We’ve all had to get used to new ways of communicating this year as face-to-face contact has been replaced by a whole lot of screen time, whether that’s Skype chats with family or the inescapable lockdown Zoom quiz.

For us at Delib that’s also meant a change in how we deliver training to our customers to help them get the most out of our products. We’ve had to make a switch from travelling to our lovely customers to deliver training in-person, to working out how to maintain the quality of our training sessions online, and how to help our trainees get the most out of their session.

Here’s what we’ve learnt.

Tips for trainers

  • Have a co-host for your session — it gives you a chance to breathe and regroup, and keeps things lively for your attendees.
  • Give your attendees the opportunity to test out any features you will be using throughout the training — such as instant messaging — at the start of the session, so that any issues can be picked up.
  • Be aware that your trainees can’t see your content as well as you can. Give plenty of descriptive detail in your session and always offer a PDF download of the content for reference.
  • There’s probably going to be a lot of information for your trainees to digest, and on-screen learning can be tiring. Give multiple short breaks throughout the session to help them stay focused.
  • The internet will almost definitely flap and devices will fail. Accept that no matter how prepared you are, you can’t control everything. 

Tips for trainees

  • The trainer may share some links or resources for you to have a look at in advance. If you get a chance to, familiarise yourself with these before the training. It’ll help prepare you for getting the most out of your time in the session (which is likely to go very quickly!) 
  • Carve out time and space for the session, so you can fully engage in it. Try to block out the training time in your diary to avoid the distraction of phone calls or requests from colleagues and – if it’s possible – find a spot to base yourself for the duration of the training where there’s likely to be minimal noise or distractions. Know that you can bring your personality to the session too – it makes it feel more like we’re all in the same room together.
  • Give yourself 5 to 10 minutes before the session starts to test out your microphone, video and the training platform so you are ready to go. And have your chargers handy! Battery power depletes really quickly — be ready for it.
  • Take advantage of the breaks in the session and grab the chance to get away from your screen if you can. Make a cuppa, stare out of the window, do some star jumps. Screen breaks are important.
  • Don’t stress. We know sometimes your remote setup won’t be the best, the internet will drop and you might be trying to use a small device to view the session. The support and training doesn’t stop at the end of the session. If you’d like us to stay online and demonstrate something again, we’re happy to — just ask us. If you need help the next day or 3 months down the track, we are here. We’ll arm you with loads of resources and guides as well. You are not alone!

We really miss seeing people’s faces in real life and we’d still choose in-person training if we could, but we’ve found ways to make remote training work. We hope this helps you with your next remote session, whether you’re training or learning. And we won’t tell anyone about those pyjama bottoms you’ve got on.

For more information about Delib’s products and training services, feel free to get in touch.