Just like face-to-face education, online learning can be either exciting or dull—the style of presentation matters. Both slide design and the facilitator's delivery are crucial to an engaging learning experience.
Editor's note: This article is the first in a two-part series. Read Part 2 here.
Online learning platforms have enabled associations to reach a wider audience more efficiently and cost effectively. In fact, according to a 2016 Tagoras survey, "a whopping 90.2 percent [of associations] use one." Unfortunately, many learners don't give their full attention to live, online learning events because, frankly, they aren't very engaging.
Before we delve into engaging the online learner, it is important to make the distinction between engaging and engagement. If an online session is engaging, it keeps people's interest and attention. They are not tempted to multitask or go down the hall for a cup of coffee. A webinar—which is often a one-way delivery of information—may be entirely engaging. Engagement means having the online attendee interacting in some way, either with the facilitator, with fellow learners, with the content, or with the technology (i.e., his or her computer). In online learning, we strive for engagement.
When the slide stays the same for a period of time, this is a cue for attendees to start multitasking.
In this two-article series I'll address ways to ensure your online classes are both engaging and encourage engagement. First, let's address two key ways to make your online deliveries engaging: the slide design and the facilitator's delivery.
The most important element of engagement in the online classroom is the design of the slides. All online classes have slides as their basis; this is what is displayed to the attendees and is critical in keeping their attention. The online classroom is a very visual medium, and yet slides are often static and uninspiring.
Slides should be personable, colorful, and dynamic.
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Personable. Pictures of people and, particularly, pictures of faces summon our attention. Give attendees the ability to "see themselves" in the presentation. One resource we especially love is 123RF. It offers millions of royalty free stock photos and its prices are extremely reasonable. (Note: You only need to purchase the smallest size photo since it will be displayed on a slide and a small screen. Once you purchase the image you can use it in as many presentations as you like.)
Colorful. Color should be used in moderation, but a blank slide with simple text is deadly. Remember the rule of two: No more than two main colors, two accent colors and two font styles and sizes. This rule allows enough variety to highlight key words or draw attention to certain areas of the screen without being confusing to the viewer.
Dynamic. You do not want a slide with five or seven bullet points, which allows the facilitator to speak to that slide for a lengthy period of time. When all the material is presented at once, people will read ahead and not give their full attention to the speaker. Additionally, when the slide stays the same for a period of time, this is a cue for attendees to start multitasking. Even though the facilitator might be presenting new information, the visual cortex thinks, "There isn't anything new to look at here, so I might as well look at something else (like email)." At a minimum, build bullet points one at a time as they are being discussed. Ideally, have multiple slides with each emphasizing a single point.
The second critical element for an engaging delivery is the way in which the facilitator delivers the content. Vocal quality, engaging devices, and a variety of voices can all be utilized to capture and hold people's attention.
Vocal quality. The chosen speaker should have good vocal delivery, including a slow pace (to ensure understanding) and a variety of tones (commanding, conspiratorial, humorous, and so on). Think of a radio announcer or podcast host you like to listen to. They vary their tone, they laugh at their own jokes, they use pauses (silence) to capture attention, and more.
Involve the attendee's imagination. Many associations use subject-matter experts to delivery online learning. This is wise, since they are the experts, but unfortunately it often results in a soliloquy of content. In addition to the factual content of the presentation, encourage the telling of real-life stories to engage people's imaginations. Just as we like looking at pictures of other people, we like hearing about them as well. Yes, it is important to know the symptoms and treatment of salmonella, but it is more engaging to hear about six-year-old Jenny who went to a friend's birthday party and …
Variety of voices. It is very engaging to hear more than one voice. In the work that we do, we use a "producer" as well as a facilitator. The producer is a behind-the-scenes support person who is there to assist both the facilitator and the attendees with the technical aspects of the classroom. In order to provide vocal variety, we also have the producer greet participants as they arrive, give instructions regarding the use of the classroom tools, and deliver small pieces of content. (For instance, the producer may cull questions from chat and verbally present them to the speaker.) This variety of voices captures people's attention because it is a break from what they are used to hearing.
In Part 2 of this article, I will focus on using the tools in the online classroom in order to encourage engagement with the content, the speaker, and fellow attendees.
