This introductory course to Facilitating & Producing Participatory Virtual Events will help you to make the best use of virtual opportunities to engage with people, explore issues creatively, and reach decisions. We will consider some challenges when facilitating virtual processes and share tips and tools to make the virtual experience engaging, participatory and productive. The course is offered on Zoom but the principles, tools and techniques have wider use for other platforms
What will it cover?
This short online course focuses on the roles of facilitator and producer. It covers four stages of any facilitation process and the key considerations for the virtual facilitator and producer along the arc of facilitation:
1. Designing and preparing an online facilitation process:
Overview of the role of the facilitator and producer before, during and after a facilitation process
“Tweaks” can be made to the event design to make the producer’s role easier and to “de-risk” the event
2. Convening and onboarding participants:
How to provide basic technical support to participants before and during the meeting, including basic adaptations to optimize bandwidth and stability
Key features of the Zoom dashboard, which have participant and producer implications
Troubleshooting and Security
3. Conduct the session:
Challenges in virtual events
Managing the meeting for participation, engagement and productivity
Setting up and moving between breakout rooms
Examples of methods and tools for engagement
4. Ending the session
Checklist for ending off your event/workshop/meeting
By the end of the course, you will have:
An improved understanding of your role as facilitator/producer of virtual meetings/events
A range of tools that can be used to optimize participation and engagement
Developed a repertoire of troubleshooting tips and practices.