How to Create Immersive Learning Experiences in Virtual Spaces? Our Best Practices.
During the last weeks, we facilitated and managed several virtual workshops — the latest with more than 60 participants, 12 startups and a show rate of almost 100%. Here are our most important takeaways.
(co-authored with Carl Manuel Funk).
Recently we published our new Corona Modeling formats and held our very first virtual Corona Time Travel workshop with 61 participants, 12 startups, change-makers, and impact investors.
Before you ask: Yes, simultaneously.
As you can imagine, it was a blast — and maybe the most nerve-wracking and surprising task we could ask for. We are not new to the world of virtual meetings and workshops, in fact we deliver them on a regular basis and we acquired some skills and techniques we want to share with you today.
Along the way, we came to really helpful conclusions to gain virtual attention and make the best out of virtual workshops. You can find all of the insights we discovered below.
For a free download of our Corona Modeling Framework, check our website:
The Desires of a Virtual Crowd
There are a few misconceptions about organizing virtual meetings as well as unique advantages nobody seems to mention. We will start with the common and most relevant assumptions literally everyone needs to begin with:
Timing & Preparation
Our workshops are vibrant spaces with powerful and time-consuming tasks someone needs to prepare.
Sending invitations, conceptualize breakout rooms with 7 external virtual rooms, translating digital boards, and orchestrate how to collaborate in general was a complex task. It took us maybe one week to prepare such a space. Our past assumptions were, by current perspective, ludicrous.
Limits in time don’t mean there are limits in density. You need to come up with unique methods to get your message across.
We tackled the task with a mixture of analog and virtual experiences to smoothly onboard every individual — even from a distance.
Our show rates of almost 100% are a perfect proof — it’s absolutely worth the extra mile. It’s not about embellishing what’s already there (the content), it’s about the attention span of your audience.
For example, there is always room for analog surprises. Be creative!
Technology
It’s a no-brainer, but let’s say it out loud: if your tools aren’t working during a lecture and 60 people are waiting just because of your glitchy internet connection or slow laptop, you’ll get nervous.
Also, another great takeaway: the dependence on tools and technologies nowadays is a massive barrier to involve everyone right from the start. Some people will understand the software you just introduced, some won’t. Since we try to be as inclusive as possible, we made sure to stay flexible in our expectations on what tools we absolutely need and how we can get rid of them if nobody understands them.
Lost in Translation?
All of our participants are Norwegians. Hint: We don’t speak Norwegian.
Even if you expect it, it wasn’t a large issue. But why?
We listened even more carefully.
We accept hiccups.
We make sure team members understand each other.
Put The Trust in The Digital Sphere
The digital space needs more onboarding, a bigger welcome, and much more trust than analog rooms. In real life, it’s easy to build connections if you enter a room or shake a hand.
In virtual spaces, people sometimes seem distracted or even insecure.
There is a very simple solution to regain trust in a short amount of time and it’s the same in real life spaces: look into other people’s eyes (read: your camera). They will try to do the same and you will gain a lot more reactions and feelings, even via a camera.
How to Set a Scene in a Digital Space?
Keynote lectures, recorded as a two hours long webinar, with some questions in the end? Our workshops are very much the opposite.
We always utilize theatrical techniques to pull people into unique moments.
Why?
It’s complicated for an audience to forget the common ground of fact-based reality. In times of crisis, it’s even harder.
How to time travel when time on earth stands still?
A full-frontal keynote lecture will never change and transform without sensory experiences. That’s why we play with brainwave sound, we use different background visuals, and sometimes, we even appeal the senses of taste and smell through deliveries.
A virtual environment is no excuse to forget sensory experiences. Quite the contrary: we came up with creative ways and, on this basis, we’ll originate even more.
Strictness & Flexibility
Workshops always need a rhythm. But a balance between flexible empathy and detailed accuracy is a tough task. We developed coping mechanisms to sense the digital space: if something needs to change, we want to be ready to switch quickly.
An accurate timetable where everything is planned and flexible as much as possible is one key ingredient.
Back Office
There were at least three people involved just to organize, collaborate, and calculate every little detail for a workshop this size.
The teamwork behind cameras is often much more important than in analog spaces since you rely even more on each other’s commitment and readiness.
The Virtual Space is …Somehow More Spacious.
Experience Design is key in teaching future modeling and future strategies to a diverse group of individuals.
Imagination and enactment seem much more unusual. Since experience design is such a great part of our ideas and visions, we needed to make sure that we orchestrate the digital sphere.
Imagination, either virtual or analog, takes place in the head. We felt optimistic to realize something similar in our virtual spheres and we went the extra mile to provide the “same” moments.
There is one big advantage to digital spaces: there is an infinite number of rooms you can create. We conceptualized a meditation session where people were sent to another virtual room afterward. If we would attend a meeting in real life, we always would face some limitations in terms of space and interior design.
Space is unlimited and we use different spaces to keep the imagination vivid.
Experience Design, in general, has a massive impact in our work and we try to reflect on our and the audience’s experiences after every workshop.
We Miss Hugs and Beers!
No need for big words. Hugs and beers after a long and deep session on future strategies can’t be replaced. Period.
In one of our steps, we try to reframe pessimistic perspectives on the current crisis into positive statements. Maybe the most surprising learning was the overall positive attitude of all the participants regarding our future world.
We expected pessimism when there was hope.
Besides our very own struggles to overcome current obstacles, we want to teach, educate, and prototype a progressive and lean framework to support businesses and entrepreneurs through the next 12–18 months. You can learn about the framework, print it and read about it on our website or here.
A very big Thank You to the great team of https://impactstartup.no/ and Didrik Strøhm from https://ysiglobal.com/ for the technical setup!
If you want to learn more about us and Corona Modeling, check out our latest article on Medium:
