Even before COVID-19, companies were relying increasingly on webinars to conduct training because the technology had improved so much and because live online training is much more time- and cost-efficient.  The pandemic has only accelerated that trend. 

If you think it is hard to keep participants’ attention in the classroom, it is twice as hard online. Why? In the classroom, participants can look around the room and remain focused on the discussion topic. The trainers’ actions, movements, and facial expressions provide visual variety that keeps the participants interested.  In the classroom, it is pretty easy to keep participants free from the distractions of the rest of their work lives. 

All that disappears in the virtual classroom.  Looking at the screen for a long period is more tiring than looking at a person.  Distractions are everywhere.  Without constant visual stimulation, it is easy for participants to lose focus.

The webinar "Engaging Participants Online" provides tips for how to overcome these challenges and deliver interactive and engaging online sessions. It is especially valuable to those who are about to facilitate training sessions online for the first time, but the same tips and skills are equally valid for other types of web meetings, such as presentations or even team meetings. The session answers four of the most common questions that facilitators who are new to the online environment often ask:

• How can I get people to engage more?
• How can I hold participants’ attention?
• How do I adapt in-person materials for online?
• How can I look more professional when presenting?

The webinar offers practical tips (also in French) and guidelines (also in French) specific to the online environment.

OPENING REMARKS: Khadiga Hassan Fahmy, Senior Operations Officer, Financial Institutions Group, IFC

Khadiga has over 16 years of experience in SME development. She works with IFC’s Financial Institutions Group Advisory and leads the Non-Financial Services (NFS) workstream, supporting financial institutions in developing NFS value propositions for various SMEs segments. Having led IFC’s skills development program in MENA, she has extensive experience advising clients across sectors on the design and delivery of skills development solutions for MSMEs in their value chains. Prior to joining IFC, she spent 10 years working with multinationals in marketing with focus on customer research, market segmentation, strategy development, customer value proposition development, and product development.

PRESENTER: Karen A. Feeley, MBA, PMP 

Karen has 25 years of experience in analyzing learning and training needs, creating training strategies, designing courses, training trainers, delivering training, and managing training projects on a variety of topics, including cultural awareness, interpersonal networking, instructional design, facilitation, performance management, consulting, financial literacy, business management, diversity awareness, agricultural best practices, financial auditing, and interpersonal communications. She has advised Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and multi-lateral organizations on workplace learning since 1996. In 2009, she founded Comprehensive Learning Solutions, a global corporate training consulting firm.

Karen has designed and delivered training in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and the Caribbean. She holds an MBA degree in Human Resources Management, with an emphasis on Training and Development, and is an IFC Global Master Trainer in Facilitating Face to Face Learning, an IFC-LPI TPMA certified Trainer and Assessor, an IFC-certified Instructional Designer, and a certified project manager (PMP). Karen resides in the USA and speaks English, French, and Chinese. 

READ Karen's interview