In today's business landscape, executives are often tasked with leading online meetings and virtual events. These sessions are essential for decision-making, collaboration, and keeping teams and stakeholders informed. However, as the online world becomes increasingly prominent, the need for effective moderation has never been more critical.

Gone are the early days of the pandemic when many leaders were pivoting and adapting to a new way of working. Online presentations are now commonplace and a critical means of leadership communication; in this blog post, we'll explore when and why executives need a moderator for their online sessions.

The Rise of Virtual Meetings

The rapid adoption of virtual meetings, webinars, and online sessions has been accelerated by technological advancements and the global shift towards remote work. While these digital platforms offer tremendous benefits, they also introduce unique challenges that can hinder productivity, engagement, and the...

Originally published March 2023

Presenting in front of people can be nerve–wracking – it doesn’t matter if it is in person or online. Many of us tend to be hard on ourselves and think that we appear incompetent if we make a mistake or that we’ll be judged harshly. It's one of the main reasons people tend to stick to a script rather than pausing, connecting, and having a conversation with their audience.

We don’t have to feel this way!

Let go of the need to be perfect. Instead, incorporate these tips to truly engage your audience when you're in the spotlight.

Tip #1: Focus on things that matter

When speaking, even in a casual setting, people tend to use filler words to allow their brains to catch up. Filler words can take the form of "um," "like," "okay," "you know," and so on, and these are common and natural. An excellent way to check OVERUSE of fillers is by recording yourself and tallying every time you stall the wording of your...

Beta Testing

Hurrah! Your online course is complete!

So, now what?

The first thing to do once you have a completed course framework is to make sure that it all works and flows properly.  When it comes to online courses, you’re not only looking to make sure that it actually works, (the technology and software are functioning as desired), but you will also want to make sure that the content flows properly, makes sense to your target audience and yields the results you had intended and are promoting.

Although it can be tempting to launch right away, the benefits to testing before launch are plentiful and should be thoroughly considered.  

These include:

• The ability to understand how the flow of the course will work in real-time
• Seeing and reacting to actual results and transformations within your students
• Collecting testimonials or case studies suitable for launch and promotional messaging
• Understanding the degree of...

Part III - Production

In this third installment of our Creating an Online Course series, we’re going to be chatting all about the best practices for producing your content and then in Part IV, we will discuss how to incorporate beta testing models to ensure your course runs smoothly when it’s time to launch! 

If you haven’t yet read Part I and Part II of this series, we highly recommend going back and getting those under your belt first so the tips and tricks we chat about in this article make more sense.

Let’s hop right in!

So now that you’ve put all of the content together in a manner that flows properly and meets your learning outcomes, it is time to film, record, and edit your online course.

For many, this is the most intimidating phase of online course development. Depending on the nature of your course, this may include getting in front of the camera, which can be daunting for many.  

Before we get to filming though, let’s...

Part II - Facilitation

In Part I of this series, we discussed the boom of online learning, the benefits of challenges that most course creators and students face and the best practices for preparation and development of your course.

With those foundational pieces in mind, let’s talk about how to best facilitate your course material to ensure that you are delivering an inclusive, engagement-friendly, and educationally impactful experience for your learners.

Facilitation - How to Get Started

When it comes to the actual facilitation of your online course, there are a number of areas you are going to want to focus on, including:

• Securing the Tools of the Trade
• Creating a Comfortable and Inclusive Environment
• Outlining Clear Goals and Expectations
• Offering Behind the Scenes Support
• Fostering Participant Communication
• Including Opportunities for Engagement
• Facilitating Forward Movement

Within this article, we will go through each of these areas with recommendations on how to best...

Part I - Planning & Development

The Boom of Online Learning

As we all know, the last 2+ years have brought about many changes (read challenges) when it comes to how we do business and more specifically, how we train and learn. That said, it has also offered a number of growth opportunities in areas where it previously didn’t seem plausible.  While that doesn’t make the hardships of the last few years disappear (far from it), it does open up some thought for where we can go from here, especially when it comes to online education and training.  

While the pandemic certainly skyrocketed the boom-like growth within online learning, virtual events and the overall enhancement of virtual facilitation, the online education industry was actually already experiencing significant growth and adoption in the years leading up to it.

As a result, learning and streaming platforms come to the plate in a big way, as you can see in the graphs below that demonstrate the...

Best Practices for Hybrid Events

As we make the triumphant return to in-person gatherings, we’re also beginning to see the return of live events. While it is certainly exciting to see the return of live group learning and especially the rise of hybrid type events, they’re not without their own set of challenges.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term hybrid event, it is the process of combining a live event with a virtual one, so that people can attend regardless of their location and level of comfort given ongoing concerns related to Covid-19.

While restrictions have been lifted in most places, there is still hesitation from many to travel or attend conferences where there are a lot of people in one place, making the hybrid structure a great avenue to accommodate a larger and more geographically dispersed audience.

Benefits of Hybrid Events

Aside from the obvious benefits for those feeling uncomfortable with in-person gatherings or events, there are several key...

The Importance of Feedback

When we’re learning a new skill or enhancing existing skill sets, one of the most important parts of that learning curve is feedback. Honest feedback helps individuals to learn and grow in a fashion that is supportive and appreciative. For many, feedback serves as an important motivator for growth and expansion, allowing the recipient to gain real-time constructive points to help improve their performance. 

Understanding how we are perceived by others is paramount when learning a new skill, especially one in the field of communication.

The best feedback takes place when the provider is actively listening, analyzing and offering the best solutions for improved performance. Improved focus typically leads to improved results, making feedback an essential mechanism to effective public speaking. 

The benefits of offering constructive feedback

At shiftED, we know that offering constructive and positive feedback is the cornerstone to...

 Do you find yourself asking how to create agency for the future? 

Do you struggle with how to best utilize the wealth of knowledge that you have dedicated your career to building? 

Do you frequently ponder the future of your industry? Your career? Your business?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re not alone.

In fact, these questions are becoming more and more common in our chats with colleagues, students, and leaders alike, and are being asked of educators and thought leaders globally. Given the leveling of the virtual playing field over the last few years, the future of learning is in flux.  Not only has the playing field shifted, the players have too, so what does that mean for you, as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and your legacy of knowledge?

The people you’ve worked with, the problems you’ve solved, and the success you have cultivated all have a place within your knowledge legacy. We talk a lot about cultivating that...

If you’ve worked with us in the past, you’ve likely heard us mention the WOSLIE Way. If you haven’t, you’re probably wondering what it is.

WOSLIE is an acronym for six critical strategies for activating audience engagement during your presentations - whether they are online, in person, or a hybrid of both. While shiftED formulated the strategies, it is up to the presenter to determine how best to implement them, based on their audience, their content, their comfort and experience level, and other important factors. After we introduce these principles during our workshops and courses, we discuss practical applications for incorporating them based on specific participant scenarios. We believe there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to presenting, and take a heuristic view with our training and coaching. Because most of our workshop and 1:1 coaching clients have been primarily online for the past two years, the conversations have been dominated by...