Zoomed Out to Zoomed In 10 top tips for staying alert and awake during training (online school and meetings)

How long has it taken you to accept live, online learning and meetings as the norm? Do you even remember what it was like to deliver training, attend meetings or have training delivered face-to-face?

Prior to March 2020, you might have attended live, online training and meetings occasionally but, for most of us, face-to-face was still very much the accepted and expected way of doing business. It’s almost hard to remember what that was like, isn’t it?

The reality is that live, online learning and meetings are here to stay, for the foreseeable future at least.

There are many benefits to this – cost and time savings to name two – yet there are also some potential downsides to be aware of. The more often people use Zoom (or other online platforms), the more likely it is that they become ‘Zoomed out’, leading to distraction and difficulties in keeping their attention.

You might be forgiven for thinking that this is an unavoidable side-effect of the progression from face-to-face to live, online meetings and training and that there’s little that can be done about it. However, the reality is that there are things we can do to keep delegates focused and engaged.

When lockdown first hit, we knew at Taye Training that we would need to adapt our offering to move our courses online, but we didn’t want to lose the four pillars of the Training 4 Influence methodology – Expert, Tailored, Engaging and Values-Led – in the process and, of the four, we always knew that Engaging was the pillar that would need the most attention in adapting to live, online learning; how could we make our training engaging and interactive in a live, online environment?

The two cornerstones of the Engaging pillar are applying accelerated learning techniques and taking account of learning styles.

If you’re not familiar with the term accelerated learning, it’s a process that engages all of your senses – sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste – to help you retain information more easily.

It follows the principle that learners don’t absorb knowledge, they create it and it is one of the most powerful processes for helping people to learn faster (hence the name) and retain information more effectively.

Accelerated learning tools for face-to-face sessions

Based on research that suggests people learn best when they have a variety of options allowing them to use all their senses, it works by engaging different parts of the brain during training, making it a more natural process. For example, someone might be listening to something but, at the same time, engaging one or more of their other senses.

It is activity-based, rather than presentation-based. The idea is that delegates submerge themselves in the learning process and, as a result, are able to absorb many things at once.

The benefits to accelerated learning are massive, delegates will:

• Be motivated to learn more
• Retain information for longer
• Stay alert and awake
• Continue learning after the course

When you combine accelerated learning with recognition of different learning styles by varying your method of delivery between the written, spoken and visual, it’s a powerful combination.

In our transition to live, online learning we initially focused on learning styles and adapting our face-to-face training to be engaging and interactive online. By keeping these as fundamental aspects of our live, online learning, we’ve successfully transitioned to the online world. Our sessions are like no other and receive reviews such as this:

“Today I attended training delivered by Zoom, for 5 hours!!

Surprisingly, it was the best training I have ever been on (including face-to-face).

Interactive, thought-provoking and it kept my attention throughout.”

As we head into our ninth month of live, online learning, we’ve shared our learning with you along the way. You can access podcasts, adapted activities, Zoom guides and more at https://training4influence.co.uk/t4i-resources/.

However, it was only recently when, despite all of the above, we noticed delegates were still struggling to stay engaged in some instances, that we realised we were missing something! In face-to-face sessions we usually take sweets, fruit, kinaesthetic sand, fidget cubes, colouring sheets and more. Alongside interactive delivery, these ensure that every person has the opportunity to stimulate whichever sense that helps them to stay alert and awake. Of course, this currently isn’t possible so instead we have decided to encourage accelerated learning at home!

We are now sharing these top tips with all our delegates before each training session, try them and see the difference they make – my daughters literally couldn’t make it through a day of online school without them!

Top Tips

1. Keep an activity box on your desk; if you have them, include tangle toys, fidget cubes and similar. If you don’t, then lots of household objects can be used (i.e. bracelets, rubber bands, blue tac).
2. Print out some colouring sheets; you can find some free downloadable Taye Training mandalas and motivational quotes here
3. Keep a pen and paper close by for doodling
4. Tap your foot, roll your shoulders or head
5. Do you like knitting, crocheting or doing jigsaw puzzles? These are perfect activities for accelerated learning
6. Eat/drink (e.g. sweets, fruit, coffee, water (with your mic off please )
7. Are you a parent? Search your child’s toy box – things like Play Doh and Lego are perfect; Scrabble tiles are also really good – create the words that you want to stay in your head
8. Engage orally, answer and ask questions where appropriate
9. Find a ball, apple, anything round – this is perfect to roll around your desk
10. Stand up every 10 to 20 minutes and stretch

Although this has been written from a training perspective, it can just as easily be applied to a meeting situation – I’m always doodling, playing with a fidget toy or chewing during a meeting!

If you would like a free Taye methodology accelerated learning bracelet to keep on your desk, please e-mail michelle@tayetraining.org.uk

What is Training 4 Influence?Training 4 Influence is a method of training that is having a huge impact on the lives of people experiencing multiple disadvantages (i.e. those with complex needs, are marginalised and/or vulnerable). How? By developing and providing training that not only delivers its learning objectives but that also influences the motivation and values of frontline professionals who work in charities, the criminal justice and the social care sectors.

If you would like to find out more about the Training 4 Influence methodology listen to our podcasts, register interest in the book or assess whether your training is having maximum influence on delegates, service users and your organisations overall objectives by completing our scorecard.