Online group facilitation can be challenging, especially when you have to keep a large and diverse group of participants engaged and motivated for a long time. How can you maintain energy and momentum during long online group facilitation sessions? Here are some tips and strategies that can help you create a positive and productive online group experience.
Before you start your online group facilitation, make sure you have a clear agenda, objectives, and expectations for the session. Communicate them to the participants in advance and ask them to prepare any materials or questions they might need. Also, check your technology and make sure you have a reliable platform, a good microphone, a camera, and a backup plan in case of technical issues. Plan some breaks and transitions between different activities and topics to avoid fatigue and boredom.
Planning ahead is very important to ensure an engaging and fun session. No one ever likes to be in a serious conversation all day long. Planing for engaging team activity and some fun elements such as personality test, team building games or puzzles could be interesting to break the tension. The serious discussions will be taken in a much more positive way if people feel engaged and a part of the conversation.
One of the best ways to maintain energy and momentum during long online group facilitation is to use interactive methods that encourage participation, collaboration, and feedback. For example, you can use polls, quizzes, chats, breakout rooms, whiteboards, or other online tools to create variety and engagement. You can also use gamification, storytelling, humor, or other creative techniques to make the session more fun and memorable. Make sure you balance the amount of information you provide with the amount of interaction you facilitate.
I am a big fan of using interactive methods to keep meeting interesting and engaging. Polls work great for many reasons. One being easy to setup and convenient for the team to answer. I also like to stop and pause and request to stand up for a stretch or do something funny together like saying out loud ‘we love what we do’ etc to keep it light and engaging. Being silly together brings the team closer and I am a big believer of that and have found it worked greatly for me and team.
Every online group is different and has its own dynamics, needs, and preferences. As a facilitator, you need to be flexible and adaptable to the group's mood, energy level, and feedback. You can use different facilitation styles, such as directive, supportive, or participatory, depending on the situation and the goal. You can also adjust the pace, tone, and content of the session based on the group's reactions and responses. For example, if you notice that the group is losing interest or getting distracted, you can change the activity, ask a question, or share a relevant example.
Another way to maintain energy and momentum during long online group facilitation is to provide recognition and support to the participants. You can do this by acknowledging their contributions, thanking them for their participation, giving them positive feedback, and celebrating their achievements. You can also provide support by answering their questions, addressing their concerns, resolving any conflicts, and facilitating their learning and development. You can use verbal and non-verbal cues, such as smiling, nodding, or using their names, to show your appreciation and rapport.
This could be most vital point as I cannot work in an environment where I do not feel appreciated and I try to do the same for my team. I make sure I constantly give them the credit where it is due and that makes it easy for me to give them constructive feedback as well when required as they know I have their back. As a leader our job is to bring the best in everyone and through recognition and appreciation we support the mental health and wellbeing and the confidence of our team members which is especially very important in today’s world when everyone is going through so many challenges everyday.
Finally, you can maintain energy and momentum during long online group facilitation by encouraging reflection and action among the participants. You can do this by asking them to share their insights, learnings, and feedback at the end of the session or after each activity. You can also ask them to identify their next steps, actions, or commitments based on the session's outcomes. You can use online tools, such as surveys, forms, or sticky notes, to collect and summarize their reflections and actions. You can also follow up with them after the session to check their progress and provide further support.
Sustaining energy, engagement, and focus over a long-session is in itself a shared goal of facilitator and participants. The facilitator can normalize this challenge and ask the participants to vocalize their needs throughout the session. This cultivated transparency allows the facilitator to maintain a strong pulse on the energy of the room. Ultimately, the conditions of a session will often be contingent on environmental and social factors that the facilitator cannot always anticipate in advance. When participants feel comfortable asking for what they need and have an open dialogue with the facilitator, the facilitator can work in partnership with the room to incorporate energy boosting activities, breaks, or agenda switch-ups.