In addition to many other things, the current global health crisis has meant a period of rapid change for most organizations. We’ve been forced to adjust, adapt and amend the ways we operate and interact in our work-places, and, like it or not, we’ve had to embrace new working practices and fast track the use of alternative technologies.
Our dining room tables have replaced our desks, our living rooms have become an impromptu work-space, come meeting room, come classroom (shared sometimes with younger members of the household) and our commute to work (happily) has been reduced to just a matter of seconds.
From an L&D perspective, virtual training has become the de facto delivery method, but one of the biggest challenges to emerge from all this is how do you keep participants active and engaged for the duration of a digital session? The old adage of ‘the lights are on but no-ones home’ has quite literally taken on a new meaning!
The attention span of the average human being is … limited at the best of times, but we do really move into ‘goldfish’ territory when communicating virtually. Bearing this in my mind we’ve put together some fun tips and tricks for keeping your online audience engaged, energized and eager for more.
But before we hit that big thumbs up emoji let’s give some thought as to why introducing a couple of online energizers into your virtual sessions is a good idea:
Gauge the reaction – You want your audience to be attentive and receptive to your message. Use an energizer to get instant feedback, gauge reaction and if necessary change things up.
Create the atmosphere – Not everyone is comfortable being on camera so its important to create a welcoming and relaxed online atmosphere. Your session will be far more beneficial all round if your participants are relaxed and freely contributing.
Maintain the energy – keeping the energy needle firmly in the high zone will help to ensure participants remain engaged and hopefully want to come back for more!
#1: The Virtual ‘Simon Says’
Sitting in one spot for a prolonged period of time can be draining. This warm-up exercise is aimed at getting participants to move around a bit … objects in motion stay in motion!
It also tests the ability of participants to follow simple instructions as they take part in your online version of the classic kid’s party game ‘Simon Says’.
- Ask participants to stand and turn their heads first to the right then to the left
- Next, ask them to look down then up again.
- Then they need to bend sideways, first to the right and then to the left.
- Reverse the sequence, ask them to do the opposite to what you say, e.g. turn your head to the right (they should turn it to the left) and ask those that get it wrong to sit down, and keep going until there is a winner.
This should generate some laughter and make them feel more energized and relaxed.
#2: The Virtual ‘Show & Tell’
Similar to the “hello my name is ?? and I work in ??” icebreaker of the traditional training room session, this exercise can at the start of a session to create a sense of familiarity and shared experience.
- Ask participants to find one object in their home that reminds them of their lockdown experience.
- Have them give a one-minute presentation to the team on how their lockdown experience and what part their object played in that.
- Ask them to share what they learned about themselves during this period.
#3: The Virtual ‘Window on my world’
This simple and fun energizer is can either be used as an ‘icebreaker’ or a great way to kick start some banter if things have dried up a bit.
- Ask participants to take a picture of the view from a window where they currently are.
- Next, ask them to share two things they like about the view and two things they dislike about the view.
- Ask what they would change about the view if they were able to.
This exercise helps to assess their capability to voice their opinion on issues without feeling left out and can help to foster team spirit and interaction.
#4: The Virtual ‘Elevator Pitch’
In this energizer, participants are asked to think on their feet by pitching an item they’re seeing for the first time.
The facilitator shows an item and asks each of the participants for a quick sales pitch.
- You can physically produce the item, like a pen, pencil, flash drive and so on, or show an image on the screen, (you can get very creative and abstract here)
- Once the object has been revealed the participant has a set amount of time to deliver a convincing sales pitch.
- Participants are then asked for their feedback on each other based on certain criteria, originality, persuasiveness, creativity, etc
This exercise keeps participants firmly on their toes, particularly if it’s used at random, unannounced intervals. You will need to explain in your introduction that throughout the presentation you will be asking certain people for impromptu sales pitches (the certain people being those whose energy or participation levels seem to be waning)
#5: The Virtual ‘Who Am I’
Adding a game or team challenge to your session can be a great way to boost flagging energy levels. Here we have a virtual version of the family favourite ‘Who Am I?
- The facilitator asks each participant to write the name of a famous person on a piece of paper.
- Choosing 1 participant at a time to be ‘IT’ the others have to ascertain the identity of the famous person by only asked closed (Yes / No) questions.
Depending on the size of your group this game may be a bit too long or to keep on the schedule you can add a time limit or impose a restriction on the number of questions that can be asked.
It can be good fun and also serve as a nice segway into a questioning technique or communication learning session.
#6: The Virtual ‘Happy Sheet’
Emojis have become widely used as a light-hearted way to express your thoughts and feelings.
In this challenge, the aim is to get participants to open up and get a little creative.
It can be done in between sessions and be applicable in some way to the topic just covered or that’s coming up next.
- Create a chat, whiteboard or Google doc then post a sentence or phrase, that you would like to get some reaction to.
- Invite participants to give their feedback to the question or phrase but only in the form of an emoji or emojis.
- You could ask for feedback on the entire session only through the medium of emojis (If you’re brave enough J)
#7: The Virtual ‘Count Down’
This energizer game can be used to emphasize the importance of communication, acceptance of failure as a part of success … and someone’s ability to count!
Although it’s a simple counting game it encourages team spirit and collaboration, with a slight edge of friendly competition.
- Split the participants into two groups and ask each group to randomly count from one to twenty, the stipulation being only one can speak at a time.
- If two people count at the same time, the group loses that round, and this continues until a group can successfully finish up the count.
- The group that finishes first is declared the winner but the other group would also have learned the importance of non-verbal communication.
And Finally (Virtually)
Getting your participants to remain active and engaged during an online session doesn’t have to be the virtual equivalent of pulling teeth. With a bit of creativity, humour and the impetus to try something new, (which the current situation almost necessitates), your online learning sessions can become the stuff of legend!
At WHY Training, we are attuned to learning and people development.
We take time to understand your goals and objectives and provide individually curated solutions to address your organizational learning needs.
For more information or a quick chat on how we can work together please follow this link, WHY Training
