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Virtual training courses have been in huge demand since the global pandemic shutdown, a boom for consultants like Kassy LaBorie who happen to be Master Virtual Classroom Trainers.
Kassy joined us on Instructional Designers in Offices Drinking Coffee (#IDIODC) this week to share her latest books, her favorite virtual training tips & tricks, and report from the front lines of the new normal in workforce training: The Zoom Training Session.
If you do not know Kassy, then you should watch this episode and get to know her. There are very few people who have been doing virtual online training as long as she has. And now, after months of mandatory online training/learning around the world, she has a fresh perspective.
Engaging your audience is often talked about but few really understand how to make that engagement happen. Kassy has seen it all. And she’ll tell you how frustrating it is to see the same mistakes being made over, and over again. Even more frustrating is how simple the solutions are to implement.
Sure, it takes practice. But everything new does. And that’s the most important lesson for most of us. Just because you have an online meeting tool doesn’t mean you know how to use it as an effective teaching tool.
A really important tip Kassy shared is to stop “cramming in content” just to fill the training hour. It’s advice echoed by other seasoned virtual training pros in the chat room during the session.
You also need to have the discipline to NOT talk. There are times when you NEED to leave space, or silence, for your audience to think, conjure up some courage, and write a statement or unmute and talk.
You can check her website listed below in her bio to learn more. But hanging out with her for an hour is much more fun.
Check out the full session including the always-informative chat right here.
About Kassy LaBorie
Kassy LaBorie is a Master Virtual Classroom Trainer on a mission to rid the world of boring slide reading lectures and passive live online participants! She’s the principal at Kassy LaBorie Consulting, training trainers to be virtual trainers around the globe each day! Catch her sharing tips on how to be a Virtual Training Hero on LinkedIn and at her website: KassyConsulting.com.
She is a virtual classroom master trainer specializing in developing trainers to be engaging and effective when facilitating programs in platforms such as Zoom, WebEx, Adobe Connect, and more. Kassy has worked with many Fortune 500 firms in a wide range of industries and sectors, including hospitality, pharma, energy, government, NGOs, non-profits, and more.
She also trains and coaches producers, the virtual classroom trainer’s partner in effective facilitation, as well as instructional designers tasked with creating or converting content for virtual classroom delivery. Kassy also advises learning and development leaders in areas like virtual classroom strategy, technology selection, logistics, and more.
Since 2008, she’s participated in over 100 industry conferences as a speaker, expert panelist, and workshop trainer. And is a regular presenter at such events as ATD ICE, ATD TechKnowledge, Training Magazine’s 125 Conference, TechLearn, Learning Solutions, DevLearn, and many more.
She is a book author, having co-authored Interact and Engage! 50+ Activities for Virtual Training, Meetings, and Webinars (ATD Press, 2015). Kassy is currently writing another book (title TBD) to be published with ATD Press in 2021, on the topic of virtual classroom production.
About IDIODC
Instructional Designers in Offices Drinking Coffee (affectionately known as IDIODC) is a weekly live videocast and podcast that helps instructional designers with pain points and provides best practices and industry insight.
Every Wednesday morning at 10am ET hosts Brent Schlenker and Chris Van Wingerden guide us through an upbeat and candid conversation with their guests from the elearning and training world. The live cast session encourages peers to participate in the chat and share their own personal insight! After airing live, you can catch the learning podcast on all major streams such as Spotify, Apple and Google Play podcasts, as well as on YouTube.
