A good facilitator is essential to the success of any group or learning process. Facilitators should be able to work in a remote setting especially in the context of the growing popularity of virtual meetings and workshops. However, facilitating well in a virtual environment requires time and consideration of the particular challenges that participants have to confront. This article outlines the most important considerations and best practices for effective virtual facilitation.
Virtual participants face a variety of challenges, among them the inability to understand body language and how others respond to the discussion. This can lead to some people not feeling heard, or their opinions are dismissed and have a negative impact on the overall outcome of a meeting. Qualitative facilitation techniques help ensure that everyone is engaged and that all voices are heard.
Lack of physical resources can make it difficult to run certain exercises or activities exactly as they would be conducted in live workshops. In live workshops whiteboards, flip charts posters, post-it notepads, and other visual resources are effective. However, this can be a challenge for online workshops. By incorporating a variety of activities, including breakout sessions and games that are experiential along with more traditional elements such as questions and information sharing can help to keep an online session lively, engaging and productive.