What Is Virtual Training?
Virtual Certification:
Virtual training is most commonly understood to be “Online Training.” However, there are significant differences in how these training sessions are conducted.
Virtual training is most commonly understood to be “Online Training.” However, there are significant differences in how these training sessions are conducted.
The various types of Virtual Training are:
- Pre-recorded and automated training
- Facilitated and live online training
- Hybrid training leveraging both ( clarify)
- Lesson based training done in step by step segments or units
- Hands-on training, working on an individual basis / online sessions
- Team training with larger groups but all working from individual devices
- Collaborative training for teams working together with a facilitator
Many of these can be very effective depending on the nature of the training and the topic. We find for skill-based training ie, where skills are being learned and practiced the best format is facilitated and live online group training followed by Hands-on training for each individual. Depending on the length of the program this can be rotated every week to meet the requirements of the program. This also allows for certification to be done as part of the program where applicable.
Key elements to successful virtual training
There are a number of key ingredients necessary to make for successful “Virtual Training” programs.
1: Technology
- The right video conferencing tool for your needs
- The right hardware for your needs from computers to monitors and video cameras
- The right software applications to ensure that your participants can easily work with and or convert to their own
- Chatting, putting up a hand for a question, or sending longer questions to facilitator are all required
- What equipment and or technology do your participants require?
2: Skilled Facilitators
This is no longer about simple presentations done by a good speaker!
- This is about a skilled facilitator who brings your material to life through all the tools, processes, and technologies you provide....all while keeping everyone ACTIVELY ENGAGED!
- Depending on the nature of the materials, using a co-facilitator can make it more interesting and lively
3: Program outline and content
- Like everything else in today’s world, it’s all about the content!
- Your programs need to be engaging, enlightening, and most importantly, INTERACTIVE!
- There are many tools available to do this including live polling, online breakout rooms, games, etc
- Active and ongoing participation is critical as well as keeping the topics tight and focused, no speeches, please!!
- For most 45-60 minute sessions, and when there are groups, it’s important to have an interactive activity every 3-5 minutes...so build this in from the start!
- Limit your use of pre-recorded content as this is generally not well received and does not have as lasting an impact on the participants
- This means that the days of online autonomous videos are numbered!
- Bring in outside personalities and resources where it makes sense to do so
- Once you have a program in draft, test, test and test some more using real-life scenarios and even real participants
- Ongoing improvement, continue to adapt the program to get the best results
- HOW BIG SHOULD YOUR SESSIONS BE?
- Ideally, your group sizes should not be overwhelming either for your facilitator or for your participants
- Generally, this means 3 to 10 is about max. Anything over and engagement will suffer badly
- If your enrollment or group is larger, break it up and add more to compensate DO NOT TRY AND DO LARGE GROUPS if you do not have a process to ensure successful virtual training
- Webinars of the past, or at least many of them failed for this reason
4: Certification and participant ongoing input
“Virtual Certification”
- Providing the participants with both an overview of their success and document certifying completion of the program is a must
- In addition, it’s very powerful to provide ratings of their new skill levels as well where applicable
- Give all participants the opportunity to boast about their success on your social media pages, nothing is more powerful than first-hand, real-time testimonials
- This is not only great for participants going forward but allows branding and marketing of your virtual training long after it’s been completed
- This allows for branding and marketing to be more easily done while leveraging your successful participants to spread the word
5: Marketing
- In the end without successful marketing everything else is a waste
- Creating a buzz about your programs, courses or training is all about working your networks effectively well ahead of time
- What is the key value participants are to gain from your virtual training?
- What are the kinds of questions one might google when looking for this kind of training?
- These are the questions you need to answer so that you can build your online social marketing plan
- You also need to do a customer profile of those that would be participants so you can effectively communicate with them in their language and where they are most likely to see your content
- Think content marketing and begin building at least “3” months ahead of time
6: Technology - yes again
- Undoubtedly some of your technology choices will fail
- Undoubtedly some of your participant’s technology or tools will fail
- Have a contingency plan for as many circumstances as you can guess and then practice these scenarios before you officially begin
- Just because everything went perfect the one or two times you practiced is not good enough
- Assemble random test participants and test again!
- You won’t catch everything but you will catch the big or catastrophic fails
- *Remember, in our new virtual and online world you only get one chance and once participants are done they will immediately become advocates OR your worst nightmare
- So get as much right the first time as possible and treat your participants like gold because they are!!
What are the Best Results?
So in the end how do you know your virtual training program(s) are successful?
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Lastly,
Don’t forget, virtual training is an online skillset that you are just developing.
There are a number of ways to begin to practice this in order to get stronger:
There are a number of ways to begin to practice this in order to get stronger:
- Make short videos of your covering the materials in your course so you or your facilitator can get skilled at this
- As mentioned before practice, practice, practice…
- Be very prepared and very methodical, have your sessions laid out so you cover what is needed effectively
- Be prepared to take individuals offline by way of separate sessions where required and needed as trying to answer all questions all the time will lead to overruns and lose of engagement
- HAVE FUN and be enthusiastic!