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Top Tips (General)

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1. When you set up an online session, even if you plan to deliver it on your own, always set up somebody as your ‘co-host’.

That way, if for whatever reason you can’t start the call as planned (WiFi is down, the dog/your kid is being violently sick, your house is on fire etc.) somebody else can – even if just to tell participants that you won’t be there and will be in touch to reschedule – and nobody gets stuck in the lonely loop.

2. If you can, find somebody to deliver the training with.

This means that as the facilitator, you don’t have to do everything on your own (presenting/monitoring the chat/helping people out with technical difficulties etc.). Also, it lets you split and alternate the ‘talking time’, which also means that participants get to see and hear more voices and faces throughout a session. If that’s not possible within your organisation, why not buddy up with another intandem coordinator?

3. Always ‘arrive’ 15 minutes early to a session.

Again, this means you can let people in as they arrive and nobody gets stuck in the lonely loop. Not only does that mean everybody (including you!) starts the session more relaxed, it can also minimise set-up time in the beginning.

4. Make sure you’ve tried all the features you’re planning to use.

Whether it’s surveys, breakout rooms or using the whiteboard – make sure you’ve done a dry run. If there are quite a few steps or there’s a setting that you have to remember (e.g. the “share computer audio” box that needs ticking when screen-sharing), write yourself a quick cheat-sheet!

5. There’s no gold standard.

As with in-person training, there are different training styles and personalities – there’s no one way to do it and as always, a good (human) connection with your trainees tends to have a much bigger impact on them than your materials or tech skills.