Great Webinars: Create Interactive Learning That Is Captivating, Informative, and Fun

Great Webinars "Great Webinars provides a profoundly practical andeasy-to-follow template for creating and facilitating stimulatingwebinars that engage learners as active participants, whilecreating the kind of energetic 'buzz' that is the hallmark ofsuccessful learning experiences. The book is sure to benefit bothseasoned instructors and subject matter experts who are new toteaching. I sure wish this book had existed when I began conductingwebinars back in the mid 1990s."—Carol Willett, former chieflearning officer, US Government Accountability Office "Not only has Cindy Clay put the adult learning principles intopractice, she has created an approach to the design, developmentand delivery of a virtual workshop that is potentially moreengaging than being face-to-face. Great Webinars captures all theessentials to creating a great on-line learning experience. . . .Thanks to the lessons learned in this book, we can now move fullspeed ahead with our e-learning strategy and I can now feelconfident we will be teaching versus simply reaching ourcustomers."—Karen Pacent, director, Learning and LeadershipDevelopment, United States Tennis Association "Great Webinars is written in a smart, authentic, practical,sassy, and easy-to-follow way. It reminds us to bring ourparticipants' experience front and center if we want them to beenthralled, and the learning environment to be enriched. CynthiaClay lets her own students tell us what is wrong with the currentuse of webinars and then proceeds to teach us how to build 'embetter. It's like having her sit beside you saying, 'Don't worry .. . I'll get you there.' And she does."—Beverly Kaye,founder/CEO, Career Systems International; coauthor, Love 'Em orLose 'Em and Getting Good People to Stay

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments xv Foreword xvii Introduction xxi 1 Virtual Facilitation Gone Wrong 1 Putting Up with Poor Preparation and Content 3 Looking for Interaction and Collaboration 6 Getting Instructional Materials and Class Size Wrong 8 Encountering Trouble with Technology 9 Offering Hope 12 Homework 15 2 Getting It Right 17 Presenting a Web Workshop Example 17 Capturing Attention 24 Keeping the Class Size Small 24 Smiling for the Camera 25 Using Interactive Tools Effectively 25 Homework 28 3 Know Your Audience/Know Your Objectives 29 Learning Your ABCs 29 Identifying Objectives 31 Writing Objectives Using STAR 32 Finding the Right Words 33 Connecting Objectives to Exercises 34 Attending to Learning Styles 35 Wrapping Up 36 Knowing Your Audience 36 Getting Personal Before the Workshop 37 Getting to Know Your Organization 38 A Few Best Practices 39 Homework 41 4 Interaction and Collaboration 43 Defining Interaction and Collaboration 44 Why the Distinction Matters 45 Using Interactivity Tools During Participant Introduction 47 Using Chat, Poll, and Raise Hand for Participant Introductions 51 Letting It Flow with Chat 53 Polling for Knowledge or Interest 53 Having Fun with Collaborative Learning 54 Performing Whiteboard Wizardry 63 Sharing Desktop Applications 64 Showing Tool Usage and Benefits 65 Homework 67 5 Powerful PowerPoint Pointers 69 Improving Slide Design 70 Slide Content and Delivery 72 Voice 73 Pacing 73 Flow 73 Differentiating Between Presentations in the Physical and Virtual Classrooms 74 Homework 76 6 Repurposing from Traditional to Virtual 77 Revisiting Adult Learning Principles 77 Presenting Some Common Repurposing Errors 78 Breaking the Ice 79 Conducting Peer-To-Peer Discussions 81 Employing Role Playing or Practicing 81 Modeling Behavior 81 Employing Self-Assessments 85 Charting Ideas on a Flipchart 85 Asking Questions and Checking the Pulse 86 Presenting a Video 87 Presenting with PowerPoint Slides 88 Checking for Understanding 88 Coaching Learners 89 Homework 94 7 Learning Transfer 95 Converging to the Context that Matters 96 Putting the Learner at the Center 97 Convergence and the Facilitator 98 Homework, Indeed 101 Applying Learning Quickly 104 Apply the Learning Soon After Training 105 Have a Realistic Expectation of Training and Identify at Least One Application 105 Be Prepared and Supported by the Manager 106 Receive Incentives, Rewards, and Encouragement 106 Engage in Training Close to a Pressing Need 107 Get Tools and Resources to Apply Learning on the Job 107 The New Blend 108 Changing the Profile of Learners and Facilitators 109 Homework 111 8 Technology Trauma 113 Making It Look Easy 113 Managing Risk 117 Anticipating Things that Can Go Wrong 118 Preventing Things from Going Wrong 119 Handling Things that Do Go Wrong 120 The Breakout Room Blues 121 Homework 124 9 Getting It All Together 125 Presenting an Existing Workshop for the First Time 126 Taking Your Time 127 Employing a Host 127 Running Solo 128 Scripting Your Presentation 129 Using a Video Camera or Webcam 130 Web Platforms are not Created Equally 131 Creating the Training Event 132 Parting Words 133 Homework 134 Glossary of Terms 135 Appendixes Appendix A: Virtual Facilitator Self-Assessment 137 Appendix B: Interactivity Tools 139 Appendix C: Repurposing Samples 141 Appendix D: Using Interactivity Tools for Repurposing 145 Appendix E: NetSpeed Fast Tracks 149 Appendix F: Assessing a Virtual Training Program 151 Appendix G: Delivering Webinars to Large Numbers of Participants 153 Appendix H: Creating a Risk Management Plan 157 Appendix I: Logistics Checklist 161 Appendix J: Design an Interactive, Collaborative Learning Experience 163 Appendix K: Resources for the Virtual Trainer 165 Notes 169 About the Author 173 Index 175

About the Author :
Cynthia Clay is the founder and president of NetSpeed LearningSolutions. Her company provides learning and training programs thatblend the best of instructor-led training with web-basedperformance support and measurement tools.