20 Tips to Facilitate a Virtual Workshop – The Rookie’s Handbook

Running or facilitating a virtual workshop can be considered a daunting task for new virtual trainers. More complicated than a standard virtual meeting, there is a lot to remember, between the content, the tech and ensuring your participants are fully engaged.

New trainers could be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed by all this, which is why we have decided to pull together a handy guidebook of all the things we wish someone had told us when we first started doing virtual training.

We have done all the hard work for you, made the mistakes and found the best practices of virtual training so you don’t have to.

VTT’s top 20 tips on how to run and facilitate a virtual workshop

In no particular order:

1. Get everyone on webcam
Much like in virtual meetings, getting everyone on a webcam with you can increase the feeling of human connectivity and communication between both trainer and participants. Having your camera on as the trainer is important but giving your participants the opportunity to see and interact with each other via video is also key.

2. Try for one device per person
Virtual training works much better when it is attended by one participant per one device. While much less common in today’s current climate, it is not uncommon for co-located colleagues to suggest sharing a single PC for several participants. Virtual training is much more effective when each participant joins via their own, individual device.

3. Schedule breaks for long sessions
If your virtual training has been effectively designed, then you shouldn’t have any trouble holding participants’ attention and keeping them engaged. But for those longer sessions it is worth scheduling in time for a quick break, allowing them to take a comfort break, grab a drink or just stretch their legs for a moment. This lets them come back for the next portion of the workshop refreshed and ready to continue.

4. Manage the audio
Just as good audio is integral to a successful virtual meeting, so it is for a virtual workshop, as the main tool of communication. This being said, limiting participants by asking them to go on mute can be a huge killer of engagement. Instead, encourage participants to manage their mute, if for example they are dealing with excessive background noise, or feedback. Most platforms also give you, as host, this power, so don’t be afraid to manage the mute if you need to.

5. Be inclusive
Holding larger group discussion with all the participants allows a sense of togetherness and wider inclusivity to form during a virtual workshop. Make sure that whole group discussions are a part of your engagement during the workshop; some of the best conversations happen when a wider array of people are involved to give their thoughts and ideas.

6. Watch your timing
Running to time is important, especially in a virtual setting. Many participants need the virtual workshop to finish on time because they are going straight into another virtual meeting after. In order to maintain a positive virtual experience, be careful of your timings and also finish when you are supposed to.  


We hope that these facilitating a virtual workshop tips will help you to become the relaxed, confident and competent virtual trainer that you want to be.Read complete blog at Virtual training.

Managing Upwards - Supporting Your Manager Within Their Role

Having a good relationship with our colleagues is vital for ensuring that we are correctly managing upwards. But how about our manager? I’m sure a lot of us are guilty of complaining or moaning about something our manager has done, but often what a lot of people forget is that they are human too and a little support can go a long way. Having a good relationship with your manager will make your life and theirs a whole lot easier and hey, you might even become good friends.

Managing upwards is a term that you may not have heard very often. Simply put, managing upwards is about how we as individuals can get good at properly understanding our boss and learn to adapt our approach to get the most out of our relationship with them. Just as our managers have a responsibility to support us, we also have a responsibility to support them in their role. At the end of the day, we usually find that ultimately, we have the same goals and the more we can support one another the better we will feel.

Often, people who find themselves in a manager’s position initially have very little training on how they should perform or behave. We all make mistakes, and this is okay, it’s these silly slip ups that help us learn and grow as a person. Just because someone’s in a manager’s position doesn’t mean they won’t make mistakes, but there are a few things that we can do that can help to make a manager’s life a little bit easier. 

What can we do to help build a harmonious work environment?
Research has shown that satisfaction within the workplace will affect our general wellbeing. More information on this topic can be found via psycnet  So we want to help you do everything you can to make sure the workplace is a happy place. Having a good relationship with our managers will help build a harmonious work environment. One of the main things we can do is to be patient. Managers are people just like you or I, not fairy godmothers so allow them time to respond and handle situations. By allowing them time you will ease the pressure placed on them and they are more likely to have a welcoming response to anything you fire their way.

Know your manager type
Part of having a good relationship with anyone is understanding their traits and personality. No two people are the same, but we all know that people can be very similar in the way they act. Whether this is your lovable enthusiast best friend, your annoying sibling, or your calm and trustworthy next-door neighbour, different types of people can be categorised by their behavioural habits.

So what are they? I hear you ask. Firstly, there are typically 6 different manager types. These are the super planned, the process driven, the visionary, the super agile, the harmonious and the ones who are always in the detail. Now you’ve heard what they all are but what do they mean? And how can you manage your manager a little better? You’ll be pleased to know that with each manager type, there are certain tips and tricks you can use to make your work relationship with your manager more straight forward.

Super Planned- This type of manager is likely to be ultra-organised and will always plan ahead. They will also be driven by deadlines and will more often than not, love a project. Typically, the best way to deal with this type of manager is to be realistic rather than optimistic with what you can promise. Be proactive with providing updates throughout a project or throughout a deadline and remember to not take anything personally if your manager communicates in a direct manner.

Process Driven- This type is similar to the super planned in some ways. However, their main incentives are driven by their logical, rational and decisive behaviour and not to mention their desire to stick to the rules and love for justice. Building a good relationship with this type may feel challenging at times, however, they may just need a gentle reminder to be aware of the human side of everyone in the team if they become engrossed in a project.

Always remember to be clear on the rules so that you can always make well informed decisions. Above all, remember to stick to the facts and stay rational, especially if conversations become challenging. People are people, often when work gets in the way this can be easily forgotten but knowing how to handle situations will reinstate the feeling of humanity.

Visionary- Next up we have the visionary. This type of manager always thinks of the bigger picture, they are brimming with ideas and innovation, and they will always be keen to brainstorm. There are a few things to keep in mind when communicating with this type of manager. Firstly, if they pitch an idea try to refrain from dismissing their concepts before you consider the positives that could be behind their work. Ask for their input before presenting a final solution and share with them what you are learning and discovering, they will always be happy to hear about your progress.

Super Agile- This type of manager is slightly different from the rest, in that they are spontaneous, reactive and under pressure this person will shine. When it comes to change, well they say a change is as good as a rest and the super agile will be excited by the thought of a change.

There are a few tips here that will help you build a good rapport with this manager. Firstly, be super-organised with your own work so that you can re-plan if things change. Offer to help plan projects with them and show that you are confident getting involved and remember it is okay to follow things up with them if they don’t deliver what they agreed.

Harmonious- Yup you’ve guessed it, this type of person will want to be everyone’s best friend. Typically, they will be a people pleaser, have a sensitive nature and will love nothing more than a happy team. Dealing with this type of manager is never usually difficult, however, there are a few things to still be mindful of. These people tend to be fantastic listeners so please try to resist dropping your problems on them.

It is also always nice to check in with them on a personal and professional level, showing and interest will mean a lot. If you have difficult information for them, give them time to process this so they can be confident they are making the right decision on behalf of the team. Finally, give them feedback on how they have helped you personally. It may not seem like a lot, but a harmonious person will be delighted by positive feedback, especially if they think they have personally helped another.

In the Detail- Finally, we have the manager who is always in the detail. This type of person will generally always know what’s going on and in some ways will always seem like they are one step ahead. Often, they may have been promoted from within the team and will be happy to get stuck into the work.

There are a few things you can do to help this kind of manager out. One of the first things is to be confident within yourself and approach them first providing them with the details they require, trust me they will love this. You can also be prepared with your answers so you’re able to provide detailed feedback when asked. Above all, ensure there is clarity within communication, so they are sure that you fully understand what is expected.

See More tips for managing upwards at Virtual Training.

How to Encourage a Work-Life Balance in Your Organisation

In the last year or two, many of us have been faced with learning how to manage our work-life balance. We were thrown into working from home, and I don’t know about you, but I ended up working very random and often longer hours, as work was easily accessible from my ‘tiny box’ home office.

Over the months, I’ve become better at managing this and now consider myself a segmentor, not to be confused with a dementor Harry Potter fans! However, it’s been a rocky road and for many of you reading this blog, your organisation may still be in the midst of determining whether or not you will return to the office full-time, remain at home or if the future is hybrid.

With all this impending uncertainty in our work-lives, now more than ever having a good work life-balance is critical. When we have more stability in one area of our lives, we are more resilient in coping with uncertainty in another area of our lives and dividing work and home life can be a good way of building that resilience. In this blog, I share why creating a good work-life balance is important for your teams, share some of the latest research and science on work-life balance and discuss why you should be encouraging a better balance in your organization due to the wealth of benefits for everyone involved.

What is a segmentor and integrator?
Before we go into the importance of work-life balance, what exactly is a segmentor or integrator I hear you say...and how can you identify them?

First let’s chat segmentors!

These individuals create a rigid boundary between their personal and work lives. They shut their laptops at close of business and don’t return to the daily grind until opening time the next day. They may have a physical ritual to detach themselves from work to home… prior to COVID this may have been a commute home or getting changed into their comfy clothes when they get back home. But when working from home, they tend to get a little more creative.

As a segmentor myself, I go for a walk in the morning just before I start work, as a placebo commute! I also move into another room on my lunch to physically detach myself from my laptop, so it’s out of sight and out of mind.

By contrast, an integrator is someone who’s work and home life is a blur. It has no start and no end… there is no clear line drawn between the two, and they thrive when working any and all hours to get the job done. These individuals may take comfort in their work routine and enjoy working so much that they view it as a part of their home lives, or I guess, part of their lives as they do not separate the two. Think of a business owner for example, they often run a business based on a hobby that they enjoy, and so business success is part of their lives and the challenges are often their ‘kicks in life’.

Now, in this blog I am not here to tell you that we should all be segmentors...because if we were all the same that would be boring. However, unsurprisingly much of your workforce will have a preference to segment and a small minority to integrate. And as you will see from research, segmentors are generally happier at work and naturally have a better work-life balance. Where problems may begin to arise is when preferenced segmentors feel the need to behave as integrators for prolonged periods of time.

Read our complete blog how to encourage work life balance in organization.You can take virtual workshops So,visit us.