Bringing the Right Focus to Your Training

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

This mouthful of a quote from the great Stephen Covey is bursting with a depth-of-meaning that can elevate the way we work. Its adjustable resolution lends tongue-twisting context to both micro-focus and macro-purpose. Beyond simply addressing the mechanics of working, we should also make sure that our working has to do with our work.

One of the easiest things to do in digital work is to get distracted. This natural human tendency has spawned a cornucopia of articles combining productivity apps, variations on the pomodori technique, and the latest biohacks to keep you laser-focused. Amid near-instant access to more information than the ancient library of Constantinople, the ability to focus on the task at hand is important. But if you’ve been in virtual learning and development for a while, you’ve already seen these articles. They’re distracting to read. Some apply to you. Most do not.

For a trainer in an online setting, your “main thing” is to teach. You are in a virtual room with real people who have come to level up their abilities. Far from needing more distractions to help you stay on task, you need to be able to focus your energy into the actual mechanics of teaching. Legendary basketball coach John Wooden reminds us that “you haven’t taught until they have learned.” The better-spent your energy is on teaching, the more effective your training will be for student and teacher alike. Here are a few simple things you can do to keep your main thing the main thing.

Remember That Real People Attend Your Course.

It’s easy to peg computers as blue-light-belching life-suckers trying to squelch your creativity and meaning. Although I can understand the sentiment, I would nonetheless respond with a hearty, “au contraire!” Consider a handwritten letter, uninspiringly described as a blend of dry ink and dry wood pulp. This doubly-dried concoction, however, reaches across time and space, tapping the wells of human emotion to elicit tears—of joy, of heartache, of rage, of love—to re-wet our dry ink and dry wood pulp. A letter, in other context, can also be coldly impersonal, irrelevant, a waste of time.

A live virtual training has the same varied capability, depending on the focus and effort of the teacher. It can be a uniquely human experience, challenging, fun and inspiring. It can also be an irrelevant waste. Take the time and make the effort to focus on the shared humanity of each individual in our virtual classrooms, even if their Zoom background of the beach leaves something to be desired. A human perspective, consistently applied, may well turn a dreaded training into an experience long-cherished, both in skills gained and friendships formed.

Allow Time for Your Class to Participate.

A computer is an medium of creative communication, just like a musical instrument or a spoken language. It takes a bit of time and practice to be able to express oneself clearly and confidently. While some have the facility and confidence to jump right in, many may be relatively slow getting their thoughts through the keyboard. Allow your students the extra time it takes to learn their new instrument. This is especially important at the beginning of the training, as this sets the tone for the rest. Many teachers tacitly discourage participation by rushing through the pause after inviting discussion. Don’t interpret a longer pause as disinterest. If you allow the ball time to start rolling at the beginning, its momentum will carry throughout, setting up for an engaged and effective training.

Hire a Virtual Producer.

In order to keep a macro-focus on your teaching and a micro-focus on your students’ learning you should not focus on the technical aspects of virtual training. Having to stop in the middle of complex topic to teach someone how to mute their microphone is a surefire way to derail the momentum of your class.

Enter the virtual producer. The job of the virtual producer is to anticipate and remove barriers to active human connection, creativity, and collaboration in your training. Their work happens mostly behind the scenes to keep the learners learning and the teacher teaching. Their duties vary with course and teacher and usually include…

? Greeting people before class begins and after breaks, making sure everyone can hear, see, and navigate within the course.

? Troubleshooting individual connectivity difficulties as they arise.

? Arranging “breakout” rooms, polls, discussion questions, and multimedia.

? Getting late-arrivals up to speed.

? Keeping notes on attendance, participation, questions, answers, and feedback from students.

? Meeting with the trainer to practice, refine, and improve the course delivery.

? Telling excellent jokes (optional, and—admittedly—not always excellent).

Remember that you don’t have to be a one-man band out there. Trying to play every instrument at the same time is an excellent way to lose track of the music you are trying to create. And music is the point. Working with a virtual producer frees your energy to truly teach, leaving your fellow humans better for having come to your class.

Well there you have it! Remember that the main thing in an online classroom is to teach and to learn, just like in a physical classroom. Keep in mind the humanity behind each computer to connect in ways that will elevate your training. Remove barriers to that connection by teaming up with a virtual producer. As you do those things, you’ll consistently create learning experiences that both learner and teacher want to be a part of. Enjoy it! Keep up the good work out there, and have a great week!