If you’re a regular reader of these blogs, you’ll notice several recurring themes. Engagement and retention are two of the most repeated and important ones, but we haven’t focused specifically on training.
For some people, training ranks right up there with a long visit in the dentist’s chair. Adding the online factor makes it even more difficult to maintain attention and engagement, but there are numerous ways to make it successful. Here are four tips to make online training more engaging.
Tip #1 – Be Consistent
Have you ever watched a series of YouTube videos that all seemed similar but after a few [dozen] you realized you’re way off topic? You need to differentiate your videos so viewers want to watch and know when they’ve been redirected.
Consistent Branding
Branding and messaging are paramount to your organization but sometimes get overlooked in training materials. Follow your brand guidelines and use the same terms your customers and employees hear on a regular basis. In some cases, people view your training materials more often than they talk to you.
Consistent Host
Consider enlisting someone in your organization that’s particularly well-spoken to handle the introduction, Q&A and a summary message for every training segment you produce. They don’t have to be experts on the topic at hand … just a great, public-facing ambassador for your company. This will provide a familiar face and force your team to organize their message by scripting it for the “host”.
Consistent Location
Even if you change physical locations, try to maintain a consistent look and feel. Using your company’s facility and training in the location people work in is a great way to make the program relatable. Make sure the background is free of clutter and try to frame the camera(s) the same way in every video.
Pro Tip: Shooting tight and wide from the same angle allows a little framing flexibility and makes editing a lot easier.
If your facility isn’t conducive to recording training segments, consider a studio for the host and a small remote crew for the actual training or demonstration.
We had a request to produce a training segment for a ground penetrating radar system … mounted underneath a train car! The host was onsite in THE CUBE while a field crew streamed from a remote location. The result was technically formatted more like a nightly newscast and really fun to watch!
Tip #2 – Be Knowledgeable and Keep It Short
Maintaining your online audience is tough and gets progressively more difficult the longer they sit. Trainers need to know their presentation and stay focused on delivering a message succinctly. Don’t get caught up in stories or tangential topics … just instruct.
Yeah, this part is short!
Tip #3 – Utilize Second Screen Applications
Take advantage of interaction tools like chat, Q&A, and polling. Education Corner’s Learning Pyramid shows that active discussion increases retention from 5% to 50%. Slido is one of our favorite tools for interaction. It’s affordable, easy to use, and packed with features!
Pro Tip: If your organization only has a few experts, consider pre-recording your training so the same people can participate in live chat and Q&A while the course is presented to your audience.
Tip #4 – Archive Your Content
You put a ton of effort into your training … don’t miss the opportunity to memorialize it (even better, monetize it). The content you’ve created has value long beyond the first day it gets presented.
If the interaction elements were a hit the first time, consider a replay of your course and continue scheduling online training sessions until your audience dwindles. Then, make another one!
Even if the juice doesn’t seem worth the squeeze, start building an online library of your training courses. You’re building intellectual capital and reinforcing your brand!
Online training can be engaging! Try one or more of these tips and see how you, your team, and your trainees react.
At Encompass, we have unique backgrounds that situate us perfectly to produce high end and complex offerings. We’ve worked in broadcast television, touring entertainment, live sporting events, and countless convention facilities across the country.
We have technical design experience and a disciplined process in place that allows us to easily scale events and shift from in-person to virtual without angst. There isn’t much that’s beyond our scope and we love the intensity of putting on events!
If you’re a planner working to create an event, seeking help with virtual event technology, or simply want to learn more … we can help! Sign up below to receive our updates (we promise to keep your contact information secure and won’t “overshare”).