Diana L. Howles - Next Level Virtual Training: Advance Your Facilitation

2022 ASTD DBA the Association for Talent Development (ATD)
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

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Virtual Trainer Capability Model 2022 Howles Associates LLC. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021952824

ISBN-10: 1-953946-03-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-953946-03-4
e-ISBN: 978-1-953946-04-1

ATD Press Editorial Staff
Director: Sarah Halgas
Manager: Melissa Jones
Content Manager, Learning Technology: Alexandria Clapp
Developmental Editor: Jack Harlow
Production Editor: Hannah Sternberg
Text Design: Shirley E.M. Raybuck
Cover Design: Rose Richey

Text Layout: Kathleen Dyson

Printed by BR Printers, San Jose, CA

by Diana L. Howles

Twas the morn of a weekday,

When throughout virtual space,

Each learner logged in,

With anticipation on their face.

They grabbed cups of coffee,

Clicked their join link with care,

In hopes their facilitator,

Soon would be there.

And I in my home office,

Nestled snug in my seat,

Dressed professional on top,

But in yoga pants with bare feet.

My producer joined too,

With a ring light in tow,

Settling in for virtual training,

Musing how it might go.

When more rapid than fire,

From across the globe, they all came,

We welcomed them onscreen,

And greeted them by name.

But then to my surprise,

There arose such a clatter,

I checked the participant panel,

To see what was the matter.

We heard dogs barking, adults talking,

Kids screaming down the hall,

I asked learners to mute,

To be less distracting for all.

They turned on their cameras,

But their silhouetteshow shrouded,

Their headroomtoo spacious,

Their backgroundsso crowded.

They posted chats, clicked reactions,

Raised virtual hands at will,

But when I asked a discussion question,

I heard crickets; all was still.

Then what to their wondering ears,

did they hear,

But my producer and I saying,

Breakouts are near!

Away to their breakouts,

They tried to join in a flash,

It worked on the third try,

Which was quite the mad dash.

Learners brainstormed on whiteboards,

With colleagues so dear,

Then returned to the main session,

To debrief with good cheer.

But then to my astonishment,

What did my bewildered eyes see?

I lost my internet connection,

No one could hear me!

I hurried to network settings,

Heartbeat racingwhat was wrong?

It looked like an outage,

But I didnt know for how long.

I texted my producer,

To forge ahead without me,

Found the hotspot on my phone,

And reconnected with plan B.

But the end of virtual training,

Had finally drawn near,

And my producer and I realized,

There was nothing left to fear.

We wanted to learn from these lessons,

Take our training to the next level,

Because that would be something,

In which we could revel.

So, close whiteboard,

Clear annotations,

Tidy desks where we sat.

Close poll results,

Stop screen sharing,

Post evaluation link in chat.

And I heard learners exclaim,

As they smiled real cute,

Its a good thing we read lips,

cause youre still on mute!

As the popular proverb reminds us, it takes a village to raise a child. Naturally, it also takes a village to craft a book from scratch. I would like to thank my treasured village for their contributions to this project. To begin, my deepest gratitude goes to the amazing virtual learning clients with whom I have worked over the years. You inspire me daily, and it has been a true privilege to work together in virtual space. Special thanks also to Huw Newton-Hill, Dean Stewart, Kelly Eno, David Gering, Vanessa Dennen, Kari Word, mer Arslan, Katherine Dalland, Kim Huettl, Michael Sitte, Laura V. Page, and Melissa Albrecht for their input, contributions, and willingness to share their expertise and work experience. As always, I am grateful to Michelle Sanders for her beautiful graphics. Special thanks also to Heidi Gering, Dawn Dorning, and Kailey Gering for their willingness to assist with illustrative examples.

Additionally, I am grateful to the virtual training platform vendors who graciously granted permission to share screenshots of their products. They include InSpace, Zoom, Adobe Connect, Webex, and LogMeIn. A special thank you to Matt Pierce at TechSmith Corporation, Kortney Clark at SkillPath, and Articulate Global for generously allowing us to showcase their work and/or products. Finally, much gratitude is extended to Michael @relaxdaily, whose lovely piano music played in the background for most of the writing of this work: youtube.com/relaxdaily.

I am also indebted to the entire ATD publishing team for their tireless efforts and exemplary commitment to quality. I am especially thankful to my exceptional editorial team. To my talented editor, Jack, thank you for continuing to challenge me at every stage to improve the manuscript. It is because of your expertise and experience that I have learned much about clarity, consistency, and coherence. To my production editor, Hannah, your enthusiasm for the project and your professional excellence are truly inspiring. Thank you for making the final product immeasurably better with your thorough and thoughtful edits. To my content manager, Alexandria, thank you for believing in this project and believing in me from the very beginning. Your championing and constructive feedback have been invaluable.

Most of all, I extend a heartfelt thank you first and foremost to Les, Karra, Casey, Susie, Lowell, Thomas A., and JJ, without whom this book could not have been written. You are my heart, and your support has been my constant companion, sustaining me throughout this exciting endeavor.