Active listening is a key skill for effective facilitation, especially in virtual settings. However, it can be challenging to maintain attention, engagement, and empathy when you are not in the same room as your participants. How can you encourage virtual participants to listen actively and foster a productive dialogue? Here are some tips to help you achieve this goal.
Before you start your virtual session, make sure you communicate the purpose, agenda, and ground rules to your participants. Explain why active listening is important and what it entails, such as paying attention, paraphrasing, asking questions, and giving feedback. Ask your participants to commit to following the ground rules, such as muting their microphones when not speaking, avoiding distractions, and respecting different perspectives. You can also use a facilitation contract or a group agreement to formalize these expectations and hold everyone accountable.
One effective way to get engagement is to answer the participants' WIIFM (What Is In It For Me) question. This sparks inherent interest from the meeting attendees to be engaged.
One way to keep your virtual participants engaged and attentive is to use interactive tools that allow them to contribute, collaborate, and express themselves. For example, you can use polls, quizzes, surveys, or chat features to gather feedback, opinions, or questions from your participants. You can also use online whiteboards, sticky notes, mind maps, or diagrams to facilitate brainstorming, problem-solving, or decision-making activities. These tools can help you create a more dynamic and participatory virtual environment and encourage your participants to listen to each other's ideas and inputs.
I have a little ritual that I follow. While using virtual platforms like Zoom, G Meet or Teams, I ask participants to do little actions at varied intervals, like: 1. Type NQ in the chat if you don't have questions 2. Send a reaction emoji to let me know your understanding (usually smileys, claps, or hand raises float around. Occasionally people send confused ?? emoji and I take a step back to discuss the reason) 3. Type pass in the chat if they don't want to answer a participatory question, so that I know they are listening. If the groups are larger, I set a goal of x number of responses before I move on. And I am fine with a bit of silence and waiting to account for network lag.
Another way to promote active listening is to check for understanding regularly throughout your virtual session. You can do this by asking open-ended questions, summarizing key points, or inviting participants to share their takeaways or reflections. This can help you assess whether your participants are following the content, clarify any confusion or misunderstanding, and reinforce the main messages. You can also use techniques such as paraphrasing, mirroring, or echoing to show that you are listening to your participants and acknowledge their feelings, thoughts, or concerns.
Feedback and recognition are essential for active listening, as they can help you build rapport, trust, and motivation among your virtual participants. You can provide feedback and recognition by giving positive and constructive comments, highlighting achievements or improvements, or celebrating successes or milestones. You can also encourage your participants to give feedback and recognition to each other, such as by using peer-to-peer feedback forms, virtual applause, or appreciation cards. This can help you create a supportive and appreciative virtual culture and foster a sense of belonging and value.
Finally, one of the best ways to encourage active listening is to model it yourself as a facilitator. You can do this by showing interest and curiosity, using verbal and non-verbal cues, asking relevant and probing questions, and avoiding interruptions or judgments. You can also share your own experiences, insights, or challenges related to the topic, as long as they are relevant and appropriate. This can help you establish credibility, authenticity, and empathy as a facilitator and inspire your participants to follow your example and listen actively.