Virtual Facilitation Online

As globalization increases, more and more organizations are seeking to collaborate remotely, but keeping people engaged over the telephone is extremely challenging. Participants multi-task, and progress creeps at a snail’s pace.

Virtual Facilitation Online (VFO) is an online learning lab where participants will:

• Learn to lead engaging online meetings that elicit innovative thinking and creative problem solving.
• Gain competency in designing and leading virtual meetings that engage participants in multiple ways.
• Build confidence as a virtual facilitator
• Learn tools and techniques to elicit participation, enable meaningful discussion and accomplish virtual work.

Emphasis is on practical, hands-on learning, where participants have a variety of ways to hone their skills as virtual producers and develop basic skills essential to virtual facilitation, including how to use tested and proven collaboration tools.

Classroom sessions are live online (synchronous) over 8 Thursdays or Fridays, depending on the session. There are six 90-minute online sessions, two 120-minute online sessions, homework, and practice sessions both in class and as homework. Class size is limited to twelve participants, though additional sessions may opened as needed.

During each class, participants typically review the homework from the previous session, explore a new topic through a demonstration and practice session, discuss questions, and leave with a new homework assignment.  Participants are expected to spend about two hours between the sessions on homework assignments. Some can be done alone; other assignments need to be done in pairs or triads.

This course is built on the online collaboration tool, Adobe Connect - a flexible virtual collaboration platform where participants can build engaging meetings through the use of electronic sticky walls, virtual breakout rooms, and a variety of pods that elicit participation.

Participants receive a free trial license of Adobe Connect.

People who are leading geographically-dispersed teams, focus groups, departments, client engagements, or virtual events that need a high-level of participation and collaboration in order to be effective. All roles and sectors benefit, for example:

• Project managers
• Team leaders
• Executive directors and board members
• Facilitators, trainers and consultants
• Educators
• Coaches and mentors
• Active citizens and community organizers
• Marketing and sales professionals
• International teams
• Federal, state, local government employees

Participants must:

• Have access to a PC or Mac with up-to-date software that meets the minimum requirements for Adobe Connect. (http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect/tech-specs.html)
• Have access to a headset with microphone for VoIP communication.

An Early Bird Discount of $75 is applied if the course is paid in
full three weeks prior to course date.