I spent the pandemic reading every article & book on virtual delivery and the best tip I got was from watching my 7-year-old nephew on Zoom for 10 min

There are some great books and article on delivering content virtually. I encourage reading all of them. There is some great advice out there. However, as I watching my 7 year old nephew on Zoom I saw one of the best tips I can give to my colleagues. 

What did he do? Well, the teacher asked each student to ‘show their work’ on camera. He had to hold up a piece of paper several times showing what he did. This ensured that he kept his camera on and stayed in communication. Although it might seem like this is too childish for an adult class, it might not be.  How? Make a quiz. Put some small prize behind it (e.g. Starbucks gift card). The gift does not have to be much, just something that they can show others if they win. People are competitive by nature. The quiz could be multiple choice (A,B,C,D). As you post questions take down people answers. Have someone help you. I suggest having the points get larger near the end so people do not lose interest if they can’t get any of the early answers. If you can’t see someone’s answers, ask them to change/move it. Keep conversation going by prompting the audience with open ended questions through.

Bottom line, don’t limit the virtual visual communication to just a face.