E-facilitation

Facilitating effective and engaging online meetings

In times of globalisation and digitisation meetings are increasingly taking place in virtual space. Therefore, team and project leaders are constantly required to lead and facilitate virtual meetings. Globally dispersed international teams get to know each other in web conferences only, not face-to-face. They exchange professional opinions in online meetings and need to reach sustainable results communicating virtually.

Though this is part of many companies’ daily routine, it does not mean that the necessary techniques and skills are imparted and applied actively.

Online meetings follow different rules and require different approaches than face-to-face meetings. ‘Learning by doing’ is possible, but not ideal. The presence of employees in online meetings causes costs. If meetings are facilitated in a disengaging manner with bored and inattentive participants, such meetings become ineffective. And they may leave behind isolated employees who lose motivation. In this way companies incur costs rather than save them.

With CultureWaves you can train your facilitation skills for interactive and engaging online meetings so that your business partners and colleagues participate actively. An effective meeting culture creates added value for international collaboration.

Please contact us for a consultation about our e-learning and blended learning offers. You can reach us via +49 (0)2227 908 6252 and at contact@culturewaves.com. Or just use our contact form.

Why training on e-facilitation?

Facilitators of online meetings often face the following challenges:

How do I captivate participants‘ attention and prevent them from losing interest and engagement?
Which length of attention spans can I expect in online sessions?
How long should a session be so that I do not lose my participant’s attention?
How can I promote the active participation of every individual and interaction between participants?
How do I prepare virtual meetings best and how do I design and facilitate an online session in an engaging way?
Which facilitation tools and techniques are recommended in which situation to involve session participants?
How can I best use my voice to stimulate participants?
What should presentations for effective online sessions look like and what options do I have to design them?
How do I facilitate group work online?
Which technical platform is most suitable for which situation, and which tools does it offer?
How do I create virtual closeness between participants? How do I encourage team spirit and create an inclusive way of collaboration?
How do culturally differing communication styles and language barriers influence my meeting? How can I misunderstandings between participants?
What options are there for documenting discussions, minutes and action items in online meetings?

Our online training and workshops give answers to these and further questions. We offer a ‘safe environment’ for participants to exercise and apply different facilitation techniques and methods. If leaders are familiar with technology and other aspects of e-facilitation, they can go into online meetings with more confidence. Lively and interactive meetings lead to higher productivity so that virtual collaboration becomes less bothersome and potentially even fun.

E-facilitation training – possible contents

Kick-off session: create virtual closeness and set the base for online collaboration
Technology: which online platform and which tools do I use when and how?
Design material for the virtual space – tips for design and engaging activities in online sessions
E-facilitation compared to face-to-face facilitation:
- The importance of active listening
- The importance of the voice in virtual space. Practical exercises how to use one’s voice
Create virtual closeness and trust in virtual space – How can this be achieved?
Group dynamics in virtual space and how the facilitator can react to it
The influence of cultural communication style and behaviour in multicultural remote teams – intercultural insights
Recommendations on how to include and activate participants
Options for documentation and finding an optimal mix between asynchronous and synchronous forms of online collaboration

Do you have specific needs?

Depending on your organisation’s needs and target group we design a customised program to address your business-specific situation.

Our e-moderation training can also be offered as blended learning programs. Our training approach includes a considerable amount of practical exercises as well as facilitation practice time for each participant.

Embracing diversity: the CultureWaves team

The multicultural CultureWaves team consists of more than 120 qualified consultants and trainers with multiple years of international professional experience in various sectors and positions.

Our experts for e-facilitation programs look back at many years of experience in this working area and regularly integrate the latest practical and theoretical know-how for effective virtual collaboration.

Methodological approach

CultureWaves emphasizes the variety of methods applied. With decades of experience in designing and delivering customised training and workshops, CultureWaves has optimized training and facilitation methods for your maximum benefit.

Make use of our experience and competence! We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Since 1999, CultureWaves supports companies in their international business as well as in processes of change and internationalisation.

Benefit from the quality of our development programs!

You can reach us via phone +49 (0)2227 908 6252 and email contact@culturewaves.com. Or just use our contact form.

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