If you are a leader with an audience, you already know that engaging with the people in front of you is a critical part of the social experience. The humans in your in-person or virtual room want to be part of the conversation, not a vessel in which you are pouring information. And if you are teaching others, this engagement also serves to increase retention rates for your participants.
While there are bucketloads of methods for inviting participation, your options and choice will often depend on the size of your group, the purpose of your presentation, the audience composition, the time allotted, and your venue, to name a few.
For example, if your presentation is in a large theatre or auditorium with an audience of 300 and you have been offered 10 minutes on stage, you wouldn’t necessarily opt for audience engagement that involves moving about the room – theatre-style row seating and the timing do not lend themselves well for that freedom of movement,...
Curious about the future of presenting in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and various applications that can save you time and elevate your awesomeness? Read on. Whether you are creating formal presentations, delivering speeches, or any other form of communication, AI can be a game-changer.
We don't know about you, but some of our clients find the process of creating presentations to be time-consuming and sometimes even daunting. From brainstorming ideas to designing visually appealing slides, it can be a lot to handle. And let's not forget the pressure of delivering a compelling message that resonates with your audience. That's where AI comes in.
AI has revolutionized many aspects of our lives, and presentations are no exception. By harnessing the power of AI, you can automate the design process, transforming your ideas into eye-catching slides with just a few clicks. No more spending hours tweaking the layout or choosing the right fonts – AI...
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:
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.
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.
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:
Within this article, we will go through each of these areas with recommendations on how to best...
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...
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.
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...
The virtual learning industry is on a variable upswing. This isn’t surprising given the push to make everything more accessible as we face year three of this global pandemic. Everything from youth dance classes to group support programs have migrated to the virtual landscape and it has created a much more level playing field for virtual learning and professional expansion.
With increasingly user-friendly platforms, minimal tech setups and a much more educated and accessible audience, the move to online course creation is a buzz with activity. We have noticed this trend making waves with our senior executives as they look for ways to expand their offerings or round out their careers with a legacy-inducing bang.
However, with development and expansion also comes doubt and trepidation. We often hear from our participants that moving into the virtual learning space is intimidating and seems unrealistic, but that’s simply not true. That’s why...
The Presentation Skills course is in development, but if you pop your email here, we'll be sure to reach out to you as soon as it is released!