Once upon a time, we all gathered together – physically. Meetings, workshops, and classes required participants to be in the same room at the same time.

Those days are over. In addition to the ubiquitous webinars, virtual meetings, Facebook Live events, and online classes, an interesting hybrid has emerged: the trainer or teacher in one location with the students assembled in a different one.

For the purpose of this post, let’s call this a remote workshop or remote training.

When the group is together and the trainer is somewhere else 

Since I stopped getting on airplanes – another topic for a future post – I’ve been doing more remote workshops with live groups.

This might be a conference breakout session or  a board training. The typical technology: a webinar platform that includes my slides, my voice, and a video feed of my smiling face, plus the ability for me to see and hear (sort of) what’s going on with the group.

For someone who enjoys interacting with people and playing off their energy, these jobs can be challenging. Nonetheless, it’s a growing part of my practice that’s generating good results.

Seven tips for effective remote training

If you aspire to provide training or facilitation from a geographic distance, here’s what you need to know.

1. Limit your content to 5 to 8-minute chunks. Working with a group when you’re not in room with them requires deep discipline. You need:

• Super-clear, non-jargony material
• Delivered in bite-size pieces
• Followed immediately by opportunities for participants to engage with that material

Nobody enjoys a teacher who drones away in front of the class. You know what’s worse? The giant droning head projected onto a giant screen. Don’t be that person.

2. Double-down on your visuals. If you’re using slides, emphasize graphics and photos rather than text. Animation and videos can help, but only if you keep things simple. When you really need the technology to work, you might be disappointed.

3. Designate an onsite assistant to manage the group. Some aspects of training can’t be done remotely: time management, calling on people who have questions, gathering the group after a break, etc. You’ll need an assistant-in-the-room to help with these tasks.

Focus on what they do, not what you say

4. Provide exercises and activities, then go away. Remember the first rule of adult learning: people remember 20% of what you say (perhaps even less if you’re not in the room) but will remember 90% of what they do.

So give them stuff to do: role plays, brainstorms, small-group quizzes, peer problem-solving, etc. Tie these exercises directly to whatever content you’ve just presented.

While they’re working, you can step away. True story: in the middle of a recent remote workshop, I set up an exercise, handed it to the participants, went outside to fix a leaky drainpipe, then returned to ask what they had learned from the exercise.

5. Debrief everything. Ask the group what they learned and how they might apply it. Whenever you request feedback, expect an awkward pause – which will feel even longer because you’re not physically in the room.

Wait patiently. Someone will bail you out.

Trust your design, trust the group

6. You can’t read the room – don’t even try. One of my facilitator superpowers is reading the room, so working remotely feels like eating Kryptonite. It’s pretty much impossible to know what’s landing, what’s missing, and how to adapt on the fly.

My advice: trust your design, trust the group, and don’t worry too much. Once the job is over, you can read the evaluations, talk to the client, and adjust accordingly the next time out.

7. You are the energy – deliver strongly. Project your persona and your energy through your computer. Speak clearly and little louder than normal, but don’t shout. Articulate your words.

Light your face well and, if possible, use a neutral background. (Sorry, we don’t need to see the piles of stuff in your office.) Look into the camera with warmth and empathy – it makes a big difference.

If you want to feel more energetic, facilitate your remote workshops while standing up. It’s a classic trainer trick.

Remote training is a good compromise

Our ever-more-virtual world creates costs and opportunities. While I still believe (and believe strongly) that the most powerful learning occurs when everyone is in the same space, that isn’t always possible.

Based on my experiences so far, I’ll say this: remote training saves money and travel time, reduces our carbon impact, and provides a positive, productive learning environment. It’s not optimal, but it’s a good compromise.

With thanks to my colleague Dianne Russell of the Institute for Conservation Leadership for sharing her wisdom on this subject.