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.❤️
Ever feel like your online audience is more interested in their emails than in your session?
I’m zeroing in on three often-overlooked facilitation strategies that will help transform the multitaskers into fully focused participants.
Let’s jump right in!
Picture this:
You’re on a Zoom call, camera on, mic muted, and your attention is split between emails, LinkedIn feeds, Slack channels, and open browser tabs. And that’s just your desktop!
That’s how most people join video calls.
It means that you are facing fierce competition for your audience’s attention. And here’s the cold hard truth: many people join calls with the intention of multitasking—half-listening while doing other work. (I know I have!)
Here’s the problem.
If your audience isn’t truly present, it doesn’t matter how brilliant your content is or how well you’ve designed your session—it’s going to fall flat. That’s why you want to help them set their intention to focus.
So how do you get your audience to focus when distractions are just a click away?
Of course, you need to design a top-quality session (which I teach in my new on-demand course, Live Session Magic). But today I want to zero in on three specific facilitation strategies that will help your audience take responsibility for their own attention and engage more fully.
Here are the 3 strategies:
1/ 🙌 The Agreement
2/ 🤔 The Check-in
3/ 🤝 The Promise
Let’s take a closer look at each one.
1/ 🙌 The Agreement.
Here you propose an agreement to the group that will help them focus. For example, “Minimize Distractions”.
Acknowledge the challenge and highlight the benefits.
“I know it’s tough to stay focused on Zoom calls. Let’s agree to minimize distractions. When you focus, you’ll get more out of the session—like solving X problem.”
Guide them on how to take action:
“Take a minute to silence your phone or close some tabs.”
Finally, get their buy-in:
“If you agree to minimize distractions, drop a yes in the chat.”
☝️This small act of commitment can make a big difference in engagement.
2/ 🤔The Check-in
The Check-In is about helping participants tune into their intentions. It’s a strategy I learned from the Coaching Habit author, Michael Bungay Stanier.
Start with a simple question👇
“On a scale from 1-7, how focused do you plan to be in this session? 1 = I’ll be multitasking, 7 = I’m all in.”
Then, let them decide👇
“I don’t mind what number you give yourself. You’ve shown up to get the most out of this session, and you know how easy it is to get distracted.”
Invite them to share their answer in the chat or anonymously in a poll, and encourage action👇
“What’s one adjustment you could make to your environment to reach that number?”
For example, I’d say, “In my case, I’m going to close my open tabs.”
This creates personal responsibility, and it increases the likelihood of your group members staying focused.
3/ 🤝The Promise
The third technique is to make a mutual agreement with your audience. You are essentially saying, “You do your part by giving me your full attention, and I’ll do my part by making sure this session is well worth your time.”
At the beginning of the session, ask them to silence distractions👇
“For example, silence your phone, close tabs.”
Then pitch the promise:👇
“Focus with me for one hour, and I promise you’ll get what you need from today’s session whether it’s X, Y, or Z.” (You can even have those benefits on the screen).
This creates a win-win: they commit to being present, and you commit to delivering value.
💡Why the strategies work
✔️Making it Explicit: Acknowledging the challenge head-on makes people aware and enables them to do something about it.
✔️Focusing on Benefits: Offering something valuable gives people a compelling reason to focus.
✔️Empowering Your Audience: Letting them make an intentional decision taps into their inner motivation and sense of commitment.
Pro Tip 👉Address the distraction elephant in the room early—around the 5-minute mark after welcoming your group and before diving into content. This is when attention is freshest, and participants are most receptive to setting their intentions.
To Sum It Up:
- The Agreement: Sets the tone for active participation.
- The Check-In: Encourages self-reflection.
- The Promise: Creates a mutual contract.
Put It into Action 💪
Which strategy—or combination of strategies—best fits your session? I’d love to hear your ideas. Just hit reply to this email and let me know!
This Week’s Facilitator Finds 💪
In this section, you’ll find curated resources, tips, and tools that are worth checking out.
1/ Solo Business Canvas. A brand new free resource from Solopreneur OG Terri Lornier. It’s the Business Model Canvas expertly adapted for people who work solo.
2/ Stolen Focus. A book by New York Times best selling author Johann Hart that helps you to understand why you can’t pay attention and how to think deeply again.
3/ 15 Best AI Tools for Instant Meeting Summaries. An article by Butter’s CGO Cheska Teresa with AI tools to help you summarize key points to save you a whole lot of time.
💌 Thanks for reading The Quest
I always love hearing your feedback and suggestions. Just hit reply to share your thoughts and ideas.
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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.
👉 Live Session Design Video Course. Live Session Magic gives you a proven system for designing consistently high-quality online sessions. Join the interest list here and be the first to get access.
👉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.
