high-fives and applause went back and forth – new friendships were made.
How do you know you did a good job at the end of this webinar marathon (3 days – 10 hours/day)?
People just did not want to log off. Seriously, all of us were so energized, full of adrenaline and thankful for all the learnings – it was pure chemistry – no one wanted to leave! It’s just like when you’re at the greatest party ever and you just don’t want it to be over!
So, for those who doubt that virtual events are less powerful than live events: It can be done!
Let’s Lead!
Liesbeth
