The shift from classroom instructor-led training to online remote or virtual instructor-led training (VILT) is by no means easy.

Several factors call loudly for VILT to replace classroom ILT. At the same time, these factors are the challenges VILT courses must overcome. The demand is for shorter, streamlined training modules to reduce the time one is away from the job. Reduced training time demands that content be dynamic, engaging and relevant. The online interaction media—computer monitor and audio telecomm—are condensed and concentrated. This raises expectations that delivery be exceptional. Smaller bites of content in a smaller (virtual) classroom pose substantially larger challenges.

Here are five factors that lead to successful training.

1. Vitality. Boost facilitator’s vitality. Most VILT situations rely entirely on vocal vitality. Five to ten minutes of vocal warm-up before every session are a must. Pump up the voice and the energy it carries by repeating tongue twisters, exaggerated pronunciations and stressing consonants. Also, add drama and enthusiasm to one’s presentation by varying the volume. Either raising or reducing volume in the right place for the right reasons brings drama to the class. That boosts participants’ interest and attention.
2. Facilitate. In VILT it pays to facilitate more than to instruct. Considering the numerous distractions surrounding the participant at the desk or computer, keeping them engaged is crucial. Rather than spewing information, facilitation provides participants opportunities to take ownership of their learning. That requires patience. A strong facilitator is able to pose a situation or to ask an open-ended question and give participants time to formulate responses. Facilitators make time to share the learning opportunity and to engage the participant in the experience.
3. Pace. One’s pace goes along with that patience. VILT operates in tighter time frames. Too often the content has not been pared down accordingly. These factors result in a tendency to rush and cover everything. That rush may undermine the participant’s attention. Without the visual reinforcement of facial expression, body language and gestures, the facilitator’s verbal pause becomes quite powerful. In a VILT situation—as on the telephone—silence for even a second can seem longer.
4. Sight and Sound. Essentially VILT relies on two senses: sight and sound. If your visual component is merely words on a PowerPoint slide, you are all but eliminating sight. Reading and seeing are not the same thing. Allow your visual media to include graphics, diagrams, spatial variations, colors and figures. When you rely on all-text, you’re telling the student, “You can read this, so the facilitator is not so important.”
5. Expectations. VILT imposes sometimes vast distances as it removes same-room connections. This makes shared expectations between facilitator and participants even more important. What everyone expects from the class and its productivity should be attended at the start of the session. Even if class size and time constraints require that facilitators expectations be briefly shown and explained and that participants’ whiteboard or key in (chat) their expectations, they should not be overlooked. They can be referred to throughout the session.

These tips will help meet the challenges of increased VILT delivery and thereby increase the success of those VILT offerings.