If you're a facilitator, you probably have experience in both virtual and face-to-face settings. Traditional facilitation skills, such as questioning, listening, and observing non-verbal communication, are still critical in the virtual world. However, there are some extra components to consider when facilitating virtually. Below are some areas we've found helpful to consider and the 5 tools we use for our own events. Table of Contents: What to Consider Tool 1. Miro Tool 2. Sli.do Tool 3. Kumospace Tool 4. Kahoot Tool 5. Padlet Bonus tools What to Consider Virtual facilitation is a great way to connect with remote teams. It can help people visualize their work or build trust between team members. Whether you are new to virtual facilitation or have been doing it for a while, you need to consider these tools to bring your sessions to life: Virtual boards. A board is a visual tool that allows you to organize and share information. You can use it to track projects or visualize workflows, collaborate with others, and prioritize tasks. Sticky notes in various shapes and colors Voting tools Ability to draw on the screen with lines and arrows Adding icons, images, circles/ovals, text boxes, etc. Multiple boards in one workspace 5 Apps for Virtual Facilitation Tool 1. Miro Miro is a free tool that allows you to create custom boards and invite people to collaborate on them. You can share the board, add notes, shapes, text, emojis, attachments, and more. Miro allows participants to vote on all items on a board or specific areas. They have an extensive library of templates you can use, like Meeting minutes, Kanban boards, and brainstorming. How we use Miro: brainstorming ideas with team members breakout room exercises (i.e. prepare a presentation in a smaller group, read through materials, create a visual map, etc.) scenario-based case studies voting on ideas and concepts icebreakers and energizers Tool 2. Sli.do Sli.do is a free, easy-to-use audience response tool that allows participants to interact with presenters by submitting questions in real-time. Participants can use their mobile phones or computers during presentations and team-building activities. Sli.do also has a variety of other features, including polls and surveys, which allow you to gather information from your audience on the fly; it's great for remote meetings and large groups who aren't all sitting together in the same room or online meeting space. This virtual facilitator tool makes it easy to collect information without bogging down the presentation—or driving those taking notes crazy! How we use Sli.do: collect questions during an event get audiences' reactions (through polling) interacting with hundreds of participants Tool 3. Kumospace KumoSpace is a virtual meeting room that allows you to conduct collaborative meetings, trainings, and workshops with your colleagues or peers. You can also hold webinars and events as well as provide technical assistance to teams in real-time (though the large events features do not come with a free account). How we use Kumospace: 1-on-1 meeting rooms - A private chat space with one person at a time. Group sessions - an open virtual space where everyone joins in and can freely discuss any topics, just like in a physical room Whiteboard - A blank canvas where you can draw on with markers and share your ideas visually in real-time with other participants in the meeting room. Tool 4. Kahoot Kahoot! is a gamified response system that can be used with remote teams for presentations, team-building activities, and icebreakers. It's free to use, but you'll need to register with Kahoot! Before getting started. Your virtual session attendees will use their own devices during the meeting to follow along on their screen as you facilitate the event remotely or in person. How we use Kahoot: check understanding of a particular topic (through a quiz) check comprehension after a complex problem (through a quiz) gamifying learning content icebreakers and energizers Tool 5. Padlet Padlet is a free tool that allows teams to collaborate on virtual boards that are both creative and visually pleasing. It's great for virtual facilitation because you can create colorful, exciting boards that will help your audience better engage with the content you're presenting. Padlet also allows you to add links, videos, and images throughout your board. This provides additional resources for participants as they work through the process of creating their own group projects or presentations. How we use Padlet: ask participants to put a pin of where they are right now on a Google map brainstorm answers to case studies vote or comment on other people's contributions energizers during breaks (we ask participants to find a specific object - blue, round, frames, etc. - take a picture and post it on a board) Bonus tools The world of virtual facilitation tools is HUGE! Here is a list of additional tools you may want to try: Mentimeter : another audience-response tool, similar to Sli.do. It has a free plan and is easy to use, making it an excellent option for small teams or individuals who want to get started with virtual facilitation but aren't ready to commit to a paid plan just yet. Groupmap : A simple tool that allows anyone to make sense of information by placing items onto a shared digital whiteboard. It's visual voting - where everyone has a voice! Mural : another great virtual whiteboard for teams. Share boards, notes, documents, and links with ease. It's important to remember that virtual facilitation is a skill you can develop over time with practice. Each tool mentioned has its own unique features and benefits, so feel free to test them out and figure out which one works best for you and your team. You'll definitely find the right tool or combination of tools—and the right mix of introspection, brainstorming, collaboration, and creativity—to help your meeting be more impactful.

As a Learning and Development professional, you understand the importance of creating effective learning programs that meet the needs of your target audience. However, even the most well-designed learning initiative can fail if it’s not marketed effectively. That's why crafting an L&D marketing message that resonates with your audience is crucial to ensuring the success of your programs. In this article, we'll explore 7 key strategies for developing a marketing message that engages and motivates your audience to take action. Table of contents: 1. Know your audience 2. Focus on benefits 3. Use Clear and Simple Language 4. Make it Engaging 5. Highlight Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) 6. Provide Social Proof 7. Chose the right channel Conclusion 1. Know your audience The first step in creating a marketing message that resonates with your audience is to understand who they are. This means identifying their needs, goals, and pain points so that you can tailor your message to meet those needs. For example, if you're creating a training program for a sales team, you'll want to focus on how the program will help them close more deals and increase revenue. Conduct Market research The first step in getting to know your audience is to conduct market research for the employees in your organization. This can involve gathering data from a variety of sources, mostly HR reports and surveys. By analyzing this data, you can gain insights into your audience's demographics, behaviors, and preferences. For example, you may discover that your audience is primarily made up of millennial professionals who are interested in career advancement opportunities. Create Learner Personas Another important strategy is to create learner personas. These are fictional representations of your ideal customers, based on real data and research. A learner persona should include information such as age, gender, job title, interests, pain points, and goals. By creating these personas, you can better understand your audience's motivations and develop a marketing message that speaks directly to them. Use social listening tools In addition to gathering data, you can also use social listening tools to monitor conversations and trends in employees' behaviors. By monitoring internal social media platforms, online forums, and other online communities, you can gain valuable insights into your audience's interests, concerns, and opinions. This information can then be used to create a marketing message that resonates with them and addresses their needs and pain points. Test your marketing message Finally, it's important to test your marketing message with your target audience before launching it. This can involve conducting A/B testing on your Learning Management System (LMS) or internal social media platforms or even conducting a pilot program for your learning initiative. By testing your message, you can get feedback from your audience and make adjustments to ensure that it resonates with them and motivates them to take action. 2. Focus on benefits The next tip is to focus on benefits. People are more likely to be interested in something if they see the benefits it can provide them with. By highlighting the benefits of your program, you can persuade your audience to take action and enroll in your learning program. What аre some of the benefits employees may want? How about improved job performance, increased productivity, or career advancement? What are some other benefits you’d expect? Identify the learning program advantages The first step in focusing on benefits is to identify the specific advantages your learning program offers. For example, does your program help employees learn new skills, increase their productivity, or improve their job performance? Once you have identified the benefits, you can start to highlight them in your marketing message. Be specific and provide examples When highlighting benefits, it's important to be specific and provide concrete examples. Instead of saying that your program can improve job performance, you could say that employees who complete the program can expect to increase their sales by 25% or reduce their error rates by 50%. Providing specific examples helps your audience imagine the tangible benefits applied to their lives directly and, hopefully, motivates them to take action. Emphasize the value In addition to highlighting the benefits of your program, it's also important to emphasize the value it offers. People are more likely to enroll in a program if they feel that they are getting a good deal. This could include offering things like access to additional resources and support (i.e. one-on-one coaching or mentoring) or highlighting how the program will help advance their career in the future. 3. Use Clear and Simple Language Avoid using technical jargon or complicated language that may confuse your audience. Instead, use clear and simple language that everyone can understand. This will help ensure that your message is accessible to everyone and that they can easily grasp the key points. Audience level of familiarity When creating your marketing message, consider the audience's level of familiarity with the subject matter. For example, if you're marketing a data analytics training program to employees who are not familiar with the subject, you'll need to use language that is easy to understand. This could include using analogies or real-life examples to explain complex concepts. Use visuals Another effective strategy is to use visuals to support your message. This could include using diagrams or flowcharts to illustrate a process or concept. Visuals can help make your message more engaging and easier to understand, particularly for those who are visual learners. Keep it concise When crafting a marketing message, it is important to strike a balance between being clear and concise, while also providing enough information to persuade your audience to take action. A concise and compelling message is more likely to resonate with your audience and motivate them to enroll in your training programs. Here are some examples: Concise language: "Learn new skills to advance your career." "Improve productivity with our time management training." "Get personalized coaching for better results." Verbose language: "Our training programs offer a comprehensive range of courses that provide the opportunity to acquire new skills and knowledge to help you advance your career to the next level." "Our time management training is designed to assist individuals in increasing their productivity by teaching them how to effectively manage their time and prioritize tasks in order to meet their goals and deadlines." "Our coaching program offers a unique opportunity to receive individualized attention and guidance in order to achieve optimal results." Use tools When creating your marketing message, consider using plain language tools or software to simplify your language. These tools can help you identify complicated phrases or jargon and suggest simpler alternatives. One of our favorite tools is QuillBot , it can paraphrase text to make it easier for the reader to understand. Another one is, of course, ChatGPT . This tool can suggest simpler alternatives to complex or technical language, help you edit your marketing message to ensure it is clear, concise and easy to understand, and assist in analyzing your audience based on their preferences and characteristics. 4. Make it Engaging Your message should be engaging and capture the attention of your audience. By using a variety of formats and storytelling techniques , you can capture the attention of your audience and connect with them on an emotional level. Use different formats One effective strategy for making your message engaging is to use a variety of formats, such as video, graphics, or animations. These formats can help make your message more visually appealing and interesting, particularly for those who are visual learners. For example, you could create a short animated video that explains the benefits of your learning program or use infographics to illustrate key concepts. Storytelling Another effective strategy is to use storytelling techniques to create a narrative that resonates with your audience. This could involve sharing success stories from previous program participants or creating a fictional story that illustrates the benefits of your training program. By creating a story that connects with your audience's emotions, you can help them see the value in your program and motivate them to take action. Create interactive content In addition to using storytelling techniques, you can also make your message more engaging by creating interactive content. This could include quizzes, polls, or games that allow your audience to interact with your message and actively engage with the content. Use humor Another effective strategy for making your message engaging is to use humor or other attention-grabbing tactics. For example, you could use a humorous meme or gif to grab your audience's attention and make them more likely to engage with your message. However, it's important to use these tactics in moderation – make sure it’s appropriate and relevant to your audience. 5. Highlight Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) The Unique Selling Proposition (USP) should answer 1 question – What makes your learning program stand out from others in the market? The USP is there to differentiate your offering and make it more appealing to your target audience. Conduct a competitive analysis One effective strategy for highlighting your USP is to conduct a competitive analysis to identify what makes your program unique. This could involve researching other (internal or external) training programs in your industry and identifying the features and benefits that they offer. By understanding what other companies are offering, you can identify gaps in the market and highlight the features that make your program stand out. Highlight the benefits of your USP Another effective strategy is to focus on the benefits of your USP. For example, if your program offers personalized coaching, emphasize how this feature can help employees achieve their goals and improve their job performance. Another example – the program is facilitated by leaders within the business, which is great opportunity not only to learn from them, but get to know them in a different setting. 6. Provide Social Proof Social proof can be a powerful tool in convincing people to take action. Highlight success stories and testimonials from people who have benefited from your training programs to demonstrate their effectiveness and build trust with your audience. Get testimonials One effective strategy for providing social proof is to gather testimonials from previous program participants. This could involve reaching out to alumni of your program and asking them to share their experiences and how the program has helped them. By sharing these testimonials on your Learning Management System, internal social media, intranet or marketing materials, you can demonstrate the real-world impact of your training program and persuade others to enroll. Use case studies Another effective strategy is to use case studies. They involve analyzing the success of a specific program participant or group of participants and demonstrating how they have benefited from the program. By sharing these case studies with your audience, you can illustrate the impact of your training program and provide tangible evidence of its effectiveness. Make it relevant It's also important to use social proof that is relevant to your audience. For example, if you're marketing a leadership development program to mid-level managers, you'll want to share testimonials and case studies from other mid-level managers who have benefited from the program. This will help your audience see themselves in the success stories and feel more motivated to enroll in the program. Use influencers Another effective strategy is to use social proof from internal learning champions or (formal or informal) leaders. This could involve sharing endorsements from popular company leaders or featuring quotes from learning champions. This builds credibility and trust with your audience. 7. Choose the right channel Last but not least, let’s talk about selecting the right internal communication channel. This is critical for delivering your L&D marketing message to your target audience effectively. There are a variety of communication channels that you can use, including the intranet, SharePoint, learning management system (LMS), email, internal social media, and more. Let’s take a deeper dive. Intranet One effective channel for delivering your L&D marketing message is the intranet. It is a central hub for internal communication and can be used to share information and updates about your training programs. By posting updates, testimonials, success stories, and other relevant content on the intranet, you can ensure that your message reaches a wide audience and is easily accessible to everyone in the organization. LMS Another effective channel is the learning management system (LMS). The LMS is designed specifically for delivering and managing training programs, making it an ideal channel for marketing your L&D offerings. By including marketing messages and promotional materials within the LMS, you can ensure that your message is seen by those who are actively engaged in learning and development. Email Email is another effective communication channel for delivering your L&D marketing messages. It allows you to reach a large audience quickly and easily, and can be customized to target specific groups or individuals within the organization. By using email to promote your training programs, you can ensure that your message is seen by those who are most likely to be interested in your offerings. Internal social media Internal social media is also an effective communication channel for delivering your L&D marketing message. By using internal social media platforms such as Yammer, Workplace by Facebook, or Slack, you can share updates, testimonials, and other promotional materials in a more casual and engaging way. This can help increase engagement and generate interest in your training programs among employees. Conclusion Crafting an L&D marketing message that resonates with your audience is critical for the success of you L&D programs. By understanding your audience, focusing on benefits, using clear and simple language, making it engaging, highlighting your unique selling proposition, and providing social proof, you can create a compelling message that motivates people to take action and enroll in your programs. How do you market your L&D programs? Let us know in the comments below.

As a Learning and Development professional, you're asked to do more with less. In addition, you have to shift from in-person experiences to online and remote learning. You might be struggling with this new reality, wondering how you're going to deliver the same level of quality learning without access to the usual offline techniques. But all is not lost! There are many practical ways to design engaging and interactive virtual learning experiences for your learners—without breaking the bank. In this article, we'll share some tips on how to do this. Table of contents: 1. Connect to the big picture 2. Build a personal connection 3. Make it hands-on 4. Use multimedia to guide the experience 5. Tie it to real-life 6. End with an opportunity for reflection and action planning Conclusion 1. Connect to the big picture If you want to engage your remote learners, you'll have to connect their learning to the big picture. That means you should help them understand: How does the current learning fit into the overall program plan? How the courses they're taking will lead them toward their personal goals and aspirations? How will what they learn in this course affect them personally? The best way to go about it is to set clear and meaningful learning objectives. It's not enough to say, "By the end of this course, you will improve your communication skills." The objectives need to truly embody your learner's reality: "By the end of this course, you will be able to create a dialogue with your key stakeholders and get their buy-in every time." Moreover, when you want to engage remote learners, you need to help them see how what they are learning is relevant to their lives. Give them answers to these questions: How will this course improve your job performance? What kind of knowledge or skills do you need to achieve your personal goals? How does this course relate to other classes you have taken in the past or are currently taking? 2. Build a personal connection Be sure to build a personal connection with your students. The easiest way to do this is by getting to know them. This will make all the difference in helping them feel connected and invest themselves in the learning initiative. Some of the things you can try are to: ask your learners about their work, challenges, interest, and hobbies before the learning experience during the interaction, use their names, and ask them to share their challenges prepare a photo challenge people can participate in before, during, or after the learning is taking place Make your learners feel special, rather than just another student or a statistic in your dashboard. You can even ask about their personal life if it's relevant to your subject matter! Just make sure you respect any boundaries they set for themselves before doing so. 3. Make it hands-on The best way to engage remote learners is by making your content hands-on and interactive. Use interactive activities : Interactive activities will help your students learn through their individual actions rather than just listening or watching others. These types of exercises also have the potential to break down communication barriers and allow for more participation from remote students who may be shy or nervous about speaking up in class. Make it active : An activity that requires students to move around is a great way for them to get involved in the lesson. Especially if there's a physical component involved, like building something out of available objects around the house or using their bodies as instruments. If you want this kind of activity but don't want them moving too much, try adding some movement into your presentation through technology. For example, have some PowerPoint slides with built-in movement (or even better yet, with advanced animation. Just be careful not to overdo it!) Use collaboration tools : Collaboration tools allow students who aren't in the same room to work together on projects remotely using computers, tablets, and smartphones. Collaborating via technology can often feel more personal than working with someone next to you. Online you don't have any distractions like eye contact or body language to account for. Instead, you can focus on what needs to be done. Check out our post on the 5 apps for virtual facilitation . Use simulations: this gives learners a chance to practice hard skills, like coding, basic grammar, and working with software. Use mobile learning apps: there are apps out there that offer gamification elements to motivate users while learning new things. Learn more about Gamifying your training on our blog. 4. Use multimedia to guide the experience The key to successful remote learning is the use of multimedia. Use multimedia to help learners understand the content, context, skills, concepts, and application of the material. The following are a few examples: Content : Use video or audio recordings that introduce new concepts and provide instructions on carrying out procedures or completing tasks. This can be done by an instructor or pre-recorded by a subject matter expert. Any additional media you use will liven up your session and break the monotony of listening to only one person. Context : If your course has a virtual room set up in which participants can interact with each other during lessons (such as KumoSpace ), consider having the instructor hold periodic "office hours" where participants can ask questions and get their issues resolved. You could also establish an official hashtag for this purpose so that everyone knows where all questions should go! Explanation and Demonstration : Use video tutorials for conceptual explanations and demonstrations of how a skill is done. This is especially helpful for visual learners who need to see things in action before they understand them. This helps them develop their own mental models of how something works without having to memorize step-by-step instructions from a book or manual. Different perspectives: For complex topics or ideas with multiple layers of meaning or interpretation—for example, leadership—add audio recordings that offer different perspectives on those same concepts. This way, learners can actively interpret what they read rather than having it interpreted for them by an instructor or textbook author. 5. Tie it to real-life A great way to engage your remote learners is to tie the learning you provide with real-life examples. For example, if your company has a mission statement that includes being "A company that makes a difference in people's lives," then tie your course material into how each individual can make their own unique difference. If you are teaching a class on leadership skills, then show them how they can use those skills on their current projects or in their current roles at work. It's essential to make the content you are presenting relevant to your learners' lives. This can be done in several ways: by tying what they're learning to their company strategy and mission, using real-life examples, or giving them some kind of work that they can do on their own (like a case study or a project). 6. End with an opportunity for reflection and action planning We've mentioned how important it is that your learners understand the learning goals and objectives. But you also need to ensure they know what they are supposed to do next and how they will be evaluated. For this, you may want your learners to: take a quiz or test, reflect on their learning, or come up with an action plan for the future. Whatever the case, provide clear instructions at the end of the learning intervention so that everyone leaves with an understanding of what's expected. Be sure to give your learners some opportunity for reflection and action planning by asking them questions like, "How does this relate to what we've done before? How does it help us reach our goals?" This way, even if they can't see how everything ties together at first glance, they'll start thinking about ways in which each piece fits into a bigger picture, as well as how each piece relates back to their own personal goals and/or interests. How can you give your learners an opportunity to apply what they learn and make their learning experiences more engaging? Here are some ideas: Teach your learners how to connect their learning with their work by sharing examples and stories from the business. Teach your learners how to connect their learning with the team/group they work in so that they can share knowledge, experience, and perspectives across teams. Encourage them to book some time and talk to their team members about their key takeaways. Help learners understand the big picture and show how everything connects together over time (e.g., future workplace). Involve their managers, encourage conversations on how things might change in the future, and follow up sometime after the end of the learning program. Conclusion I always tell my learners that we need to agree on a definition before we can have a conversation about an issue. So let's define engaging learning as when learners use their heads and their hands to do something meaningful. And that's what I'm asking you to do right now! Think about your own remote learning and development approach—what one strategy will make it more engaging? Pick one idea from this article or think of the best thing you saw someone else do in the past year and write it down. How can you apply it in your next remote course or learning program?

As someone who has spent the last 12 years in the Learning & Development (L&D) field, I can tell you that it's both a rewarding and challenging career. But if you've ever thought that maybe L&D is for you and aren't sure how to start moving in this direction, here are seven easy steps for turning your dream job into a reality: Table of contents: Step 1: Build foundational L&D knowledge Step 2: Improve your technology expertise Step 3: Get some practice Step 4: Develop soft skills Step 5: Join an L&D community Step 6: Get an entry job in L&D Step 7: Keep learning Step 1: Build foundational L&D knowledge As a learning and development professional, your job is to help employees learn and develop. This means that you need a good understanding of learning and development, why it's important for companies success, and what you should be doing to support that learning. The first step in becoming a Learning & Development professional is building foundational knowledge—i.e., the basic concepts that underlie all learning programs. These concepts include things like "knowledge acquisition" (the process by which people acquire new information), "learning theory" (the study of how we learn), and "behavioral change" (changing people's behavior). If you'd like to get an introduction to the topic of Learning and Development , make sure you watch What is L&D in our free Start a Career in L&D guide. And for more in-depth knowledge, we suggest you take a look at our course "Learning & Development Fundamentals: Practitioner's Guide". Step 2: Improve your technology expertise Let's face it: you can't be an effective L&D professional if you don't know how to use technology. This includes staple programs like M.S. Powerpoint, Excel, and Word, but also more specific technologies, like eLearning and video creation software, as well as Learning Management Systems (LMS). There are many ways to learn about new technologies and apply them to your work. Which ones will be critical for you to know depends on the type of L&D role you are in. It is a good idea to seek ways to improve your technical expertise constantly. Here are some ways to do that: Read books and blogs about learning technologies. (You can review a curated list by EdTech Books here ) Attend conferences where people discuss new technology in the field of L&D. (For example, several conferences focus on learning technologies: by Learning Technologies and eLearning Industry , to name a few) Join online communities dedicated to specific types of technology or other topics related to your work as an L&D professional (e.g., LinkedIn groups or communities). Participate in conversations with other professionals who specialize in similar areas (e.g., through Facebook Messenger chats or groups). Step 3: Get some practice It's cliche, but practice makes perfect. You can only become an expert if you spend time doing the work. To learn the ropes, you need to get some practice under your belt by gaining experience through internships or training programs. If that's not an option for you, find someone who has done what you want to do and ask them for advice on how they got started. I sometimes get approached by aspiring L&D practitioners on LinkedIn , and I'm always happy to share some advice from my personal experience. Another option is volunteering for a relevant organization; many companies look for volunteers with skills that could be helpful for their cause. Think of youth organizations or the Red Cross. If there aren't any volunteer opportunities available in your area, consider offering a completely free digital or in-person presentation or class on a topic of your choice and promote it through Facebook or other social media platforms. Even if just 5 people show up, it's still a great experience and will teach you a lot. Step 4: Develop soft skills Soft skills are the competencies that help you work with other people. They include things like communication, teamwork, leadership and more. In L&D, we often emphasize soft skills because they're important for our day-to-day functioning and foster a culture of learning in our organizations. But guess what? Soft skills are important for all jobs! You can't be successful at your job if you don't have good interpersonal competencies —and it doesn't matter if you're an accountant or an aerospace engineer; you’d still need to work well with others, or you won't get far on the career ladder. So how do we develop these essential soft skills? The first step is realizing that developing them will take time. Not everything comes naturally—you'll need practice and get feedback from others. There are plenty of courses online , many even free, so pick up a topic and start learning. Another great way to learn is through books, but remember that it's not enough to just read about something - you also need to carve out time to practice that skill. Step 5: Join an L&D community An L&D community is a group of people with similar interests in the field of learning. These communities come in all shapes and sizes, from informal Slack channels to more formal LinkedIn groups. Joining one can be a great way to learn new things, connect with other professionals in your field, and get your foot in the door. Some L&D communities even help their members land jobs! Joining an L&D community is easy: look for one online or ask around at conferences or meetups to find out which ones are active in your area. Here are some of the groups I'm part of: L&D Connect Organization Development, Learning Development and Human Resources TrainingZone - training, learning & development P.S. The L&D Academy has its own private community on LinkedIn . Make sure to check it out! Step 6: Get an entry-level job in L&D If you're going to make it into L&D, you need to start somewhere. But before you apply for L&D positions left and right, make sure you're clear on what type of role you want. Yes, surprise, surprise! There is more than one L&D role ! And each role may require a different set of competencies . So, if you'd like to be prepared for that first interview, make sure you first spend some time learning about your desired role and career path and develop a few of the critical competencies required for it. Once you feel you've done all the prep you need, start applying. LinkedIn is a great place to search for L&D jobs, stay up-to-date with industry news, and make meaningful work relationships. Some other places you can look up: Glassdoor Indeed MonsterJobs Step 7: Keep learning! You might be thinking, "Gee, that's a lot of work—and how am I going to fit it all in?" The good news is that you don't have to do all this at once; you can spread out the learning and development process over time. The important thing is to keep learning new skills and acquiring knowledge to continue progressing in your career. Here are some ways: Keep up with technology changes—Learn about new tech products, software programs, and devices as they come out and what they mean for your industry or team. For example: What does augmented reality mean for H.R. professionals? How could VR/AR help training programs? Learn from others—Listen to podcasts like The eLearning Coach and L&D+ for Learning and Development topics. Also, check out TED Talks , with more than 2 million talks on topics ranging from science & technology to design & architecture. These are great resources full of valuable information! Becoming a Learning & Development professional can be challenging, but it's also a great career opportunity. Take it one step at a time, and don't overwhelm yourself. As an aspiring L&D professional, you should know that learning doesn't happen overnight. 😉

In recent years, virtual onboarding programs have become an increasingly popular solution for organizations looking to efficiently integrate new employees into their workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this trend, with many companies shifting to remote work arrangements and consequently, virtual onboarding programs. While there are some similarities between virtual and traditional onboarding, there are some unique challenges and opportunities that come with the virtual format. In this post, we'll explore five tips for creating an effective virtual employee onboarding program. Table of contents: 1. Set Clear Expectations 2. Leverage Technology to Create Engaging Content 3. Provide Opportunities for Feedback and Support 4. Incorporate Company Culture and Values 5. Continuously Evaluate and Improve 1. Set Clear Expectations The first step in creating an effective virtual onboarding program is to set clear expectations for the new employee. It's important to make sure the new hire knows what they will be doing, who they will be working with, and what their goals and objectives are. This should help them feel more comfortable and confident as they start their new role. One way to do this is to provide the new employee with a detailed onboarding plan that outlines their tasks and responsibilities for the first few weeks or months. This plan should include specific goals, deadlines, and any training and development opportunities they will have. It's also important to establish open and two-way communication channels from the beginning. This includes setting up regular check-ins with the new employee and providing them with contact information for their manager, HR representative, and any other relevant stakeholders. This will help them feel supported and connected to the organization, even when working remotely. 2. Leverage Technology to Create Engaging Content In a virtual onboarding program, it's inevitable to use technology to create engaging and interactive content. This can include video tutorials, virtual tours of the workplace, interactive quizzes, and other multimedia content. This will help the new employee feel more engaged and interested in the onboarding process. One effective way to create engaging content is to utilise a learning management system (LMS). An LMS can help you organize and deliver onboarding content in a structured and organized way. It can also track the progress of the new employee and provide them with feedback and support. Another way to use technology is to incorporate social learning into the onboarding program. This can include virtual discussions, peer-to-peer learning, and collaborative projects. This will help the new employee feel more connected to their colleagues and the organization as a whole. Try leveraging your internal social media channels (Yammer, Slack, etc.) and intranet. 3. Provide Opportunities for Feedback and Support When an onboarding program is virtual, it becomes that much more important to provide opportunities for personalized feedback and support. If possible, try to integrate mandatory regular check-ins for the whole duration of the program. This includes a weekly (or daily, if required) 1:1 with the line manager. Consider introducing a "buddy system" where the new joiner is paired with a more experienced member of the team, and they act as their buddy to help them integrate more quickly. Encourage the new employee to ask questions and provide feedback on the onboarding process. This can help identify areas for improvement and ensure that the new employee feels supported and engaged throughout the process. You can do this by including an online survey at the end of the onboarding program or meeting with the new joiner for an interview. 4. Incorporate Company Culture and Values Incorporating company culture and values is an important building block of any effective onboarding. It's when things go virtual that this becomes a real challenge. But just because it's hard, doesn't mean it's impossible. One effective way to incorporate company culture and values is to make it an integral part of the onboarding content. This can include videos or written materials that explain the organization's history, values, and mission, virtual events, or activities that help the new employee feel more connected to the organization's culture. It takes more than reading a brochure or watching a video to fully understand and embrace a company's culture though. This is where a line manager's role becomes extremely important in making sure they introduce real-life examples of what it means to embody each of the company's values. Work with your managers to make sure they set aside time and opportunities to talk to their teams about the company culture and values. 5. Continuously Evaluate and Improve Finally, it's important to continuously evaluate and improve the virtual onboarding program. This can include soliciting feedback from new employees (and their line managers), tracking their progress and success in their role, and identifying areas for improvement. One effective way to do this is to establish metrics for success , such as retention rates, employee engagement scores, or time to productivity. This can help you identify areas where the onboarding program is succeeding and where it may need improvement. Regularly reviewing and updating the program can help ensure that it remains effective and relevant, especially as the organization evolves over time. This can also help the organization stay competitive in terms of attracting and retaining top talent. Creating an effective virtual onboarding program is essential for organizations looking to efficiently integrate new employees into their workforce, especially in a remote work environment. By setting clear expectations, leveraging technology, providing opportunities for feedback and support, incorporating company culture and values, and continuously evaluating and improving the onboarding program, organizations can create a successful virtual onboarding program that helps new employees feel connected, supported, and engaged from the start.

Think back to high school or university. You'd attend a class where a teacher or professor presents a theory and then assigns you homework. Allegedly, this helps you build knowledge and skills. But research doesn't support better academic achievements due to home assignments. Many supported a change in the educational systems around the world. So in the late 1990s, things started to shift, and the world was introduced to Flipped Classrooms or the 'backward instructional design model.' What is a Flipped Classroom? Where traditionally, the theory is presented during a classroom session and students practice at home, in a flipped classroom, this is… flipped. In this backward model, learners study the theoretical aspect of the topic by themselves and then discuss and practice in the classroom with a teacher and their peers. The initial materials can be presented in any format – video, written articles or blogs, podcasts, and many others. It's important to note that if the learner doesn't understand something at this stage, they are welcome to address their questions to the trainer or tutor. Nowadays, you can use a range of communication channels to manage this part – email, phone, a learning management system, or any of the hundreds of messengers. This way, you ensure that once trainees enter the classroom, they have gained the knowledge on the topic, and you can focus on building particular skills using this knowledge. During the face-to-face part of the training, learners can participate in debates and discussions, solve complex problems, and perform real-world or simulated activities that increase their learning depth. Let's look at the concept from a practical point of view. If you have to train a group of new hires on a new payment system, you can send them the manual in advance and ask them to read through it. Or send them a video describing it. When they join you live, they get to try it out, join a simulation and ask questions. Pros and Cons of a Flipped Classroom Flipped classrooms have some expected advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include: Flexible access to initial materials because they can be opened and read when required The learning content can be curated from existing materials (videos, books, articles, etc.) Where learning content needs to be created, it can be relatively inexpensive (i.e., create a document, record a video, prepare a presentation, etc.) Learners can work at their own pace and recap as required. Learners have access to the learning materials indefinitely. Learners are free to come up with novel solutions or even resources. Learners have an active role in studying. Enables real-time discussions among learners and the trainer Classroom activities focus on real-world application, therefore helping learners retain the knowledge for a more extended period. Just like with any other learning method, flipped classrooms have some disadvantages. But there are ways to counter them too. Disadvantages How to counter Lack of engagement with the trainer or other learners before the face-to-face training Provide learners with the means to contact you or the trainer before the live session. This can be done via email, phone, messenger, or the LMS There is a risk that learners will not cover the material before joining the classroom session Explain the method and how it works before learners sign up. Make sure to include information on what actions they will be expected to take and how much time they will need to invest in the entire learning experience Involve learners' managers and/or explain their employees' time and effort investment and double-check if this is ok Highlight that people who have not completed the pre-classroom materials will not be admitted to the classroom session Include short, interactive activities (videos, games, assignments, etc.) Plan at least some time at the beginning of your classroom session for a quick recap to make sure that even people who haven't completed the pre-work are on the same page May require extra equipment or IT skills to access some of the learning materials Ensure that all learners can access the content by running a test or a pilot with a sample group. If some learners do not have access to the needed equipment, change the format (to print) or lend them a temporary device (i.e., a company laptop, a tablet, or a phone). How to design and deliver a Flipped Classroom The process you would use to design and deliver flipped classrooms would be similar to traditional face-to-face training. The difference is in finding a learning method that is not a lecture or a face-to-face presentation. Let's see how that could work in practice. 1. Preparation Just like with traditional classroom training, you need to start by considering who your learners are, their needs, and desired outcomes from the training. Unlike a conventional classroom, you also need to create or curate the pre-course materials, upload them to be accessed by your learners, or distribute them in print. 2. Introduction, explanation, and demonstration How you introduce, explain, and demonstrate the learning content will play a massive role in your learners' successful retention and application. And again, unlike traditional classroom training, these three steps are done without physical interaction between the learners and the trainer. This is where technology can come to play. A lot of trainers would opt-in for a quick video lecture that they record and send via email or a Learning Management System. You can also include quizzes and practical exercises learners can try before coming to the classroom session. 3. Imitation The main focus of the classroom portion of the learning experience is to imitate the trainer - that is, to try things on your own. If done right and in a safe environment, this can be a lot of fun. It's also an excellent opportunity for trainers to use gamification techniques , experiential learning principles, and active and social learning approaches. 4. Wrap up This stage of the training process can and should be done at the end of the live session. But it should extend beyond that as well. Learners should have a way to contact the trainer and their peers in case of any questions or need for further support. Again, this can easily be accomplished with access to an online community, email, phone, messenger, or the LMS. Flipped Classroom example I was working with a payroll provider company. They had an employee training program on how to file case documentation. It wasn't very popular with employees and proved to be somewhat ineffective. I did some analysis for them, and it revealed people mostly found the classroom training to be long and boring. We decided to try a different approach. We created 6 different videos explaining the 6 filing processes. Then, 2 weeks before the training, the group was split into 6 teams. Each team randomly received 1 of the 6 videos, accompanied by real examples and a quiz on the content. In those 2 weeks, they had to work through the cases and prepare to teach the other participants their assigned filing process. In the classroom session, the teams took turns presenting their documentation filing process, asking questions, and learning from others. When we evaluated their retention 6 months later, it was improved by 68%. Tips for L&D on Implementing a Flipped Classroom If you are want to introduce Flipped Classrooms in your organization, consider the following two questions: Is the organization ready for it? and, Do you have all the necessary resources to launch it? Tip 1. Run a pilot You can find the answer to the first question by doing a small-scale pilot flipped classroom and then collecting feedback. Usually, there are a lot of volunteers willing to participate. A pilot is a great and inexpensive way to test the waters because you don't commit to anything, and you can evaluate the readiness of the organization and the people involved. To run a test or a pilot, talk to the potential participants of the flipped classroom, their managers, and HR. They can tell you more about the organization's readiness to adopt new things and can also indicate how well this learning intervention would fit with the overall company culture and strategy. Tip 2. Use what's available You can go big or small when it comes to resources - it really depends on your budget and imagination. We've done flipped classrooms with just emails. We've also done super intricate online courses and video animations. The best resource is the one that's already available. Is dedicated software, like LMS, convenient? Yes, absolutely! But you don't need to rush out and buy the most expensive program. There are wonderful free alternatives: you can track participation on an Excel or Google sheet, you can record a video of you talking or demonstrating something on your phone, you can send articles or books via email, you can use any free quiz maker to test their understanding. Make a list of the different steps in the initiative, like pre-class, in-class, and post-class. And then just think about what the learners need to have access to in each step. For example, before the session, you may want to share a YouTube video and a link to a Harvard Business Review article. During the classroom, you may want to do a role play with everyone in the room. Finally, after the session, you may want to set up some projects they work on as part of their day-to-day. Then it's a matter of mapping what software or resources you already have for each step. In this example, you don't need anything but email, SurveyMonkey, and Word or Excel. What existing learning programs can benefit from flipping the traditional classroom training in your organization? Or perhaps you think it would be great to have it as a stand-alone development offer? Why not even replace your existing in-house training? Let us know by sharing your thoughts on social media, and remember to tag us!

In a study from 2020 , the CIPD discovered that 98% of L&D practitioners aspire to build a learning culture. Yet, only 36% claim to have achieved this. We all know why it is important, but the question we often can't answer is how to build a learning culture. But perhaps there is another question that we need to ask first. And that is, "what exactly is a learning culture?" Table of contents: What is culture? What is a learning culture? 6 Building blocks of a learning culture How to build a learning culture? Live stream - "Building a Learning Culture" Watch the recording from our live stream on how to build a learning culture on YouTube: What is culture? To explain what a learning culture is, we need to understand what a culture is. And let's just start with the obvious – it isn't easy to define because it is not something you can touch or quantify. You can think of culture as the opposite of nature– anything that is man-made and intangible (Fee, 2011). Usually, a specific culture would be described in terms of the attitudes, values, and traditional practices that a group of people would share. We have all heard of Japanese business etiquette and how different it is from the European or North American ones. What is a learning culture? If culture is intangible, how can we define learning culture? Broadly, we can say that it is a climate within the organization where people enjoy learning. But that is a rather simplistic view. A learning culture is also about embedding learning into the day-to-day practices of an organization, promoting and rewarding learning at different levels (CIPD, 2020). This is how we get the term learning organization . In other words, an organization that promotes and celebrates learning and where people have many opportunities to develop (Fee, 2011). In reality, this means: giving people opportunities to learn, letting them challenge each other encouraging questioning the status quo and business practices, supporting self-reflection on their knowledge, skills, behaviors, and actions, changing themselves for the purpose of changing the organization. In the day-to-day, this can mean having a dedicated time for learning where employees can: attend trainings, conferences or workshops, watch online courses or mobile learning, participate or observe a project, rotate jobs or observe others, Listen to a podcast Get coached or mentored Read a book and many others But that in itself isn't enough. Once an employee has gained any new knowledge, a learning organization would encourage that person to apply it to their work, experiment, optimize processes and share their learnings with others. 6 Building blocks of a learning culture So how can we define what it is more precisely? The best way is to look at the building blocks of a learning organization. We've developed our own list of the six most important characteristics inspired by numerous authors (see sources below) and our own experience. A learning organization: 1. Supports personal mastery One of the key human drivers is to become really good at what you like to do. And yes, it is usually applied to our hobbies. But the same principles apply when we are at work. We want to be seen as experts and to feel proud of our accomplishments. This can be motivating to a lot of people and inspire them to create change. Example : you want to become the head of the L&D department in a few years. A learning organization would encourage this by supporting you professionally, emotionally, and even financially. 2. Creates on-the-job learning opportunities for all employees This is a pretty straightforward one. In a learning organization, all employees have access to learning and, what's more, are encouraged to apply it back to their job. Example : A QA wants to develop an automated test to check for bugs in the software before releasing it to the users. A Learning organization would also sponsor this person to attend a course or a qualification program. But that's not the end of the story. This person would also be encouraged to apply everything they learn back on the job, find an optimal solution that works for the specific software and language, and train other people on the team. This way, the organization not only supports the personal development of this QA but also ensures it is applying the best practices from the industry. 3. Empower people to make decisions by challenging the status quo. There is a famous quote by Steve Jobs "It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do". If you help your people become smart but then rob them of the opportunity to challenge you, your organization is doomed. You will be taking away its power to change, adapt, be innovative, outrun, and outperform the competition. Empowerment has another dimension too. It is about supporting the culture of asking 'why'. When people learn , they feel motivated to do more and try new things. But this can only be helpful if that person understands their growth's impact on the work and the organization as a whole. Example : An employee is part of a succession plan to step into the role of a manager. A Learning organization will allow that person to try new management approaches, implement innovative solutions, and challenge the status quo so the team can grow and become more productive and engaged (…and profitable by proxy). 4. Encourage collaboration, feedback, and knowledge sharing. We learn a great deal from each other. And feedback plays a key role in this because it is a wonderful opportunity to improve ourselves. If we do something well, it would be great to know about it so we can repeat it in the future. If we suck at something, the sooner we know, the sooner we can change it. Example : A customer support agent is not reaching their Net Promoter Score (NPS) targets. They are encouraged to talk to their colleagues and try new things. But their performance will not improve quickly unless they have immediate access to their NPS scores to monitor their progress. They need to see the link between their approach and how customers rate their experience as soon as the interaction is over. Moreover, this agent would need continuous feedback from their peers and manager to know what specifically they need to start, stop and continue doing. 5. Inspire active experimentation and learning from mistakes quickly. When working on something new, you can either: Work on it for weeks to polish every last detail and then present it to the client or user OR Get a rough draft to the client or user, ask for feedback, polish the draft and ask for feedback again; repeat until the final product is just what the client needs. If you're a perfectionist, the second option probably sounds like torture. But the truth is that the quicker you can make some mistakes, the quicker you can learn from them and move on to other things. Making room for mistakes lets us collect intelligent information so we can improve while still making progress on our work. It's important to remember that we all make mistakes. And that is ok! As long as we learn from them and we never repeat the same mistake twice. A learning organization not only allows but encourages mistakes, as opposed to perfecting month-long projects only for them to fail upon their first encounter with the client. Example: A popular anecdote tells the story of a newly hired executive who made a huge mistake and lost millions for the company. The CEO was asked why he didn't fire that person. The response was, "Why would I fire him? He just learned a million-dollar lesson. You can't train for that!" 6. All organizational systems and practices should facilitate learning. A culture of learning cannot thrive without the right environment. If there are no policies and procedures in place that support learning initiatives, there won't be a tangible shift in the mindset. Example: In a company with no clearly defined and transparent career paths (i.e., if you want and can do ABC, you can pursue XYZ careers or titles), people may wonder what's the point of having access to different learning opportunities. After all, learning should have an end goal. Without it, it's just learning for the love of learning but with no applicability on the job. How does your organization stack up against these six building blocks? Let us know in the comments below. So is it worth building a learning culture? Yes! Can it be challenging? Of course! How can we do it? It's easier than you might think! How to build a learning culture? Let's assume that the desired outcome is to build a learning culture that encompasses all six building blocks above. This leaves us with the key three steps to getting there. Step 1. Evaluate the current learning environment. Before you can plan the route, you need to understand your starting point. You can do this by researching existing data, like engagement or cultural surveys. Or you can simply ask – in interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires. This should give you enough data to compare your current environment to the six building blocks. Consider the existing culture within the organization because you will never be working with a blank canvas. So knowing where the ridges are, where the paint is thicker or thinner, will allow you to maneuver and build a more sustainable shift towards learning. Step 2. Design and implement appropriate interventions. All interventions you decide to use need to support learning at all organizational levels. Again, look at the six building blocks – how can you provide learning opportunities, encourage feedback, experimentation, knowledge sharing, and collaboration? What systems need to be put in place to allow for the shift? What communication channels should you utilize? There are many things to consider in the design. One of the biggest challenges is quantifying what a learning culture should be. How many learning opportunities should there be? How often should managers provide feedback to their employees? What kind of experiments and mistakes are people allowed to make? Step 3. Monitor the perceptions and attitudes. Culture is dynamic, it's alive. You must ensure that you are continuously monitoring the perceptions and attitudes of all people throughout the organization. Whenever there is a shift, you need to clearly understand what caused it and how you can sustain it or course-correct it. Conclusion Building a learning culture is complicated, and there aren't clear-cut answers or solutions. But with the right approach and process, you can move mountains. If you want to learn more on this subject, in our flagship course, "Introduction to Learning and Development", you'll find more information and several practical exercises to try building a learning culture yourself. How do you build a learning culture? Let us know in the comments below. And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us via email or on our social media channels. Sources : Creating learning cultures: assessing the evidence. (2020). https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/evidence-reviews/learning-cultures-evidence/ Garvin, D. (1993). Building a Learning Organization. https://hbr.org/1993/07/building-a-learning-organization Hill, J. (2021). The Benefits Of A Learning Organization Culture - Bloomfire. https://bloomfire.com/blog/benefits-learning-organization-culture/ Learning and development strategy: an introduction, CIPD - https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/strategy/development/factsheet Build a winning L&D strategy, Training Journal - https://www.trainingjournal.com/articles/feature/build-winning-ld-strategy Fee, K. (2011). 101 Learning and Development Tools . 1st ed. London: Kogan Page. Gold, J., Holden, R., Stwerard, J., Iles, P. and Beardwell, J. (2013). Human Resource Development. 2nd ed. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Elkeles, T., Phillips, J. and Phillips, P. (2017). The Chief Talent Officer . 1st ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

You’ve been asked to prepare a webinar on a hot topic in your organization. Or you need to translate a 4-hour face-to-face training into a 1-hour webinar. You prepare your slides. Your script and your computer are ready. Everyone seems to be excited. You do your thing. And then the feedback comes in… “Booooring!”, “That’s 1 hour of my life I’m not getting back”, and “I can watch the recording again to put me to sleep at night”. What went wrong?! You didn’t follow our tips for creating an engaging webinar. So let’s remedy that! Table of contents: 1. Purposeful and Clear Objectives 2. Engaging Pre-Webinar Activities 3. Gamification 4. Use Emotion and Storytelling 5. Real-Time Demonstration 6. Multimedia Integration 7. Active Social Media Involvement 8. Clear and Visually Compelling Slides 9. Participant Collaboration 10. Audience Spotlights 11. Virtual Backgrounds and Props 12. Use of Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) 13. Use of Chatbots 14. Inclusion of Relevant Case Studies 15. Expert Panel Discussion Summary 1. Purposeful and Clear Objectives This may not be fun or exciting, but it is the single most important thing you need to create an engaging webinar. The main question you must answer is “Why is this webinar needed?”. Or you can rephrase it to “What will the participants walk away with?” Once you know what the purpose of your webinar is, break it down into specific skills and/or knowledge, define the objectives, and give your webinar a direction that will help you create meaningful content. Not to mention that purposeful and clear objectives will help your audience understand what they can expect to gain from participating before they set foot inside your webinar (so to speak 😊). 2. Engaging Pre-Webinar Activities Engagement with your webinar shouldn’t start at the beginning of the session. Use the time before participants even log in to engage them with an activity. Or invite them to prepare material for the session. Both could further stimulate their interest in the topic and your session. Some examples of pre-webinar activities include creating a short video, reading an article, or filling out a survey. 3. Gamification Any game-design elements you add to your webinar will surely be crowd-pleasers. After all, who doesn't like playing games? Consider adding things like mini competitions, awarding points, leaderboards, rewards for participation, and so on. Just to be clear – gamification is much more than just counting points. So instead, focus on the game-like elements we mention here, rather than who wins. It will boost engagement and make learning more fun and interactive. 4. Use Emotion and Storytelling There is a famous quote by Maya Angelou that says, “People don’t always remember what you say or even what you do, but they always remember how you make them feel.” This is true for webinars as well. Tell compelling stories, use humor, or create a personal connection with your audience through emotional language and storytelling. 5. Real-Time Demonstration Not every topic will allow for a demonstration. But if appropriate, show people how a new software performs or the workflow of a process or a soft skills model. This will give the audience a practical understanding of the subject and demonstrate the desired end goal more visually and kinaesthetically. 6. Multimedia Integration Listening to someone talk for an extended period of time can be tiresome. So switch it up with videos, infographics, audio clips, and animations. These can bring your content to life and help break up the presentation to maintain the audience’s interest. 7. Active Social Media Involvement Social media is ever-present in our lives. And if you can’t beat it, join it. Use social media for pre-event promotion, live tweeting during the event, or a post-webinar discussion place. This can create a buzz around the session and prolong the engagement way after it is over. 8. Clear and Visually Compelling Slides We can talk about visually compelling slides for many hours… days even! But for the purposes of engagement, let’s just say you need to “create slides that people will understand in 3 seconds. People can either listen to you or read your slides – they won’t do both simultaneously (not without missing key parts of your message, anyway). So make sure they can quickly comprehend your visuals and then turn their attention back to what you’re saying.” (Duarte, 2012) Try to use as little text as possible. Instead, focus on bullet points, diagrams, images, or infographics to convey your message more effectively. 9. Participant Collaboration Who said the facilitator is the only one to talk during a webinar? Get your attendees into breakout rooms and have them discuss a topic, solve a problem or even work on a project. Social and collaborative learning has tons of benefits, like enhancing learning retention, creating a sense of belonging, and, most importantly for us - making the webinar more interactive. Keep in mind that not everyone will feel comfortable talking to people they haven’t met in person before. So if you’re going to use breakout rooms, allow some people to opt out of the experience. But also make sure to tell them they will be missing out and, if they prefer, they can participate as silent observers instead. 10. Audience Spotlights Breakouts may not always be possible. So consider giving your audience a spotlight instead. You can take a moment to acknowledge someone’s comment, idea, or question. Or showcase someone’s work, have them share their experiences, and contribute to the content with their own perspective or experience. This encourages more participation because it shows the audience their engagement is valued and recognized. 11. Virtual Backgrounds and Props Go nuts with your virtual background and props. Have them search for clues in your background related to the topic, or have them change their background based on a theme (for example, to a color that reflects their mood right now). Some webinar software even allows you to use filters, so why not utilize those as well? 12. Use of Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) AR and VR are becoming more and more prevalent in our day-to-day. So it’s only natural that you try to incorporate these into your webinar, making it an immersive and unforgettable experience for your participants. You can demonstrate a new product in 3D, lead everyone on a virtual site tour, create an immersive learning simulation, create an interactive presentation (as opposed to static slides), visualize data more creatively, and so much more! 13. Use of Chatbots And while we’re talking about new technologies, why not use AI chatbots during your webinar? A well-designed chatbot can respond to frequently asked questions, provide technical support and even deliver the content (i.e., provide additional resources in response to a certain trigger). 14. Inclusion of Relevant Case Studies Of course, no amount of new technology can replace the good old case study. Real-world examples will not only make your webinar more engaging, they will also provide context and make it easier for attendees to see how the information can be applied to their own situations. 15. Expert Panel Discussion Finally, you can add yet another level of interactivity by inviting experts to share their unique perspectives for a more dynamic and engaging discussion. This brings a variety of industry experts to a single platform. Summary If you follow at least some of these tips, you can wave goodbye to "boring" and say hello to riveting webinars! Make sure to define clear objectives upfront and then wrap your participants in an engaging blanket of pre-webinar activities, multimedia content, gamification, and compelling storytelling. Integrate modern wonders like AR/VR and AI chatbots for an immersive experience and don't forget the power of social media to create a buzz. Use visually clear slides, stimulate participant collaboration, and shine the spotlight on your audience. Roll out relevant case studies and invite expert panelists for a dynamic discussion. Your webinar is not a one-man (or one-woman) show but a vibrant, interactive stage where knowledge and experience are shared. So take the leap and let your webinars be the talk of the town! What did we miss on our list? Let us know in the comments below. Source: Duarte, N. (2012) HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations (HBR Guide series) . Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.

As Learning & Development professionals, we all dream of more engaged learners, who are excited to take up any course or piece of learning we offer and get completely immersed in it. Let’s be real though: it’s very rare that a learner typically even finishes a course, let alone soak up every last drop of knowledge and is fully engaged throughout the whole thing. One can dream though, right? While it’s true that engagement levels can never be as high as we L&D folks would like to, there are tips you can apply, which will help you raise them a bit. (And keep them high!) What is learner engagement? Learner engagement implies that the learner is actively participating in the learning process instead of just skimming through for the sake of program completion and getting it over with. To ensure learning takes place, we need engagement. An engaged learner: Makes effort in problem-solving Assures active participation Is enthusiastic and positive Enjoys learning and reflecting on the skills learned Benefits of learner engagement Hugely engaged learners complete learning programs successfully and are also better at retaining that knowledge and as a result, are also better performers. Higher learner engagement has also a positive impact on the workplace. The changes can be seen in terms of the following: Creativity: As the employees learn new skills effectively, they try to apply them in different aspects of their work. For instance, they may take initiatives in suggesting improvements for various existing processes and strategies of the company and may even try to provide ideas for new projects. Learning culture: When learners are excited about what they are learning, they become ‘torch bearers’ of the learning program. They motivate their peers to learn too. Seeing them performing more efficiently and their enhanced productivity, others are also inspired to get involved in the learning. Improved communication and cooperation : When you learn something enthusiastically, you tend to discuss it with peers. The discussion could happen verbally, over forums or action learning activities which lead to collaboration among people. How to increase learner engagement So what can you do to effectively increase learner engagement and keep it high to reap the positive benefits for the organization? Tip 1 : Set specific goals The goals of the program should be relatable to learners’ short- and long-term career goals. If there is some relation between program goals and learners’ personal goals, they will be emotionally invested in the learning as it helps them in personal growth too. You should introduce the program goals in the beginning so that learners can relate to them and know in advance what is expected from them. Tip 2: Apply good pedagogy We should try to adapt the program style depending on learner needs and goals. For example, if interpersonal skills are to be learned, then a webinar would be a preferable program style. And let’s say if HTML is to be learned, then a website or LMS with tutorials and video content would be more appropriate. Tip 3: Keep it creative and interesting For example, if slides are involved and the program is about sales then keep the slides graphical and relevant. That would help you represent multidimensional data (various time zones, multiple variables, etc.) in a single graph without writing multiple lines to do the same. As graphs are self-explanatory with minimal text, you can move through swiftly and promote engagement as understanding comparisons in graphical form is easier than reading a lot of text. Tip 4: Keep content accessible The learning content should be easily available to the learner. The learning should be made flexible in terms of anytime, anyplace, anywhere learning. If activities like projects, case studies, etc. are involved, then learners should have control over when, where, and how they are going to implement the skills. They should also have the opportunity to explore learning content on their own. For instance, if the program is about improving communication skills, learners may be told about “Toastmasters” clubs that they can then explore on their own and improve their presentation skills. Tip 5: Provide constructive feedback We should aim to provide developmental feedback in a constructive and delicate way. It ensures they are more receptive to the inputs given. And they can apply them immediately to improve their performance. Tip 6: Use experiential learning We should try to introduce experiential learning wherever possible because that highlights default behaviors and improves self-awareness. For example, W3schools uses “Tryit Editor” for HTML tutorials. The way it works is they give you the tags and an explanation of what they do. And in the editor, you can simultaneously try it out and see how the code works in real-time. This makes learning more interesting and easier to follow. Tip 7: Make it social Focus on providing multiple diverse platforms and mechanisms for learners to have a voice. The ability to have discussions, ask questions, provide suggestions, raise concerns, and get involved in decision-making can improve learner engagement. It also creates and boosts a learner-driven support system, which nurtures learning and spreads positivity in the workplace. Tip 8: Make it fun Meg Whitman rightly said, “If you have fun at your job, you are going to be more effective”. So, try to make it more fun. While doing so, we still need to keep in mind that fun is not the main purpose here, it’s making learning more engaging and effective as a result. Unnecessary or irrelevant fun activities will distract from the learning process. For example, if a program is about project planning, then to demonstrate common mistakes while planning, we could use real-world case studies that show how poor planning led to project failures. Instead, if we use an interesting case study about how lousy project testing led to delays in project completion, it would sure be fun but irrelevant and distracting. What tried-and-tested tips do you have for boosting learner engagement? Let us know in the comments!

Unless you have been happily living under a rock for the last 2 years, you are very aware that Zoom is a tool of preference among learning facilitators worldwide. Due to its user-friendliness and great features, we have been using this fantastic tool for most of our meetings and learning sessions (webinars, trainings, and team-building events). However, there might be some Zoom features you may not be aware of or are underusing. In this article, we bring you a list of 7 Zoom features that will save your online learning event. Let's begin! Table of Content: Tip 1. Explore the features! Tip 2. Set up your 'classroom' Tip 3. Stamp away! Annotation tool Tip 4. Live Opinions with Polling Tip 5. Get a room! I mean... Breakout Room :) Tip 6. Can I get your reaction? Tip 7. There's an App for that! Bonus Tip! Tip 1. Explore the features! Many Zoom features need to be activated while setting up your Zoom account. Start by logging into your Zoom web account and click on Settings on the menu on the left. Go over the options on the screen (Meeting, Recording, Audio Conferencing, and any others your account is enabled for). Take your time to carefully read each option. You would be surprised by the number of features you can enable/disable for your account. Tip 2. Set up your 'classroom'. Before your session starts, ensure your meeting layout is correctly set up. That may include having your chat window opened in your secondary monitor to communicate and gather input from your audience. If you've turned on "private chat" in the Meeting Settings, participants will be able to send private messages to each other. I also recommend that you keep the Participants panel displayed. This way, you can keep an eye on your attendees. You will know their audio status (muted or unmuted), video status (webcam on or off), and their current feedback status (raised hand, yes, no, emojis, and so on). Tip 3. Stamp away! Annotation tool After I started using the Annotation tool in my sessions, I can hardly imagine not having that great feature available for my learners. Annotations add the wonderful feel of collaboration and interaction we may have lost with virtual learning experiences. Your learners can draw on your shared screen, stamp, or add text to make your training more creative and fun. Bonus reminder: Before asking participants to annotate, make sure you add a quick instruction on how to find this feature. It is common for people to feel lost and not know where to find or use it (including how to close the toolbar once the activity is done). Oh! And remember, you can hide annotators' names from the 'More' option in your meeting controls. Tip 4. Live opinions with Polling Polling is a wonderful way to interact and gather valuable information for your training session. People get excited to provide their opinion and see the group's results. Zoom's polls are a bit more complicated to set up, though. BEFORE the session, you need to turn on polling in your Meeting Settings. This is where you can add poll questions and possible answers. DURING your session, select Polling from the Control Bar to open the Polls window. Select the poll question you want, then click Launch Polling. You'll see real-time results on screen as participants respond. Once finished, click on End Polling and then Share Results. Tip 5. Get a Room! I mean... Breakout Room :) Zoom breakout rooms can help participants feel a sense of community and social presence. Here are a few tips on using this amazing feature: Wherever possible, have an additional colleague help you set up the rooms in advance, so you don't spend too much time on this during the session. Make sure everyone knows what they will be doing in the breakout room before sending them 'away'. Ask a few times if there are any questions (one way to go about it is to ask everyone to give you a thumbs up from the reactions button if they are clear on their task). Encourage learners to use audio and video where possible. Keeping breakout rooms between 2 to 6 people will help everyone feel engaged and get everyone to contribute to the discussion. Make sure there is plenty of time for breakout activities. A rule of thumb is to allow at least 2-3 minutes for people to get their bearings and then at least 4-5 minutes per person to answer a single question. If you have more than 1 question, then multiply the time. Use the "Broadcast a message to all" option to inform the groups how much time they have left for the activity and remind them of any instructions. I can't tell you the number of times people go into breakout rooms, and the 'what did we need to do here?' question comes up once the group is away from the main meeting room. In recent updates, Zoom allows the facilitator to continue sharing their screen in the breakout rooms. If that feature isn't enabled for you or is not something you want, send the instructions via the chat window, as that will remain active during the breakout activity. Tip 6. Can I get your reaction? One underutilized tool is the Reactions button. With just a couple of clicks, people can tell you how they feel, whether you should go faster or slower, answer Yes/No questions, and indicate they have queries. Let your learners know from the start that you expect them to use the reaction buttons and encourage them throughout - ask them if they are ready, how they feel after the break, if they agree with you, and so on. Tip 7. There's an App for that! In another recent update, Zoom allowed the installation of additional apps. These are third-party software that you can add to your Zoom account. But the best part - learners don't have to install anything on their own computers. The apps work within the Zoom meeting. While it's still a new feature, some noteworthy mentions are the Timer, Miro and Asana integration, virtual backgrounds for all participants and many others. For the latest updates, keep an eye on Zoom's website . Bonus tip: be planned, not canned! Yes, you want to know your material thoroughly and test all features you will use in advance. Someone once told me: "The more preparation, the less perspiration during the event." However, remember that doesn't mean memorizing and reciting your lines. Think of those training sessions you attended that struck a chord the most. Very likely, the most effective presenters were not robotic mannequins blurting out a script. Quite the opposite - they were having a conversation with you. Do the same! Be yourself and enjoy! What other Zoom features have you been using recently? Let us know in the comments below or share your ideas on social media (remember to tag us).

Pin This for Later! “New year, new me” is a phrase we hear way too often at the start of a new year. It’s a fresh new leaf, turning a new page, the air is filled with optimism and opportunity. And then by January 31st, we’re just over it. Why is it that some people manage to stick to their resolutions and achieve their goals, whereas others give up shortly after they start? The simple answer is this: For a goal to turn into reality, you have to work towards it every day, and to do that - you have to turn that daily action into a habit. It has to be so much ingrained into your daily routine that you don’t even think about it, you just do it. This article will provide you with the best tips for developing productive habits that bring you closer to your goals. It will include ways to motivate yourself to follow through with your actions. The end result will be a great way to get into the habit of achieving new goals and living a more successful lifestyle. Tip 1: Know your ‘why’ It is a proven fact that most people who are motivated to do something tend to follow through with their actions. You may even think that this is just common sense, but the truth is that there are many people out there who lack the motivation to accomplish anything at all. People that fail to see results because they lack motivation to actually take action are not alone. They are in fact the majority, according to research conducted by University of Pennsylvania psychologists. The research found that people who lack the motivation to follow through with their goals and aspirations are actually more likely to give up before they have succeeded at all. The reason is that they are unwilling to put in the extra time and effort that is required to achieve results. So success is often not so much about talent, and skill it’s about consistency and following through. Or in other words: “ Hustle beats talent when talent doesn't hustle .” What is the solution? Know why you’re setting this particular goal for yourself in the first place. What will its achievement give you? Is it money, a sense of accomplishment, more freedom…? Whatever it is, write it down and put it somewhere where you can look at it every single day, so you never lose focus and forget your motivation. Tip 2: Start small You’ve probably heard it before that "Habit is second nature." What this means is that once you establish a good habit, it will become almost impossible for you to stop doing it or even slow down your performance of it. This is true whether you are an expert musician, a world-class athlete, or someone who wants to lose weight or start their own business. In the case of developing good habits, one proven way to do this is by establishing small goals and then working your way up to the larger goal. For example, if your goal is to lose 30 pounds, one way to go about this would be to decide to lose 1 pound per week. After three months of following this plan, you would have lost 12 pounds. From there, you could decide to change your goal to lose 2 pounds per week. And after another three months, you would have lost 24 pounds. And so on. The point is that by setting small, easily attainable goals, you will find it much easier to achieve the results that you want. And more importantly - to sustain them. On the other hand, if you set extremely difficult goals, you will find it nearly impossible to achieve them. The reason is that it is much more difficult to overcome a negative habit than it is to establish a positive one. This is why it is important to know how to break bad habits as well as how to develop good ones. Tip 3. Develop discipline The first step to success is often the hardest step of all. In this case, the hardest step is actually developing the habit of getting things done. It is no wonder that people who are unmotivated are also the people who are least likely to succeed. It takes a lot of energy and motivation to be successful. And, most people don't have that extra "oomph" that is required to make a move and actually achieve something. However, once people develop the habit of getting things done, they will find that it becomes easier and easier to stay motivated. This is because they will have developed a "mental muscle" that will keep them going even when the "physical muscle" that is required to get things done is lacking. They say motivation usually gets you started, but it’s a discipline that takes you to the finish line. How that discipline would look like is entirely up to you. Perhaps you are someone who needs an accountability partner - in which case find a buddy, who will check in on you and your goals daily. Or join a group or community. If you’re someone who’s more introverted, there are websites like Focusmate where you virtually work alongside someone. Another option would be an app like Done that helps you track your daily habit completion and reminds you if you’re not on track. www.thedoneapp.com Last, but not least: Don’t sweat it. If you fall off the wagon, you can always get back on. Give yourself grace and don’t wait for Monday or for January to start again. Every day is a new opportunity to start fresh. Good luck!

Have you ever wondered what a typical day in the life of an L&D professional looks like? Well, then you’re in luck because today I’m spilling all the beans and giving you a glance at what my day looks like. Of course, depending on your line of work and other factors (seniority, focal areas, industry, etc.) this may vary; but there are tasks and responsibilities that could be applied to most L&D professionals, in one way or another. So here we go! But wait! … first things first! A nice cup of coffee and now we are ready to get started! On a typical Monday, I start my day by reviewing my calendar and my project portfolio (a simple document where I keep track of my progress on projects I am involved in). I need to be clear with the priorities for the day and the week and the status of my tasks in each project. Then I check my email inbox and read a request from a manager that is asking for a Time Management training session for her team. She wants this to be a virtual session, delivered in 3 weeks. That brings me to responsibility no. 1 in the L&D life: Learning Needs Analysis (LNA) This is the process of identifying the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are required to meet the needs of this manager’s learning request. Put simply, I will meet with the manager to discuss what the current situation is, the issue we are trying to fix, review any current data, define goals, and set indicators to measure the results of the training. If you’re interested in taking a deeper dive into this, then make sure you check out our LNA guide ! Sounds like a lot and it is! But remember, a robust LNA will make our lives a lot easier for the upcoming steps of the process! I set up the meeting with the manager and move on to my next task for the day. Next up, time to work on responsibility no. 2. Learning Experience Design I need to prepare the material for a Change Management program I must deliver in 2 weeks. I already have my LNA completed for this one: I have defined the objectives, audience, and learning methods I will be using. Next, I will proceed with creating the training material and the additional learning content. I will storyboard the content, curate topical articles and video to send to participants in advance, prepare slides, workbooks, ice breakers, energizers, and any other relevant material needed for the session. I need to allow enough time to do a dry run of the session with my L&D peers, implement any feedback and be ready for first delivery day. So exciting! This brings us to lunchtime! Before that though… let's grab a nice sandwich! Never skip your meals 😊 Next… I need to prepare a Training Evaluation Report for a webinar session delivered last week. This is responsibility no. 3. Learning Evaluation Alrighty, let's tackle this evaluation report by analyzing all data gathered after the session, via surveys and data comparison (from before and after the webinar). The data could include answers to questions like: “How satisfied were learners after each webinar?” “Did they find the content relevant and practical?“ ”What was the employee engagement throughout the session?” ”How was performance improved because of the webinar?” “Would they recommend the session to a colleague?“ This is the infamous NPS score. The main objective of learning evaluation is to measure the impact on the business along with learner satisfaction. Moreover, we will use any valuable information for future learning programs. Very often, preparing the report isn’t enough, I also need to send this evaluation to all stakeholders. My communication of the results must be clear, summarized for easy understanding but with enough data available, in case it’s needed. Luckily, I have been working with these stakeholders for a while and know what kind of data they need and how they prefer it is presented. All of this takes me to responsibility no. 4: Data Analysis This is the process of comprising the assessment, transformation, and arrangement of a set of data in a given manner to extract useful information. As a L&D professional, I am accountable for the information I provide to our stakeholders, before and after a learning experience. My personal journey through upskilling myself in this area has been exciting, challenging, and extremely useful. Using data effectively to demonstrate the impact our learning experiences have on the organization is the best tool to enhance a learning culture, prove our worth as L&D and place our department in the top priorities for the business. Data is your friend! Get better at it! The last part of my day is usually devoted to studying, reading, researching, and (tadaaa!) learning. This takes us to the final stop of this ‘day in the life’ journey and that is: Continuously improving your L&D Skills I always stay hungry for new knowledge, to improve my technical skills, and to learn about the business I work in. My tip to you - keep yourself updated, read a lot, take courses, and always be curious about what is new in the learning industry. I like to keep a good balance between my technical skills, like data analysis, learning content design, time and project management, and my interpersonal skills, such as change management, communication skills, emotional intelligence, creative problem solving, feedback abilities, and others. Keeping yourself updated, motivated and knowledgeable will be the best investment you do as an L&D professional. You will inspire others to do the same. For more resources and information on Learning & Development, make sure to check out our flagship course Learning and Development Fundamentals: Practitioner's Guide . So, my friends, this is how we wrap up our Monday, time to rest but… before we forget – let’s pour a nice glass of your favorite evening beverage (for me it’s wine!) to wind down and get the evening started.