It’s been a while, but I recently attended a couple of teleclasses. One of them was pretty good, the other – not so much. I used to provide some teleclass training and consulting, so I thought I’d dig out some of the material I put together for those trainings. If you’re going to lead a teleclass, here’s some things that might help depending on the style of your teleclass and how much interaction you like. I’d love to know your thoughts.
One of the big challenges in a Teleclass is that you can’t see faces or read facial expressions or body language for feedback. Unless you’re conducting a straight up lecture, all of your interaction has to happen verbally, so keeping people tuned in, engaged, and actively participating is important. In addition, interaction allows you to get feedback. Try these ten ways to connect with your audience and create dynamics and interaction in your Teleclass no mater what your topic. Here are 10 power-packed ways to breathe life into your teleclass.
1. Welcome each person like you know them. Greeting each person as they arrive lets them know they’re not just here to listen and gets them talking early. Try asking not just their name, but where they’re calling from and maybe even a light comment about their location if you can (ie. The weather, a vacation you took there, etc.)
2. Find out about your learners and why they’ve joined you. Asking your learners a little about themselves and what they expect to get out of the call is a good way to craft your Teleclass to their agenda and not yours. If you feel comfortable with it, let them know that that’s why you’re asking. This is especially important during a free Teleclass or Sneak Preview as the learners are often tentative, expecting you to go into a sales pitch.
3. Ask what they already know about the subject. Start with asking people what they already now about the subject and take notes. As they answer, you can give constructive feedback and reinforce that many of the learners already have a good base of knowledge. This technique gives them the confidence to respond later in the class when you pose questions or ask for feedback. Based on the responses you receive, you can also dispel false notions and refer back to some of the comments later in the program. If you do, be sure to mention the name of the person who gave the positive comment to keep them involved.
4. Take questions first and let your audience drive the session. Start by giving a brief overview of your topic and then immediately ask your learners what some of their concerns or questions are related to the topic. Take careful notes and let the questions drive the session. However, be careful to make sure that you get all of your important points into the call, even if they’re not addressed in a question.
5. Ask your learners what the biggest problem is that they are having in this area. Asking them about their challenges in the area of the class subject, and then addressing them with your content, is an excellent way to keep their attention. Again, by taking careful notes, you can address their concerns directly and keep your learners involved. You’ll also find that many of them have common challenges (you can ask for or may spontaneously receive consensus) and hearing them can create a sense of community on your call. You’ll also make your Teleclass applicable to their lives.
6. Ask strong, engaging questions. Ask key questions that will allow your learners to illustrate your key points with real world examples. By asking things like; “If you’ve ever attempted to write a business plan, what made it difficult,” “Tell me about a time when you started a diet and couldn’t stick to it,” “What happens when you hire the wrong people in your business?” or “Can someone tell me the difference between marketing and advertising?” Most of your learners will be able to relate to answers from their peers and will become more engaged.
7. Ask why the subject matter is so important. Asking why it’s important to advertise, eat correctly, work as a team, plan for your future, etc. helps your learners gain a sense of context for your topic by thinking through its relevance to their lives. It also gives you some insight as to why they have chosen to be on your call. It can let you know what they’re looking to gain from the experience.
8. Ask for help. Ask your learners to help you find a way to clarify a point or say it differently – especially if one of their fellow learners is not getting it. People will get involved because they want to help you. Also, if someone is struggling or poses a challenge they are facing, ask another participant for the solution. They will bond together and take pride in helping each other.
9. Check in from time-to-time. Call on a participant and ask what they think about a point that you or another participant just made. Because you can’t tell if you’re boring them or losing their interest over the telephone, you gotta ask. You can even use any of these techniques, but ask for a response from someone you haven’t heard from yet – even calling out a specific name if you can.
10. Cheat a little. (But you didn’t hear it here!) Include one or two ‘plants’ in each audience to get the Q&A started or to help you out when you get the silent treatment. A friend/colleague or two who knows you and your subject can go a long way if you’ve got an audience that just won’t respond. Using the techniques above will usually cure that, but your plants make a great safety net. After all we all ‘get by with a little help from our friends.’
A FINAL NOTE: When engaging your learners in the ways described above, don’t be shy about continually emphasizing that you need them to keep their comments or answers short. You want to make sure you get all of your material in and give everyone an opportunity to participate without any one learner dominating the dialog. Keep control of your class and don’t be shy about it. Your audience will appreciate it. (P.S. These tips work during live classes, workshops and seminars too!)
So there it is. Let me know if any of this works for you. It’s so easy to ‘walk out’ on a teleclass and may be these can keep people from walking out on yours. And if you’re one of the people I walked out on recently… oops!
PEACE.
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