This quick virtual training hero tip was originally posted on LinkedIn in April, 2020. To get my latest tips, connect with me there!
Be quiet on purpose!
Have you ever been to an online training or webinar when the trainer/presenter asked a question (great!), requested you answer via chat (super!), and then — as soon as the first chat came through — they read it out loud? (!!)
And then they kept reading the next one, and the next one… to the point where you just stopped typing yours because… you could no longer think!
Virtual Training Heroes — mute yourself! Unlike radio broadcasting, silence is not the enemy. Take a breath. Read their responses to yourself and think about what they are saying. Let approximately 75% of the participants respond and then begin to debrief and call upon them to share and explain.
They need time to think. They then need time to figure out which tool to send their response. When you talk out loud regarding the first one, the rest of the participants can no longer focus on their own.
