The “norm”… remember that? For those in trucking, who are used to in-person orientation and classroom training programs, delivering the same content has meant new challenges for keeping drivers’ attention. Zoom, WebEx, Skype, and Microsoft Teams have now become the de facto standard tools.

On the surface, the delivery should be the same - it’s still a live session. But, as those in-person programs have moved online, facilitators have discovered that there are actually major differences between the two delivery methods. The differences need to be recognized and the special challenges of a virtual environment need to be addressed.

Here are five things to consider:

Social cues

Within a group setting, students are not only focused on the presenter, but they’re aware of their surroundings. They’re seeing and reacting to social cues that other participants are picking up. If everyone else is paying rapt attention to the speaker, students will feel like they should as well. Ditto with zoning out. It’s up to the instructor to keep the students engaged both verbally and visually.

Online, however, none of the social factors exist. Even in virtual training sessions where the cameras are on, you still can’t tell what other participants are doing or how they’re engaging. That means participants can tune out, do something else without it being obvious, or leave the session altogether. To prevent that, those virtual sessions need to be compelling. The instructor has to be more dynamic, as do ways to illustrate the presentation.

Competition for attention

In a classroom, it’s a good bet that the instructor can see each time a participant looks down at his or her phone or stops paying attention to the speaker. Online? Not so much.

Even with computer cameras on, it’s impossible to know if the participant is looking at the presentation or something else. Are they typing and taking notes, or are they sending messages to their friends? Are they paying attention to the speaker or surfing other sites?

Much like the social cues in a physical class that keep people paying attention, the physical immersion in a dedicated environment helps keep people focused and not distracted. When they’re away from that physical environment it's a lot harder for people to stay zeroed-in on the speaker.

It’s easy to see the added challenge virtual delivery faces — the speaker, the content, and the slides – all need to be put in overdrive to maintain the engagement level.

Speaker quality

Many instructors do the job because they know the content well and are comfortable talking to an audience. That’s not the same as being a compelling speaker. Think of the many examples of ‘instructors’ who stand at the front and either read the slides or just recite stories from their own experience.

Online, that doesn’t work. Without the supports provided by physical attendance, a lackluster delivery falls flat and loses the audience fast.

Online, instructors need to speak comfortably at a consistent pace, with inflection and energy in their voice. Without endless umms and uhs. It doesn't need to sound like an over-caffeinated radio DJ, but it does have to have pacing and life in the voice. Think of a newscaster and how that person delivers content in a way that the audience follows. It requires speaking with a certain amount of polish.

The key to making it all work is to rehearse. And, then when you’re done, rehearse again. If the slides are built today and the session delivered tomorrow, without any rehearsing in between, it will sound clunky. Rehearsing and being comfortable with the material will help avoid stumbling. The effort will pay off.

Slide content

Slides and visuals need to give people something to look at that isn’t in the script you’re presenting. It doesn’t have to be a lot -- it can be an image that illustrates your point, maybe the key points in bullet form -- but it needs to be something for the audience to use as a mental bookmark. It should augment what you're saying… NO READING OF THE SLIDES. The subject of creating effective PowerPoint slides is a HUGE one, so I won't go into it in detail here (if you're interested, here's my webinar on the subject) but spend a bit of time thinking about what should and shouldn't be on those slides.

Note: You don’t always have to rely on slides. Videos can work, and sometimes just cut the slides altogether and have your face on the screen. That can be a great way to connect better with the audience, but it has its own set of challenges, which leads us to…

Lights, camera, sound

Watching segments on the news and infotainment shows, you see a wide variety of camera positions, lighting setups, and audio quality. It all makes a difference in the final product.

Here are simple steps:

• Have the camera at or slightly above eye level. No one wants to look up your nose, but the camera shouldn’t be too high above your head either (it’s not a selfie).
• If you’re sitting down, position yourself close enough to the camera that you’re visible from the chest up. If you’re too close it can look like a disembodied head on the screen, and if you’re too far it will pick up too much hand movement that can be distracting.
• Adjust the lighting to minimize shadows. There are standardized lighting setups that professionals use and you can mimic that pretty well with just a couple of lamps and selective use of curtains or blinds to control natural light. 
• Use wireless headphones/mic or the kind of in-ear phones/mic that typically come with mobile phones. If you use a large over-the-ear headset you look like you’re directing air traffic. If you rely on the computer’s built-in audio you’ll invariably get tons of background noise and poor quality audio. Mobile phone headsets are surprisingly good at providing clean audio.

Delivering live training and presentations online may be a new adventure for many people, but it’s not rocket science, so anyone can do it well. All it takes is a little preparation and practice. Then it will feel pretty “normal.”