 As an author, I enjoy the fact that I get to connect with a wide variety of professionals who are interested in the topics I write around.
In addition to the public speaking events and corporate sessions I deliver, I also host regular (i.e. monthly) virtual community calls which are open to everyone to attend. In today's busy world, it is more likely that people will catch up with the recording, AND there is a longevity to video that can't be beat! I wanted to share with you several of the past EVC posts which I think you might be interested in checking out, in service to supporting you in having more engaging and effective virtual conversations. These calls will likely be of interest whether you are hosting a webinar, or leading a virtual team meeting. Some of the recent calls have included: Tricky Issues in Virtual Calls - View it here (Run time 30 minutes) Core Skills for Masterful Virtual Conversationalists - View it here Building Trust and Connection in the Virtual Space. View it here. 3 Activities for your Virtual Conversations - View it here. All of these map back to my book, Effective Virtual Conversations. If you haven't picked up a copy of it, be sure to do so at Amazon. What have been your favorite community call episodes? Be sure to share with us here so others can check them out. Enjoy! Jennifer Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT Author of several books including: PlanDoTrack (2019), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized - Specializing in support to virtual and remote teams, leaders and entrepreneurs Award-winning Coaching Skills Training Connect with us by Phone: (416)996-8326
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 Whether it's a virtual team meeting or an interactive webinar, connecting people early in your virtual events can make a big difference, signalling that something "out of the ordinary" might lay ahead. This is key given the default "Death by Conference Call" mode many virtual listeners slip into as the calls sarts.
Here are 10 quick warm-up ideas to get your next virtual session moving a little differently. #1 - Get people to locate on a map where they are calling in from. #2 - Create a word puzzle for people to engage with #3 - Show some trivia and have people guess the answer (or the source) #4 - Create a video about the topic you are speaking about. This month at the Learning Lab and Design Studio (an annual program I run for learning professionals of all kinds - facilitators, coaches, and leaders) we're exploring video based learning, and group members are actually going to create their own videos in our next call. #5 - Create a quiz #6 - Show a brain twister or spot the difference #7 - Have a question or prompt on the screen which people can engage with or reflect on #8 - Get people to mindmap all their ideas about the topic #9 - Share a photo related to the topic #10 - Have a quick list of books, podcast or videos on the topic What will help you start your next call off a little differently so that people know that it's not going to be "Death by Conference call". Please share your ideas in the comments below. Enjoy! Jennifer Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT Author of several books including: PlanDoTrack (2019), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized - Specializing in support to virtual and remote teams, leaders and entrepreneurs Award-winning Coaching Skills Training Connect with us by Phone: (416)996-8326  As a former Virtual Team Leader and Program Manager myself, I know how important having a great toolkit for support of today's virtual and remote team really is. I hear this every day from the virtual and remote teams I work with through virtual team building events, and coaching conversations.
I dedicated the first 2019 Effective Virtual Conversations call to the topic of 5 Virtual and Remote Team Building Activities. You can view it here on YouTube. As more teams become geographically dispersed, building skills in virtual teamwork is critical. These are not the same skill sets we tried to develop at the start of the millennium when there was a focus on virtual and remote teams. We're updating these skills with today's practices and tech tools. I'd like to invite you to join me here at the Effective Virtual Conversations blog this year, for continued posts on what makes conversations in the virutal space engaging, and impactful. If you are a virtual and remote professional you may also want to check out the sibling site of my latest book - PlanDoTrack.com. Last month I released the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner for VIrtual and Remote Teams as another resource geared to support you in having better conversations and impact in the virtual and remote world. Part workbook, part analog planner, it's a desk sized book, you can refer to all year long, AND use to keep organized. There are two resources I hope you will check out regularly over at PlanDoTrack: Weekly Friday posts as part of the 52 Weeks of Planning, Doing and Tracking. Each week I'll be releasing another episode and weekly worksheet, geared to support you with a focusing prompt for reflection AND action in the virtual space. Check out the original posts here. The second set of resources I hope you will check out are the monthly planning sessions I offer. Month end virtual reflection hacks (1 hour in length to support you in reflecting on key successes from the last month AND planning for the month ahead - next one January 31st from 6 - 7 am Eastern) AND the February 2nd PlanDoTrack Virtual Retreat - an action filled accountability retreat getting you to plan, take action and start tracking key projects you are working on. I'll host this program this coming weekend on Saturday from 2 -6 pm Eastern on zoom. Learn more and reserve your spot here. Have a great start to your week, Jennifer Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT Author of several books including: PlanDoTrack (2019), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized - Specializing in support to virtual and remote teams, leaders and entrepreneurs Award-winning Coaching Skills Training Connect with us by Phone: (416)996-8326  The second Monday of every month from about 11 - 11:30 am ET/New York usually finds me leading the monthly Effective Virtual Conversations Community Call. I've been hosting these since the summer of 2017 when EVC was released, and I'm pleased to announce that I've just posted the 2019 schedule for the first half of the year.
These calls are usually hosted on zoom (so we can use the technology available to us) and run for 30 minutes. They are also posted over at my YouTube channel. Content and tool rich, they take a practical, tips approach to supporting leaders, team members and learning professionals in creating more engaging virtual conversations. Most of the tips come from my 2017 book, Effective Virtual Conversations. 2019 topics are scheduled as: January - Five Virtual and Remote Team Builders (ideal for virtual and remote teams!) February - Enhancing your Virtual Collaborations March - Making it Stick. Boosting Retention in Virtual Sessions (NOTE this call is held on 3/25 as I will be away on 3/11) April - Design Hack (Bring a real-time design project you want to work on and leave this special 45 minute session with the skeleton of a webinar/virtual session) May - Jazzing up engagement -2019 style Other calls in 2019 will focus on neuroscience and virtual learning; content creation. I hope that you will join me in my zoom room (usually 270-302-0415). Details are typically posted the morning of the call over at my Effective Group Coaching Facebook page. No cost to attend other than your time and your connection! Download a copy of the call schedule here for Winter 2019. Best wishes, Jennifer Jennifer Jennifer Britton, CPCC, PCC Facebook – EffectiveGroupCoaching Twitter @jennbritton Pick up a copy of Effective Virtual Conversations - on Amazon - https://amzn.to/2EdsbUp Also author of Effective Group Coaching (2010), From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013), Coaching Business Builder (2018), and PlanDoTrack(2019)  Are you wanting to jazz up your virtual programming? Boost your coaching work with individuals, groups or teams virtually? Lead your first webinar, or get out of the Death By Conference call trap? I’m pleased to announce the spring session of the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program. We’ll be meeting on Fridays from 1:15 - 2:30 pm Eastern/Toronto on April 6, 13, 20, 27, May 4 . The program is now approved for 8.5 hours of CCEs with the ICF including 5.5 hours of core competencies.
This is a five-week interactive webinar program, which covers the essentials of creating and leading more engaging and impactful virtual events. Coaches are increasingly leading a number of different types of virtual events – from pure coaching, to virtual retreats, to virtual team building events. Drawing on more than 2 decades of experience in working with virtual teams and through virtual programming, I’ll also be drawing on the latest research from my newest book, Effective Virtual Conversations. Over the course of the five weeks of 75-minute calls we’ll be exploring: · Core principles for designing engaging virtual events (webinars, teleclasses, virtual retreats) · 8 skill areas for highly effective virtual facilitators (whether you are coaching, training or facilitating) · Building trust, connection and safety in virtual calls · 12 different activities to boost engagement in virtual calls (openers, closers, throughout) · Different platform choices · Tricky issues that can emerge and how to mitigate if they happen! Registration includes: · The 5x 75 minute calls · Weekly 1-1 calls (up to 15 minutes) as needed throughout the course of the program · Robust module notes Cost: $450 US. Reserve your spot now Space is limited as this is a hands-on interactive program. Like my flagship program – Group Coaching Essentials – it’s geared to boost your toolkit and knowledge base in a short amount of time. Prefer something longer with practice opportunities? Consider joining me for part 2 of this course in the Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive. It will also be offered this spring – continuing on after these first 5 calls into June. Here’s what one alumni of the Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive, Coach Latifu Munirah, the program allowed her to "...learn about and develop skills for virtual group facilitation in a supportively energized environment with encouragement, with feedback, to share your challenges, learn best practices, and explore unlimited possibilities for growth. " I hope that you will jump into this program with me this spring! Questions? Please reach out at info@potentialsrealized.com or by phone at (416)996-8326. Best Jennifer Jennifer Britton, CPCC, PCC Facebook – EffectiveGroupCoaching Twitter @jennbritton Pick up a copy of my latest book – Effective Virtual Conversations - on Amazon - https://amzn.to/2EdsbUp Also author of Effective Group Coaching and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching   This winter I am sharing some of the different skill sets masterful virtual facilitators use in their work, whether they are running a webinar, virtual team meeting, or conference call. In my last two posts I have shared skill sets #1 - Setting Everyone Up for Success and #2 - Communication.
Today we are going to quickly look at the third bucket of skills masterful virtual facilitators bring which are Process Skills. This includes skills in: · Co-creating the focus · Defining success · Selecting tools · Managing the process · Engagement Process skills make a virtual conversation flow, or stagnate! First, we want to make sure that the focus of the call or conversation is clear. Who is defining it? The facilitator if it's training, or the group if it's a coaching conversation? In the virtual space it's likely that the conversation host will be using process to help frame the conversation. Taking time to get to know the people you are working with pre-virtual conversation is essential. This might entail a questionnaire, a pre-call or other touch point to confirm what the focus of the conversation might be). In many virtual events, practitioners will need to co-create the focus with the group on the call, as well as define what success will look like for the group, especially if it is the start of a longer series of conversations. A couple of approaches you will want to consider to mine for ideas are: Using annotation and having everyone write up their top one or two themes Using chat to share their interest or question about the topic Using breakouts for smaller groups to generate a list (top 3 or top 5) The amount of time spent on this will depend on what kind of virtual conversation you are hosting, the purpose and intent. Tools and processes are a virtual facilitator's best friend. It's often said that we can't have too many tools (but we can try to use too many tools in one conversation!). Chapter 7 of Effective Virtual Conversations focuses on more than 24 different tools and approaches you will want to equip yourself with. As a professional, when was the last time you took stock of the different tools you had available or in your toolbox already. This is a quick 15 minute activity which professionals can find useful on a regular basis - pausing and making a list, or running through the bookshelf, computer or filing cabinet for what you actually already have resources around. I've done a number of EVC Community calls which relate to this topic including: Moving the Needle on Engagement Tools for Opening and Closing I hope that you will check them out. Enjoy your week! Jennifer Jennifer Britton Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats. Follow us on Twitter @jennbritton (coaching/facilitation) @Teams365 (leadership) Phone: (416)996-8326 Looking to enhance your virtual conversations - Conference calls? Webinars? Virtual coaching work? Pick up a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. Great news! The Virtual Facilitation Essentials program has been reviewed and approved by the International Coach Federation for 8.5 hours of Continuing Coach Education (5.5 hours core competencies). Looking to boost your virtual skills and want a booster around the basics? Join us for this 5 week interactive webinar learning experience. The next group starts Friday February 23rd at 1:15 pm ET (calls are 5 Fridays from 1:15-2:30 pm Eastern/Toronto) For Coaches: The Coaching Biz Growth Lab - a three month group focused on your coaching business growth. Next group kicks off early March and runs for three months. Other groups will start Spring and Summer 2018. Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs) starts again Friday March 2nd at 1015 am ET and will be held March 2, 9, 23, April 6 and 13th. This program is ideal for coaches who want to create their own group coaching programs and processes.  Last week here at the blog I shared the first of eight skill areas which are important in virtual facilitation - Setting the Context.
Today we look at another Skill area - Communication. At the heart of great conversations is this skill set which I break down to:
Let's look briefly at each one (and a reminder that I go into much greater depth in chapter 3 of EVC): Listening: Depending on the type of virtual conversation platform we are using listening can be enhanced or deepened by other senses - such as seeing when we are on a streaming call. Listening is a skill set which may not be as well developed. Communication is not only what is being said but how we interpret it. How are you listening? Here are some questions to consider from my Teams365 blog: As you consider your own listening skills right now, reflect on these questions:
Inquiry and Reflection - The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook notes "Two types of skill are central to this work: they are reflection (slowing down our thinking processes to become more aware of how we form our mental models) and inquiry (holding conversations where we openly share views and develop knowledge about each other's assumptions)" (pp 77, Senge et al) What are you doing to build in inquiry and reflection into your design - for example - not trying to fit too much into calls or Reading the environment - When you spend time in the virtual space you begin to notice the energy of a call. Some feel as if the air has been sucked out while others pass like the blink of an eye. As we'll see in other posts (and throughout the book) masterful virtual facilitators "read the room" and are adept at using questions, and pace changes, to adjust. Questioning - Questions form the backbone to any great conversation, and in the arena of communication questions are a virtual facilitators ally. Key things to keep in mind: Use open ended questions (starting with What) to invite people into the conversation Be aware that HOW questions will Keep them short - 5-7 words only Watch how many questions you are asking at once. More than one or two and you may notice the silence on the other side which could indicate - what are they asking? Avoid Why questions until there are high levels of trust. Why questions often put people on the defense. Pace and Pitch - the final area I wanted to touch on in this post is getting you to think about the pace you want to set in your virtual call. Consider the individuals you are working wtih. Are they quick paced? Do they appreciate a reflective pause? How are you using silence to allow people to think, and reflect? What are you doing to change the way people engage - i.e. using visuals or breakouts or annotation. I cover many of these questions in community calls, as well as my monthly newsletter for Effective Virtual Conversation enthusiasts. Consider: What's the best pace and pitch for this group? Over the next month or two I’ll be exploring some of the many skills housed in these eight areas. For more on this you may want to check out my January 2018 Community Call, as well as Chapter 3 of Effective Virtual Conversations where I explore these skills more in-depth. Out of the five skills I have highlighted today, which ones are your strengths? What can you do to leverage these more? Which one would you like to put more attention around? Have a great week, Jennifer Jennifer Britton Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats. Follow us on Twitter @jennbritton (coaching/facilitation) @Teams365 (leadership) Phone: (416)996-8326 Looking to enhance your virtual conversations - Conference calls? Webinars? Virtual coaching work? Pick up a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. Great news! The Virtual Facilitation Essentials program has been reviewed and approved by the International Coach Federation for 8.5 hours of Continuing Coach Education (5.5 hours core competencies). Looking to boost your virtual skills and want a booster around the basics? Join us for this 5 week interactive webinar learning experience. The next group starts Friday February 16th at 1:15 pm ET (calls are 5 Fridays from 1:15-2:30 pm Eastern/Toronto) For Coaches: The Coaching Biz Growth Lab - a three month group focused on your coaching business growth. We'll be kicking off on February 1st at 3 pm ET for 7 calls over the three months. Other groups will start Spring and Summer 2018.  The virtual realm is hosting such a wide variety of conversations today. From coaching to mentoring to performance management and leadership conversations. Now that creates opportunity but it also creates some interesting nuances for those of us stepping into this work. What are the skills which support a great virtual conversation.
In my latest book, Effective Virtual Conversations, I highlight eight skill areas will put you in the arena or the neighborhood of more masterful virtual conversations. Like anything we need to practice these skills. It’s like a muscle – if we are not using them, it’s easy to lose the skills. Over the next month or two I’ll be exploring some of the many skills housed in these eight areas. For more on this you may want to check out my January 2018 Community Call, as well as Chapter 3 of Effective Virtual Conversations where I explore these skills more in-depth. As you step into the new year think about what opportunities you have to keep these skills alive and growing. Just like any skill set, we get better with practice – more fluid in working the technology, more confident in “asking the right question” (although is the ever one right question?). The skills of a masterful virtual facilitator range from communication, to technical skills to process skills. Today’s blog post is going to explore one area – that being Creating the Context. I liken a great virtual facilitator to being a great host – welcoming people into the conversation. One of the first questions we want to be asking is “how do we create a safe and engaging conversations space?: Some of the key elements are that we need to have trust, safety and connection. Creating shared expectations is another part of creating the context and the space for a great virtual conversation. Why are we here? What’s important for us to explore in this conversation? What are we wanting to achieve as an outcome from this? Another piece of creating the context is Managing the Process. What approaches and tools does the virtual facilitator have to keep the conversation “on track”? To help the group make decisions? To help the team create an action plan. In creating the context for a virtual conversation, virtual facilitators will want to think about questions like:
Next week, I’ll be back to explore different communication skills masterful virtual facilitators bring. Have a great week, Jennifer Jennifer Britton Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats. Follow us on Twitter @jennbritton (coaching/facilitation) @Teams365 (leadership) Phone: (416)996-8326 Looking to enhance your virtual conversations - Conference calls? Webinars? Virtual coaching work? Pick up a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. New in 2018 - The Teams365 Leadership Lab - an annual group for leaders which meets every two weeks throughout 2018. We'll be exploring topics like Emotional Intelligence, Team Management, Coaching Skills. We'll be kicking off on January 26th at 845 am ET online. Download the call schedule here. For Coaches: The Coaching Biz Growth Lab - a three month group focused on your coaching business growth. We'll be kicking off on February 1st at 3 pm ET for 7 calls over the three months.  With the temperatures here in Toronto dipping into record-breaking territory last week, and several planes grounded one day, I was reminded of why I shifted to a work flow several years ago which has me office based and working virtually outside of the summer months and what I term shoulder seasons (September/October, and April/May). Having had extensive local, regional and global travel as part of my own work portfolio for more than a decade, I am impatient when it comes to my time getting impacted by travel disruption. My own professional travel fatigue, along with wanting to continue my own global connections and work, is what led me to much of my own early full-time virtual work back in 2004. Today it's the way I do things and the way our business is established. Every day I see more and more businesses dipping their toes into the virtual space, innovating to make it work. And innovation is the key term here, we can't just transplant "old ways of working, leading and conversing" expecting a different result in the virtual space. This year I am committed to sharing at least two blog posts a month. Some may be an excerpt from my recent book, Effective Virtual Conversations, and others may be new content and pointers to examples of how companies and teams are making virtual work for them. This is in addition to the monthly Effective Virtual Conversations calls I will be hosting into this new year. Next on scheduled for January 15th at 11 am ET - stay tuned at our Facebook page (Effective Group Coaching) for more info. Today's post is an excerpt from Effective Virtual Conversations about the business case for virtual. Here's what I write on pages 7 and 8 of the book: The Business Case For Virtual (Excerpt from Effective Virtual Conversations - pgs 7 and 8 Copyright 2017, Jennifer Britton, All Rights Reserved) "There are many reasons why it is important to take a look at virtual conversations, teamwork and learning, namely: The Move to Just-in-Time or Real Time Processes - We live in an era of immediate gratification. Recent research points to the "Uber effect," which is the ability to acquire anything real time or just-in-time. This is changing the landscape of what is seen as "effective" in the learning space by professionals. Learners and other professionals are asking, "If I need it now, why shouldn't I be able to get it or access it right away?" On-demand and mobile platforms offer this real-time learning. Internet-based work allows for us to connect and work real-time, no longer necessitating long travel or delays in our collaborative spaces. Time Efficiency -Virtual approaches provide many benefits in terms of time and budget. They provide a reduction in the amount of time people need to spend away from the office to engage in learning. Why travel if you don't have to? Reduction of the Carbon Footprint (Eco-Friendliness) - Britain's Open University found that e-learning consumes 90% less energy than traditional courses. They found that the amount of CO2 emissions (per student) is also reduced by up to 85%.[i] Bringing Expertise Together - Virtual conversations and learning allow you to collaborate and learn from the best across time differences. These peer partnerships span geographic boundaries, changing the way we see the world, how we share information and what we create. Bringing Peers Together from a Wider Cross-Section - The virtual space allows us to connect people from around the world in similar passions. With Zoom and other video-streaming meeting services, virtual meetings sometimes feel as if we are across the table from each other in terms of our ability to see each other and engage in real-time conversation. Real-time Learning - With the advent of mobile technologies, smart devices bring conversations and learning to us immediately-from the office to commuting, our phones have created a new window to the conversation and learning ecosystem. Why Virtual Learning? Many companies are leveraging virtual learning for a number of reasons including:
What do you see as the compelling business, and human, reasons for moving to more virtual and/or remote work relationships? Share them with us in the comments section. You can pick up a copy of Effective Virtual Conversations at Amazon or our site. Have a great week, Jennifer Jennifer Britton Potentials Realized | GroupCoachingEssentials.com Author of Effective Group Coaching, From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching and Effective Virtual Conversations Email: info@potentialsrealized.com Facebook: EffectiveGroupCoaching Innovation is the key term here, we can't just transplant "old ways of working, leading and conversing" expecting a different result in the virtual space. " - Jennifer Britton, Effective Virtual Conversations blog post 1/9/18  It's been a busy fall for most professionals I have spoken with recently. My guess is that you may not have caught all of the Community calls I have held in the past few months on leading and facilitating more engaging virtual events - meetings, conference calls, and virtual coaching. I've been enjoying hosting these 30 minute calls this fall as the word about my new book spreads, and these calls have been interspersed with other virtual events hosted by many professional associations. A big thanks to the ICF Community of Practice, HRPA Peel, and ICF Halifax bringing me in for recent, or upcoming, virtual events. If you know of a group who would benefit from learning more about creating more engaging, and impactful virtual calls, and support for virtual teams, please contact me, or pass my details on. In case you have missed some of the recent fall community calls, you can check out some of these recent ones which are now posted up on either one of our YouTube Channels - The Teams365 Leadership Channel, and the EffectiveGroupCoach channel. Recent community calls have included: Tricky Issues in Virtual Events - November 13, 2017. View it here (30 minutes on some of the tricky issues you might face when leading virtual events - from technology to group members) Pre-program checklist - before you launch your own virtual events. View it here (30 minutes on a number of items you will want to consider BEFORE you launch! I'll be setting the 2018 call schedule soon and am aiming to offer about 8-10 community calls throughout next year. I'll let you know when the schedule is available. For now, please mark your calendars for the last two EVC Community calls for the year: Monday December 4th (11 - 11:45 am ET - note time) - 2018 Program Hack - Bring a program you want to take action on as we'll be working real-time on a program design activity. Monday December 18th (11 am ET start) - Last community call of the year. Setting people up for success. Please leave a review or comment on the videos! With best wishes, Jennifer Jennifer Britton Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats. Follow us on Twitter @Teams365 Phone: (416)996-8326 You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me! |
AuthorJoin Effective Virtual Conversations Author Jennifer Britton for regular posts to spark your ideas and conversations virtually! Upcoming Programs Virtual Facilitation Essentials:Spring 2019: Fridays 11:45 - 1pm ET: March 1, 8, 22, 29 and April 5, 2019
Learning Lab and Design Studio meets throughout the year on Fridays from 8:45 -930 am ET (Weeks 1 and 3 of month). Join us for a month or the year. February's focus is on video based learning. Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs); Fridays 10:15 - 11:30 am ET starting March 22, 2019 Coaching Biz Growth Lab - Business Group Coaching for Coaching Business Owners - Meets Week 1 and 3 Fridays of Each Month (3-4 pm ET). Archives
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