Think about all the virtual conversations you have been in, in the last week or more. How many captivated you enough to focus 100% on the conversation, pulling you back from the abyss of multi-tasking and what I call the "Death By Conference Call" mindset in my latest book - Effective Virtual Conversations?

​How important is it for you to have a memorable call with others? Do you want to be remembered as the person who broke the mold on the "regular" conference call mindset, or are you ok with being one of a dozen virtual conversations in any given month?

​Virtual meetings and conversations can be as engaging, and even more engaging, than in-person meetings, especially if you know how to create multiple engagement points with your attendees or participants. Whether it's a virtual team meeting, a check in conference call, or other, having a robust toolkit is critical in creating a memorable, and engaging, conversation. Throughout the 400 plus pages of my latest book, Effective Virtua Conversations, I cover dozen of strategies and even 24 different approaches (see Chapter 7). For the past seven months I've been hosting a series of community calls on different ways you can engage others  through our EVC Community Calls - check them out here.

​In terms of building your own toolkit, consider how you might incorporate more:

• ​Breakouts
• Annotation
• Chat
• Polling
• ​Questions which people can reply to or reflect on
• ​Real-time tasks and activities, people can undertake during the call/conversation. 

​With a new season coming up in a few days this is a great week to try out something different. Pick one of these strategies and give people a few minutes to reflect on or discuss their plans  and aspirations for the new season. See what impact it has and loop back with them in a while to see how things are going.

​We cover dozens of these strategies real-time, giving you hands-on experience in seeing them modelled, during the Virtual Facilitation Skills Essentials program. This program is starting again in a  short while - on Fridays from 1:15 - 2:30 pm ET with virtual sessions being held on zoom on April 6, 13, 20, 27, May 4, 2018
​Learn more about the program here - and for coaches interested, note that it is now approved for 8.5 hours of CCEs with the ICF.

​Enjoy your virtual conversations this week, and let us know through comments what you decided to do to engage your groups.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

This week’s Effective Virtual Conversation tip #32 comes from page 169 of Effective Virtual Conversations where I write:

“Less truly is more in virtual facilitation. First, everything you do, especially the first time, is likely to take more than when you expect…Since it is a natural impulse for most of us to try to put as much into a program as we can, this can lead to overwhelm”

In the virtual space, less is more, simpler is better. This goes from how many topics or ideas you want to cover in the call, to the approaches you might want to incorporate to the transitions you want to make. It usually takes more ime than you expect.

Over the past two decades I have worked with thousands of professionals – from leaders, to trainers, and coaches – who are designing their own group programs. Whether it is a one hour webinar or a full-day virtual retreat less is more in all aspects of design. Clarity is critical in the work that we do.

As you go to consider your design , ask yourself these questions,

• What does less is more mean in my work and programming?
  
• What is the primary focus?
• How does everything I am including relate to that?
• What are the elements which could be simplified?
• What are the instructions which could be simplified?
• How am I making, or how am I supporting connections back to that core?
  

Enjoy the start to your week,
Jennifer

Peer learning can be even more powerful than learning from a leader or formal instructor. In 1995, Griffiths, Housten and Lazenbatt from the University of Ulster identified 10 different models of peer learning. These included: peer learning cells, to mentor-mentee relationships, collaborative work, buddy systems and others. Check out Boud's article here which makes reference to them.
  
A 2017 study from Michigan State University[1] found that those undertaking an online course, learned better when hearing from their peers, than the instructor’s rationale. They scored 92 on an online test compared to 86. (Michigan State University. "Peers, more than teachers, inspire us to learn." Science Daily. ScienceDaily, 21 March 2017. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170321110341.htm)
 
As the study states, “"We found that receiving the instructor rationale led to lower final grades than both the peer rationale and no rationale conditions," Roseth said. "This gives support to the idea that, motivationally, the fact that instructors control grades, tell the students what do to, and so on, may be working against their efforts to increase their students' appreciation of why the class is important."
 
In the virtual space, building in both formal and informal peer touchpoints can be invaluable for learning and engagement. Every time I put people into breakout they come back energized.
Peer touchpoints could include:

• Breakouts  - see this recent Teams365 post on using breakouts
• Peer partners who meet in between the formal peer touch points
• Mastermind groups where you learn from each other
• Reading groups
• Social Media Communities (Facebook Groups etc)

What enhanced peer connections can you create in your virtual programming?


[1] Tae S. Shin, John Ranellucci, Cary J. Roseth. Effects of peer and instructor rationales on online students’ motivation and achievement. International Journal of Educational Research, 2017; 82: 184 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2017.02.001


Have a great start to your week,
​Jennifer

It is Monday and time for another Effective Virtual Conversations tip. This week we come to tip #25. In Effective Virtual Conversations I write "Feedback from your group is essential to facilitation growth and mastery". Whether you have been facilitating for one month or several decades, facilitation is a skill set where we are constantly refining our craft. Feedback is an important vehicle to hone our approaches and techniques, based on what our learners/groups like and don't like.

Many facilitators leave evaluation for the last session, when in fact you will want to ask for feedback throughout. Feedback about:
pace,
interactivity,
how the material/content is connecting with people,
the platform you are using,
and activities and techniques you are using.

What else might you be looking to ask for feedback around?

AT the end of my first session with groups I generally ask them these three questions (which we'll revisit again for longer programs):
1. What worked well for your learning today?
2. What are you taking away (or what has been reinforced for you)?
3. What should we do differently next time?

What I love about working with groups is that every conversation is different, because every group is different. This keeps our work every fresh!

What are the questions you want feedback on? How will you be evaluating your groups? For more on this topic refer to multiple sections of Effective Virtual Conversations including chapter 6 (Preparing for Blast Off) and 7 (Activities)

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Today's Effective Virtual Conversation Tip is about preparation pre-virtual calls or conversations. "Winging it" is not advisable with the many "bells and whistles" you need to manage in the virtual space - from slides, to breakouts, to ensuring everyone can get on the line, to recording, you'll want to prepare and possibly practice, based on your skill and confidence level in facilitating webinars, teleclasses and other virtual events.

A few weeks ago, I hosted an Effective Virtual Conversation call (next one is today at 11 am ET) which was dedicated to "Preparing for Blast Off", the title of chapter 6  in my book, Effective Virtual Conversations. 

In any call there is logistical preparation, preparation of our selves and tactical preparation.

It's good practice to get in the habit of doing things consistently when you are leading virtual sessions, which might entail running through a series of checklists to make sure you have all the bases covered. Throughout Effective Virtual Conversations I provide you with multiple checklists, worksheets and templates, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel.

Here's a list of 10 things you'll want to do each and every time  you are on tha call (modify for the platforms you are using) - Excerpt - Effective Virtual Conversations, page 219):

1. Have a list of your participants’ names (and contact details – phone and/or email).
2. Send out a reminder email about the call.
3. Know your material inside and out.
4. Have a back-up bridge line or system.
5. Make sure the recording is on.
6. Make sure you are on the line a few minutes early to troubleshoot with participants.
7. Make sure you start and end on time.
8. Review what you just did.
9. Ask group members to consider and/or share the main points of their learning and the takeaway/end result from the session.
10. Send out a follow-up email.
    

I hope that you'll take 5 -10 minutes today to note what you want to, or need to, have in place prior to your next session.

Enjoy!
Jennifer

It's Sunday and time for another video. This week I want to take us over to my sister site - EffectiveVirtualConversations.com. A few days ago  I posted a short video which brings one of our earlier blog posts this week to life - the Habits of Virtual Facilitators. You can view it here.

​If you are leading conference calls, or virtual teams, what are the habits, or things you do consistently to lead to successful and engaging calls every time?

Have a great Sunday,
​Jennifer 

Yesterday's Teams365 post explored several habits you will want to cultivate in hosting more effective virtual calls. On the flipside, there are several things that you want to avoid doing. In this post I am going to share some of the common habits we see transferred from the in-person realm, which may have a greater impact on the process and outcomes of virtual calls. Any of these items could lead to lower levels of engagement and impact in a virtual call.

There are also a number of habits we want to break which may be more magnified in the virtual realm. These could include:

• Using word fillers - ums and ahs
• Not having a plan for the all
• Not thinking about the key points (often 3 maximum) for the start, middle and end
• Being late for calls
• Trying to fit too much in
• Not asking for feedback
• Assuming everyone is ok - and ok with you
• Talking to much
• Not listening enough

(Source: Britton, Effective Virtual Conversations, pp 223)

Take a few minutes to consider which of these habits might be your downfall in leading virtual calls - virtual meetings, teleclasses, webinars. At the same time, note what you can do to avoid them. If you haven't taken a look at yesterday's post - Teams365 #1352 - Habits to Cultivate as a Virtual Conversationalist - take a click on over.

Have a great Wednesday,
Jennifer

Many professionals today operate in both the in-person and virtual worlds, bouncing back and forth between both virtual and in-person conversations.

While the conversations are not that different, the mediums are, and cultivating a number of habits to support more effective virtual conversations can help us in the long term. Just as we have developed certain ways of working in the in-person realm, there are several things we can do to make our work in the virtual space even easier, especially around setting everyone up for success with virtual conversations.

In chapter 6 of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations I share the following habits to cultivate (pp 223):

• Calling on people by name
  
• Reviewing feedback received and making tweaks every time you lead a program
• Doing a walk-through of the day/session/flow, even if you have run the program before
• Visualizing the roadmap of your call - noting the start, end and key points you want to reinforce
• Checking that your recording is really working
• Getting on the line at least 10 minutes in advance
• Using a blend of media, even those you aren't comfortable with

Habits are things we do consistently and starting to orient our schedule and attention around these areas can support us in easing into our virtual calls. What are the habits and regular practices you want to create so that you can lead engaging and impactful conversations every time?

Tomorrow we will turn our attention to habits to avoid.

Have a great Tuesday,
Jennifer

Welcome back to Effective Virtual Conversations tip #10. Today’s EVC tip is about how masterful virtual facilitators are highly effective in reading the environment of virtual calls.

All calls have their own rhythm and it can be very useful to make sure that you are regularly taking the pulse of a call. In doing this, facilitators will want to notice:
How people are speaking
The energy and tone of the call
Any visual cues if you are streaming

A general rule of thumb for in-person programming is to take the pulse of the group every 8-10 minutes, considering pace changes. A pace change might involve asking a question to the group, getting people to write things down, getting people to move to a breakout or getting people to do something real-time. You may also want to use this metric a touch-point in your own groups.

A related part of mastery is in creating an enabling environment for the call. There are several things you can do to create an enabling environment in the virtual domain including:

• Welcome people as they join the call
  
• Get people to indicate on a map where they are calling in from
• Make sure there is a personalized welcome email before the call
• Noticing energy flows and navigating pace changes accordingly
• Connecting people early on in the call to their WIIFM – What’s In It For Me?
  

What other things can you do to create an engaging and enabling environment for your virtual calls?

Have a great start to your week,
Jennifer
 

Today's Effective Virtual Conversation Tip #9 is all about being an active listener rather than a passive listener. In the virtual space all members of calls and learning sessions are required to amp up their listening skills.

When we listen in the virtual space we may have mutliple layers of cues - voice only where we can only zoom into the words we  hear. In the voice only arena we may be listening for:
Pace- how fast the person is talking
Pitch - how high or low the person is talking
The words they are using

These three things give us a lot of data in terms of the other person we are communicating with Are they relaxed, stressed, in a rush, need to get a decision?

One thing that is missing in voice only virtual platforms is our ability to get visual cues, which usually account for a significant part of the meaning of a message according to different types of research. Without these visual cues (how someone is standing when they speak, or if they are smiling or frowning), we may fall into a couple of traps:

Making assumptions based on what we think - If I have had an experience of communicating with Mary who is usually in a rush, I may make an incorrect assumption without taking the time to listen that she is in a rush

Not checking for understanding. Communication is a two-way street. Did our message get through as intended? Take extra time in a virtual domain to check this out.

What we can do to enhance listening in the virtual space:

Prime people for listening - As virtual facilitators get people "primed" and ready for active listening. Remind people to note pace, pitch and word choice, while checking assumptions and checking for understanding.

Use video streaming facilities where possible - Seeing those we are communicating with. Seeing each other can boost connection and trust levels, two essential elements for great virtual conversations.

Spend more time focusing on listening and communication skills in general

What's going to boost your virtual conversations?

Have a great start to your week,
Jennifer