Fear of “Death by PowerPoint” has swept across corporate America, leaving many anxious about presentations at large. Worse yet, these info heavy trainings have proven ineffective.
The bane of the corporate employee has become poorly constructed online trainings that fail to balance online training content. And the result is death by boredom!
Where does the problem lie? How can we save the poor corporate peoples ravaged by this cruel blight? The answer is simple: balance your online training content.
It is all too easy to overload online training participants with too much information. But too little information may prove underwhelming. The key is to figure out the right mix of online training content for your presentations.
This epidemic can be fought, though! The key is to understand how you approach presenting information. Once you have this knowledge, the next step is to strive for a better balance of online training content.
Understanding Valuable Information
The world of virtual training is all about establishing balance. Given participants of online training are often scattered throughout the country, it can be very easy for them to lose interest when online training content is dull. The problem lies in the very nature of conveying “information”.
Information is a tool to help manage, define, and develop business-related expectations. Information, though, is itself not terribly engaging if presented poorly. How are you presenting? Are you a PowerPoint slide hoarder? A talking track? Are you leaning too heavily on data, stats, factoids, definitions, and jargon?
Conveying information isn’t the goal of training. It’s a means to an end. What matters is if the information is valued by your learners.
Rather than focus on transmitting information, explore the personal value of the content you present.
Good content appreciates its audience by recognizing their needs. This understanding transforms figures, ideas, and concepts into personable anecdotes or in terms of professional applicability. From: “Professionals lose 31 hours per month in unproductive meetings and trainings,” to: “Let’s find ways to get you those 31 hours back.”
Trainees will be more attuned to the online training content if the information has apparent value. So create value!
Strategies for Developing Online Training Content
# 1. Understand your audience’s needs. Why are they attending? What will benefit them most?
#2. Determine the professional applicability of the information, an important step toward personalization.
#3. Use interesting presentation layouts to create engagement. Take focus and make it fun.
The Right Balance of Online Training Content
Now that we have a feel for content, let’s reconsider the presentation of content. Well, it’s pretty simple. A great presentation depends upon a premier platform. The industry standard happens to be Adobe Connect. So, we will evaluate presenting on this platform.
With Adobe Connect you will want to pay close attention to the tools for building a well-balanced training: Layouts, Polls, Q&A Box, Chat Pods, Breakout Rooms, Whiteboards. When it comes to data and jargon, 
these tools can help you deliver and dispense the right amount of content.
Consider handing out your content in Pez sized portions – digestible and leaves the participant wanting more!
Are you presenting a topic burdened with statistics? Couple figure heavy segments with periods of discussion using Chat Pods. Chats will allow individuals to digest the information you just delivered and share their own experience during the discussion.
What about topics that are mainly analytical or scholarly – such as a case study?
Polls are often used to introduce a topic, but at MeetingOne we know this tool can also be used to ensure information is being grasped—let us show you how. We would also recommend Breakout Rooms. This feature allows you to divide teams up to tackle and discuss a given topic. With Breakout Rooms, you can have teams find ways to best interpret and represent the value of the material. Find more information on our video tutorial.
Dependent on how you approach your information, make sure you take the time to encourage your participants to engage. Always ask questions (as often as every seven minutes). This helps you understand how well your trainees grasp what is presented. It may also guide participants to consider how the discussion immediately impacts them.
Now you have a few tips. The next step for improving your training is to learn how to better manage feedback.
Check out the MeetingOne webinar recording, “Optimize Online Training: How to Encourage & Control Feedback using Adobe Connect!”
More tips for better online presentations:
- If and when possible, provide to your participants content ahead of time.
- Move between modalities. If you start with a visual exercise, move to an auditory activity.
- Make sure different types of information (Statistical, Analytical, Quantitative, or Qualitative) are entirely separated, each with focused intros, bodies of discussion, and conclusions.
- Minimize jargon. If you have to use technical terms, do so in small doses.
- Take time to develop lines of reasoning, so you can ensure your participants understand how conclusions are reached.
