Tips from the pros

Imagine hosting a virtual meeting that is 6 hours long, 5 days a week for 10 consecutive months…for the exact same group of people. If that sounds terrible, spare a thought for the teachers who have done just that!

Engaging your virtual audience can be tough, but with some careful planning and execution, it can be done.

Testament to that: my kids aged 6, 9 and 11 have just survived an entire year of virtual school. And yes, they actually learned - they even enjoyed the whole experience!

Hats off to the teachers for their creativity, perseverance, and patience.

As we wrap up the school year, I share some teacher inspired tips to improve your virtual meetings, events and presentations. ** Note that these strategies are just as relevant for in-person sessions.

Technology

• When problems arise, take deep breaths and keep your cool. If not, you'll lose the audience pretty quickly.

• Ask for help when you need it - there's probably someone in the audience that would be happy to help.

• Use technology to your advantage - there are so many great features, websites, apps and tools to enhance the virtual experience.

• Sometimes it helps to disable the chat!

Engagement

• Create opportunities for the audience to participate, ask questions and contribute.

• Change things up regularly by switching topic, speaker, format, style, etc.

• Incorporate plenty of breaks for stretching, moving, washroom, etc. (for longer sessions).

• Call on people to keep them on their toes. :)

Good vibes

• Play some music - it instantly changes the mood.

• Add humour. A simple meme can do the trick.

• Allow time for random chit chat once in a while - people enjoy connecting.

• Use break out rooms - they're great for collaboration, connection, and for energising the group.

Remember, good vibes lead to more engagement. And if your audience is engaged, they're more likely to listen and really hear what you've got to say.

I encourage you to apply some of these strategies to improve your next presentation, meeting or event that you lead.

Finally, I want to give a huge shout out to all the teachers, educators, and staff who have contributed to our children's education. Whether online or in-person, it's been a challenging year and I appreciate their efforts in making the best of it.