Virtual training delivery and enablement are essential skills for trainers in the current environment. Running training sessions online is an entirely different experience than delivering training in a physical training room or face-to-face setting, even for seasoned professionals.
It may seem that providing training is just a matter of uploading your material on a virtual classroom software and organizing a meeting to talk about the concepts through a set platform, but virtual instructional training is so much more. Virtual instructors must present content in an exciting yet educational way while juggling occasionally-uncooperative technology.
Whether you’re training a sales team, onboarding new managers, or instructing the ins and outs of the new operations tool, the virtual training best practices in this article have you covered.
6 Best Virtual Training Practices
Below are the top practices to follow as a virtual instructor to ensure the success of your training program.
- Practice Careful Preparation
Effective virtual training techniques and methods begin with the same steps as in-person training preparation – with a thorough understanding of your content. The next step is to master the delivery platform, which is unique to virtual training. It isn’t easy to deliver solid content when you can’t figure out how to switch from one slide to another.
Brush up on course material well before training starts. If you’re unfamiliar with a new platform, get help. Make a list of the most common problems you encounter. Make suggestions for fine-tuning the content to a virtual format.
- Develop Clear Objectives, Basic Rules, And Expectations
Although it might be tempting for your participants to work on other tasks during the session now that you aren’t together in person, instruct everyone to close all other programs, such as their emails and task sheets, and put their unused devices away at the beginning of the online training. If there will be questions and quizzes during the virtual lecture, let the attendees know in advance so that they can prepare accordingly.
- Prepare For Inevitable Complications
You believe you know the material inside and out, and you’ve mastered the training platform until the issues strike. The platform crashes, your internet connection is unstable, or the batteries in your headset run out. Virtual training should always include a backup plan.
Consider your training platform’s pain points and create backup plans. Consider how to handle everything from broken equipment to internet problems to a loud noise disturbance in the background.
- Avoid The Tendency To Lecture
It’s easy to fall into the trap of simply giving information virtually. Keep your camera turned on as much as possible rather than simply just sharing your screen and reading the content. Do this and watch as your audience’s eyes glaze over. Instructors can also use a vibrating timer to remind you to pause, ask questions, and encourage participant conversation.
- Think About Pre-Session Activities
Consider pre-activities for your staff members to charge their minds whether you are developing skills, onboarding, and providing an update. This engages participants before entering the virtual learning environment and prepares them to learn. Send a short video tutorial on using the online training platform. Allow participants to complete a poll about their level of comfort with the material as well as their course objectives.
- Make Eye-Catching Slides
Great content wins in all mediums, allowing you to keep the slides you would have been using offline with a few minor changes. Put the main takeaway in an entire short sentence as the header on each slide. Highlight key points in the text and employ bullet points rather than paragraphs to emphasize key points. Utilize images that are of a high caliber and are pertinent to the subject. Consider including some memes and fill-in-the-blanks that can help keep online audiences engaged.
Conclusion
Virtual training is an effective delivery method. It necessitates a strong facilitator and close attention to detail. As long as the training is well-planned, informative, and engaging, employees will have a positive experience, increasing content retention. As a virtual trainer, you must be strategic in setting up a fun environment to encourage participation and keep the participants motivated. The good news is that when properly organized and using the best techniques, virtual training experiences can deliver higher-quality results than in-person sessions.
