How to Keep Your Audience Engaged During an Online Training

In collaboration with AdvantEdge Training & Consulting 

 

 

Instead of answering this question on our own, we engaged the help of Jenny Douras, President and CEO of AdvantEdge Training.

Her company does exactly that: they offer dynamic, online professional training that works. Having successfully gone from a brick-and-mortar model to online, they know a thing or two about this topic.

Below, read the important tips to keep your trainees from turning off the camera and staying engaged with you. If you prefer, you can watch the vlog here.

 

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How Do You Keep Trainees Engaged Online?

The main key (or formula), Jenny says, is simple: Have an audience engagement exercise every 20 minutes or less. Some ways you can do this are:

1. Ask a question: You can ask the question to the group or call out a name. Calling a name alerts your trainees to be attentive to the content as they may be called next.
2. Post a live survey question: Their opinion counts and you want to know how they feel about the topic at hand.
3. Give them an exercise to do individually: This way, they can have some “alone time” to think critically.
4. Break them into separate rooms: When you do this, your trainees get the chance to interact and engage with one another.
5. Ask for a show of hands: This is a way to ensure you’re doing something to keep their body and mind in the game.

 

How Do You Keep It Interesting?  

Try these five keys:

1. Incorporate personal stories: People are often interested in you as a trainer. A personal story allows your trainee to tune in and follow you throughout the story.
2. Verbal examples: Instead of saying that the weather is hot, try: “It’s so hot outside, it turned my seatbelt into a branding iron.” This gives a visual of exactly how hot it is outside.
3. Using analogies: Analogies are great for depicting an explanation in a different way. They also serve as great elements of memorization. “Life is like a box of chocolates…” is one that continues to permeate pop culture.*
4. Including humor: Because people often remember emotion, they’re likely to remember the way your training made them feel. So, why not incorporate a funny story or example?
5. Vocal variety: Use your voice inflection to help your audience understand important points, hints to the quiz, or to emphasize a theory. You can also use a whisper and pretend they’re in on a “secret.” They’ll remember that as well.

 

What About Staging?

The way you and your presentation look are important! Here are the main aspects AdvantEdge Training and Consulting recommends for staging your online training:

1. Lighting: make sure there are no excessive shadows behind you or that it looks dark where you are.
2. Look professional: Appearance. How would you present yourself in a business meeting?
3. Check your camera angle: Make sure it’s at eye level with your audience.
4. Background: Keep it interesting but neat. You don’t want it to be messy.

 

Who Are We?

This time, there are two of us:

• AdvantEdge Training and Consulting, a professional training company. To contact them, please go to www.advantedge-training.com. You can give them a call or fill out their contact form.
• We are Miranda Park Learning, your instructional design services experts. When you’re ready to take your training and development to the next level for growth and expansion, contact us. You can find us at mirandaparklearning.com or at 720-722-9998. We’re ready to hear from you.

*The writer attributes this quote as referred to in the film Forrest Gump.

 

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Picture by: Artem Podrez on Pexels.

This blog was written by Miranda Park Learning in Collaboration with AdvantEdge Training and Consulting and has been verified unique by Copyscape