Preparing, Delivering and Reinforcing Your Live Virtual Training

When conducting a live virtual training course, it is especially important to be organized during each step of the process.  Below please find a checklist that may help you.

Preparing

  1. Make sure all participants have been informed of the date and time of the class. 
  2. Provide all log-in information needed, such as the website link and telephone number.   You may want to send them an outlook invitation that has all log-in information included in it, so that it will immediately go into their outlook calendar.
  3. Make sure participants understand how to use the technology if they are unfamiliar with it.  If this is their first live virtual class, they should test their connections several days before class starts to eliminate any problems that may occur.
  4. Provide the contact information for someone to answer their technical questions before class starts.  Make sure they know who to contact if they have trouble accessing the learning platform. This person should not be the instructor, who probably will not be able to help them just as class is getting started.
  5. Provide any necessary prework due before class begins, such as reading assignments, assessment profiles, etc.
  6. Provide to each participant any handouts or reference materials you will be using.  If you are not providing a workbook, you may want to provide a handout of your powerpoint slides.
  7. Send reminders to all participants providing the log-in information before the class starts, so that they can easily find the access information they need.
  8. As the presenter, make sure you fully understand and are comfortable with the virtual learning platform you are using.
  9. Develop a course design that uses the virtual training tools available, keeps participants highly involved, and is well organized. Prepare the trainer’s notes you need to present your program well.

Delivering

  1. Start on time.
  2. Very quickly involve participants in an activity that engages them, such as a text chat question or polling question.
  3. Tell the participants you want the class to be highly interactive and explain how they can participate (text chat, polling questions, speaking through the phone, etc.)
  4. When asking questions in chat, ask participants to come off mute and explain more about their answer.  Do this periodically throughout the session to keep it interactive.
  5. Explain the next steps in the learning process.  This may be to follow through on an action plan they created in class, to discuss ideas further with their manager, or prepare for the next class in your series of sessions.
  6. End on time.

Evaluating and Reinforcement

  1. Ask for participant feedback in some kind of evaluation summary.
  2. Implement any accountability checkpoints you have designed in your program, such as manager meetings, or performance targets to be achieved.
  3. Consider providing a live virtual reinforcement session to encourage participants to discuss progress on their action plans created during the class.
  4. Provide any additional reinforcement tools you are using, such as online self-paced courseware, additional articles or reinforcement tips newsletters.
Author's Bio: 

Susan Cullen is President of Quantum Learning Solutions, Inc. near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has developed and presented live virtual training programs to hundreds of participants worldwide. For additional information, contact 800-683-0681 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              800-683-0681      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or visit www.quantumlearn.com