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Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

  • 1.  Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 06-28-2023 09:42
    Edited by Megha Jetley 06-28-2023 09:47

    Happy Wednesday everyone! Let's begin our Tip of the Week discussion! The professional education industry experienced a rapid shift from in-person to virtual training models due to the pandemic. While businesses were shuttered and employees were working from home, virtual events became the dominant form of employee training. With virtual training normalized, hotels and venues, especially those that are having trouble maintaining staffing levels or have high turnover, can quickly and easily run training for your staff.

    Increase attendance, engagement, participation, and retention with these virtual training hosting tips.

    Open with energy

    Kick-off virtual training with a charismatic and energetic host. Walk attendees through the training agenda, review virtual meeting etiquette, and spend a few minutes guiding users through the software. Point out helpful menus, icons, and resource buttons.

    Promote participation

    Encourage virtual training attendees to participate throughout the session using their cameras and microphone. Include a fun event icebreaker to raise energy levels, reduce tension, and enable attendees to test their video connection quickly. 

    Avoid copy-heavy content

    Mix up content styles to keep things fresh. Include live video feed, pre-recorded video content, high-quality images, an interactive project board, and bold slides to capture attendee attention and keep it.

    Embrace gamification

    Host live challenges or contests and encourage trainees to participate. Promote engagement by offering prizes, perks, or reward points trainees can redeem for swag later.

    Schedule short breakouts for high-quality group discussions

    Incorporate five to ten-minute breakout sessions into your virtual training agenda. Organize trainees into small groups and send them into private chat rooms to discuss training topics, complete activities, or problem-solve as a team.

    Enable trainee interaction

    Include interactive elements like a live message board or virtual photo booth. During the event, check in with trainees regularly. Encourage them to ask questions, discuss challenges, and share "aha" moments in a message board or virtual chat room.

    Deliver surprise gifts or swag

    Schedule gifts, activity packages, or snack boxes for delivery before the event. If you're hosting an all-day or multi-day training, send a care package with coffee or a coffee mug, health snacks, cozy socks, and fidget toys.

    Track engagement during the event

    Keep attention and engagement levels high by incorporating live polling Live polling tools allow audience members to connect with the material and interact during the training.

    Include a Q&A session

    In every virtual training event, set aside time for a Q&A session. Encourage attendees to take notes and write down questions throughout the session. Ensure that hosts are available to attend and answer questions during this time.

    Encourage post-event engagement

    A trainer's job doesn't end when a virtual training session does. Confirm that you're available to answer attendee questions, discuss topics of interest, and provide additional assistance to anyone who requests it.

    Questions for you:

    •        How often do you host virtual training sessions at your organization?

    #CventTip

    #ManagingVirtualEvents

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    Megha Jetley
    Manager
    Cvent Marketing Department
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  • 2.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 06-29-2023 17:21

    How often do you host virtual training sessions at your organization? We do not have a scheduled training for hosting virtual events 



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    Elizabeth Rathje
    Assoc Events Coordinator
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  • 3.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 06-30-2023 10:46

    Our company has an entire platform dedicated to digital learning, virtual trainings with gamification of earning learning points and other things. There are pretty much several sessions hosted every day.



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    Rachel
    NJ
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  • 4.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 06-30-2023 10:49

    Our IT department does monthly virtual training on a variety of topics but we use Teams for this purpose. 



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    Lori Wildman
    Marketing Director
    DuCharme, McMillen & Associates, Inc.United States
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  • 5.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-03-2023 16:37

    Trainers that ask good questions of the audience and make trainings fun are the best ones



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    Dan Sadler
    Senior Sales Manager
    Margaritaville Hotel San Diego Gaslamp QuarterUnited States
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  • 6.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-05-2023 08:47

     How often do you host virtual training sessions at your organization?

    Once a month.



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    Jonathan
    NY
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  • 7.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-05-2023 19:39

    We're about to do a hybrid training, so this list is very helpful!  Over the past few years, we've done several fully-virtual trainings, but we prefer now to have an in-person option and also allow for virtual as well, to increase attendance. The notes on keeping people engaged are very accurate, because that's one place where the virtual trainings are less effective. 



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    Elena PEREZ
    Communications Coordinator
    SEIU - UHWUnited States
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  • 8.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-06-2023 06:06
    •        How often do you host virtual training sessions at your organization?
      • We have an ongoing series but it doesn't have a set schedule. 


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    Tori Martinez
    Event Technology Specialist
    Direct Travel
    United States
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  • 9.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-06-2023 18:20

    We have a library of pre-recorded virtual trainings.



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    Hallie Loeb, HMCC
    Event Operations Specialist
    CDW United States
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  • 10.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-10-2023 16:33

    How often do you host virtual training sessions at your organization? Weekly



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    Julie-Michelle Davis, CMP
    Meetings Manager
    Amex GBT - USA
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  • 11.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-13-2023 10:38

      How often do you host virtual training sessions at your organization? As a venue/hotel we assist clients all the time with hosting virtual events.  Westin Tampa Bay! 



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    Colleen Beck
    Director of Sales & Marketing
    The Westin Tampa Bay
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  • 12.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-14-2023 08:32
    •        How often do you host virtual training sessions at your organization?  Virtual trainings occur all the time depending on the organization within our company. Some are as often as weekly (IT) and some are quarterly. 


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    Leslie Daloia
    Events Specialist
    Corning IncorporatedUnited States
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  • 13.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-14-2023 11:28

        How often do you host virtual training sessions at your organization?

    Sadly a lot of our interaction is still virtual. Most of these are fiscal service, diversity, onboarding etc.  We also have college-wide mandatory training. Most of these are independent video-based - so it's nice you can do it on your own time.  But if you have questions you lack support.



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    Lesley Irminger
    Events Manager, College of Public Health
    George Mason - Office Of University EventsUnited States
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  • 14.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-19-2023 13:38

    We only use them quarterly, but at this time typically use Teams



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    Beth Vriesen.
    Events Registration Administrator
    Associated Bank Corporation
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  • 15.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-20-2023 14:19

    Questions for you:

    •        How often do you host virtual training sessions at your organization? We have a couple of Live Webinars that we host weekly.  We have participants register in Cvent then email them the WebEx link to join on the evening of the program.  


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    Robin Wiley
    Senior Medical Education Coordinator
    ZimVieUnited States
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  • 16.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-24-2023 07:18

    Once a month



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    Vijayathivakaran Mathialagan
    Web Analyst
    AstraZenecaIndia
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  • 17.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-24-2023 13:38
    •        How often do you host virtual training sessions at your organization? I watch a ton of training videos virtually but my company does not have any for their employees. We do training in office and most of it is for the different platforms we use; Cvent/Linkedin/Simpleview etc.


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    Virginia McCoy
    Sales Associate
    Visit Savannah
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  • 18.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-25-2023 12:06

    We have a database of relevant trainings that is available at all times. And we having meetings with different departments to train here and there, which are recorded for later use. 



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    Kayla Sisco
    in_person
    Meetings & Incentives Worldwide, Inc.United States
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  • 19.  RE: Tips for taking virtual training sessions to the next level

    Posted 07-25-2023 19:09

    I've personally never hosted one, yet. But I've attended many, and I think they're hit or miss with effectiveness and really depend on the attendees ability to focus. 



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    Teresa James
    Director of Sales
    Aloft Gainesville University AreaUnited States
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