Course Description

This half day virtual session is designed to give delegates the opportunity to consider how best to facilitate a meeting, presentation or training event using Microsoft Teams.

This will be an interactive session using Microsoft Teams, where we explore:

• The role, responsibilities, skills and qualities of an effective facilitator in a virtual world – and how this differs from face to face facilitation
• The challenges and benefits of moving sessions online
• Before the session: what do we need to do in preparation for the session?
• Designing an interactive session that encourages audience participation and engagement
• Choosing the right content, tools and material using Microsoft Teams
• Personal skills to use when facilitating a virtual session
• Hints and tips – sharing best practice and experience

Course Outline

Welcome, objectives & agenda (including use of opening slides)

Challenges & benefits of moving training online

• Capturing the challenges & benefits of facilitating a meeting or event online
• As an attendee learner, what would you want in a virtual session?
• As a facilitator, what’s important to you?

Preparing for the session

• What’s different from face to face training?
• How do you decide the method of training?
• Number of delegates and their personal situations
• Timings
• Objectives
• Setting up the meeting on Teams
• Issuing invitations
• Sharing agendas/ documents/ other information prior to the session
• Mitigating any challenges for self and attendees e.g. technical

Designing the session

• What might the session look like?
• How can they adapt existing material?
• How can they ensure interaction?
• What tools and techniques can they use? (e.g. Chatbox, emojis, annotation, polls, additional technology)
• Suggestions for interaction, discussion on the value of each of these, and when most appropriate.

Facilitating the session

• Initial instructions and information
• Building rapport
• How do they want to come across to ensure engagement (including visual, energy and tone of voice)?
• Sharing slides – viewing presenters notes
• Creating an interactive session with participation from all attendees, raising hand, chatbox, discussion, breakout - how to set these up and polls

Hints and tips

• Testing the session (including technology)
• Best background, including use of microphones, headsets, mute.

Personal actions

• Next steps, support needed and commitment