Hello friends,
Many thanks for reading The Quest, your weekly round-up of tips and insights to help you design and lead exceptional online sessions that your group members will love.❤️
I’m excited to share some strategies for running tech smoothly in your live sessions.
🤹 Navigating tech in virtual meetings can feel like a high stakes juggling act.
It’s been one of the most challenging parts of running live online sessions for me.
Things like sharing my screen while not interrupting the flow.
Ensuring that everyone can use the tools without it turning into a tech tutorial.
And not completely freezing up when things go wrong.
I used to shy away from tech.
Fearing the worst, I stuck to a few tried and tested tools. The problem was that technology was evolving. But my live sessions were not. And the quality of my sessions was suffering.
Tech glitches are part of leading live sessions.
I came to realize that even the most tech-savvy amongst us can have tech hiccups. It’s a fact of life when you run virtual sessions. Accepting this helped me lose my fear of failure and embrace experimentation.
You can learn to juggle the tech.
You can’t avoid tech glitches. But with some simple strategies, you can reduce the chance of things going wrong. You’ll deliver your sessions smoothly. And you’ll gain the confidence to try out new tools.
Here are 8 simple strategies to help you set yourself up for success 👇
1/ 📝 Prep Your Participants:
Send out tech instructions before your session. This way, everyone, whether tech-savvy or not, can download and test the necessary software. It ensures your live session runs smoothly, without turning into a tech support meeting.
2/ 🎛️ Test Everything
Yes, it’s back to basics. But it matters. Check your camera and mic, line up your slides, and prepare any other tools you’ll need. A little prep goes a long way in avoiding last-minute panic.
3/ 📋Plan Your Outline
Treat your session like a show. You are the producer. Draft a detailed outline that documents every part of the session – what happens, when, and what tools you’ll use. This is crucial for keeping you and any co-hosts or tech support in sync.
Here’s a glimpse of the live session design template I use that I’ll be sharing in my upcoming course Live Session Magic.👇
4/ ⚒️ Leverage Built-In Tools:
Make use of the built-in features like polls, breakout rooms, and whiteboards available on platforms like Zoom. You can also enhance your sessions by adding apps from the Zoom App Marketplace, such as timers or StreamAlive, which offers interactive maps, polls, word clouds, and AI tools.
Don’t miss the free live demo with CEO Lux Narayan on June 20—scroll down for more details!
5/ 🖥️ 🖥️Set up two monitors
I used to try to fit everything into my tiny laptop screen. Then a few years ago my husband convinced me to get a second monitor. They don’t cost a lot and it’s worth the investment if you plan to run virtual sessions regularly. Here’s my set up👇
6/ 💡Enable Zoom dual monitor feature.
Thanks to Quest reader Karaminder for showing me this feature a while back. The dual monitor setup allows you to see two Zoom screens. This means that you can have your participants on gallery view on one screen. And the slides you are sharing on the other. Check out these instructions on how to set it up.
7/ 🪄Streamline Your Tech.
Do you really need all those slides? Can you do 1 poll instead of 3? Streamline your tech to match your session goals. Remember, in virtual sessions, less is more.
8/ 😅Keep Your Humour Handy.
Tech glitches will happen. Presenters vanish. Screens freeze. Audio goes haywire. Things will go wrong. The best thing you can do is prepare for the worst in case it happens. And have a sense of humor when it does.
What are your go-to strategies for juggling tech in your live sessions? Hit reply to this email and let me know!
This Week’s Facilitator Finds 💪
This week, I’m spotlighting tech pros who can help you elevate your virtual session tech skills.
1/ Cat Mulvihill. A virtual presentation pro, Cat can guide you through adding graphics to your Zoom calls, and using advanced gear like Stream Decks and teleprompters.
2/ Said Saddouk. Said is a pro in tools like Miro, OBS Studio, Steam Deck, Mentimeter, Zoom… and the list goes on! He’s got a free webinar on June 25th on Getting Started with Luma – an amazing events software that I use for my live events.
3/ John Chen. A designer, producer, and author of Engaging Virtual Meetings, John can help you navigate Zoom’s features and more. Don’t miss his latest LinkedIn post about Zoom’s translated captions.
Who do you follow to learn the latest in virtual session tech? Hit reply to this message and let me know.
🎟️You’re invited to a Free StreamAlive Live Demo
Are you looking to add some new easy-to-use tools to your virtual session toolkit?
Join me and StreamAlive CEO Lux Narayan for a free interactive demo on June 20. Find out how you can use StreamAlive’s interactions, templates, and AI features to WOW your online audiences. No tech experience required!
📅 Date: June 20, 12 noon EST / 6 pm CEST (1 hour)
Register 👉 here.
💌 Thanks for reading The Quest
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Creatively yours,
Whenever you are ready there are 2 more ways I can help you:
👉Custom coaching & team training. Book a free 15-minute zero-commitment call with me to see how I can support you and your team.
👉5-week Live Online Course. The Breakthrough Facilitation course gives you tools, personalized feedback, and a proven framework for designing and leading high-engagement live sessions. Join the interest list and be the first to get the next cohort dates and discounts.
