What makes a Great Virtual Facilitator?
The InSync Training team includes a group of fantastic virtual classroom facilitators who establish and maintain an environment where learners will...
2 min read
Jane Bozarth : Oct 14, 2020 12:32:13 PM
Years ago when I was teaching virtual facilitation skills, there was a section called “disaster recovery”. I poked fun at this, saying it seemed a bit too dramatic and asking if there had ever really been a Code Blue in a breakout room. Truth is, though, sometimes things do go wrong, and great staff with a great plan can keep hiccups from turning into full-blown failures.
For instance: Recently InSync Training, with a team led by producer Helen Fong, was supporting a small conference. The sponsoring organization estimated the number of registrants; it was within InSync’s license limit for the conferencing product. Then, the morning of the event, last-minute registration surged and quickly hit the license limit. Helen called the vendor’s support number and was told the license could be upgraded right away via credit card, but it would mean that the hundreds of people already present would need to log out and back in – a logistical nightmare. While Helen was working on this she needed to contact support again and a different person responded – who said the earlier information was wrong: As the product is cloud-based the additional seats would be available immediately. The support person made the change and while they were talking Helen watched the registration climb past the limit and up… and up. Problem solved. Disaster averted.
Helen said there were a good many planning and production factors in place that helped keep the situation from going off the rails. In working on larger events, particularly those with multiple and even concurrent sessions, she offers these tips:
Finally, Fong says, “There is no such thing as ‘TMI’. The more you know about the event, and who is doing what, and where, and when, the more likely you can fix problems quickly or avoid them altogether.”
The InSync Training team includes a group of fantastic virtual classroom facilitators who establish and maintain an environment where learners will...
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