“I can’t get sick right now!” – This thought is familiar to anyone who stands on their own two feet professionally. If you are a trainer, coach, or speaker and you are not present and fit, you are faced with significant problems. What to do? Cancel and possibly upset customers – or work despite the illness? We present you with a third option!
Getting sick is human
Self-employment is, for many, professional fulfillment: As a trainer, coach, or speaker, passing on your expertise, building a happy customer base that relies on you, and for whom you are a reliable contact.
Self-employed consists of “self” and “constantly” for a reason: You take care of your planning and your clients yourself, and are constantly in preparation or on the go. However, this dream also has a downside: What happens if you suddenly get sick? Without a “Plan B,” this thought quickly turns into a horror scenario.
No matter if it's the flu or a broken leg: getting sick is human and can happen to anyone! There are numerous reasons why you should better rest at home instead of working full throttle. The situation is particularly serious when fixed appointments are approaching: seminars, training sessions, or personal coaching have to be canceled. Income drops, projects get stalled, and in the worst case, your reputation suffers.
So what can you do if you are too sick to work?
3 options in case of illness
How you deal with the illness depends on various factors – such as the type and severity of the illness. Basically, you face the following options:
1. Solution in case of illness: Presenteeism
Over 70% of all employees go to work despite being sick. For this, the term “presenteeism” has developed. Being present is the highest priority for many in their job – especially for self-employed individuals. After all, everything depends solely on you. “I’ll push through!” is fundamentally a good attitude, as it shows will and reliability, even when things get tough.
The downside: Those who are sick are not fully capable. Imagine giving an important presentation, but your voice is hoarse. Or you’re conducting an intense coaching session, but you can hardly concentrate. Your clients and participants notice that you are not able to deliver the performance you are being paid for. Therefore, this is not always the best solution. You have to weigh carefully whether your performance meets your own standards.
Moreover, your body often knows exactly when it needs a break and recovery. Not recovering from fever and other symptoms often worsens your condition and may even risk chronic diseases.
Permanent pressure to attend not only damages your performance in the short term. Both body and mind can suffer long-term harm if you do not allow yourself to rest: presenteeism and chronic stress are common causes of burnout.
2. Solution in case of illness: Cancelations
If being present is simply not possible or if your performance would be too severely affected, you can, of course, cancel your appointments and plans and take the time to recover in order to truly give 100% at a new appointment. As stated: getting sick is human!
The downside: Even if a cancellation or postponement sometimes seems more sensible or is the only solution, a cancellation can weigh quite heavily. Not only can part of your income quickly drop due to illness. With fixed appointments, it can often be challenging to find a replacement date that works for everyone involved. For in-person events, it is sometimes difficult to notify all participants in time without coming across as unreliable – especially in the event of a sudden illness.
A cancellation becomes particularly difficult if you have planned a training session with multiple interconnected dates: If the time between learning units or exercises is too long, ultimately the learning progress of your participants suffers, or it disrupts a customer's schedule. Again, you need to weigh carefully whether cancellation is the best method in this situation.
3. Solution in case of illness: Plan B
Having a plan in your back pocket gives you the security of being prepared for emergencies. Imagine having the capability to
reach your participants quickly and directly,
easily send everyone a personal message
and continue your training by directly giving your participants small learning units or tasks to prepare for the next appointment.
And all of this, even though you cannot be present yourself. Many trainers and coaches are already succeeding with the method of e-learning. Create content in advance for the online course and let the platform work for you – it won't fall sick! If you need to postpone an appointment, you can easily leave a brief video message for your participants from home. This way, you inform everyone quickly, and you are also close and appear sympathetic. And: Your participants can do online additional tasks if you cannot be there in person.
By combining e-learning with in-person events, you create blended learning: As described above, in this case you offer both (possibly fewer) seminars or live coaching sessions – as well as online support. And you can “feed” this for the emergency and prepare!
Advantages of blended learning in case of illness
In case of illness, blended learning reveals a unique potential and offers you and your participants some unique solutions to the problems that a cancellation brings:
If you accompany your training online, you have already gathered all participants on your platform. This allows you to reach all participants directly and personally, even from home. And such a short video message seems more personable and evokes more understanding than a text-based email.
Even if you only need to inform a customer of your cancellation, who passes the information along, directly addressing the participants is simply more personal and gives the good feeling that you care about each individual.
Blended learning also offers you entirely new opportunities to utilize media. A short personal video from you can be shot and uploaded within minutes with a smartphone at home. This way, you show presence and can explain to your participants what is going on. With a little humor, for example, a video featuring a broken leg or a runny nose can create understanding and a good atmosphere – despite the cancellation!
Moreover, by combining in-person and online learning, you have the opportunity to supplement online impulses to your training. So take the opportunity that you cannot be there to offer your participants impulses or exercises online that you have ideally prepared for a case of illness. A small exercise, an exciting video on the training topic, or a PDF with additional information keeps your participants engaged and serves as good preparation for the next seminar.
Tip: Record a few simple videos in advance with content that you would present during in-person sessions. Consider what content from your seminar or coaching would be suitable, and capture it with your smartphone. Short presentations, introductory words on a specific topic, or everyday situations work very well. This way, you’ll be optimally prepared in case of emergency!
Do you have concerns that the quality of self-recorded videos might not be good enough? Discover why you don’t have to worry about that in this article: High video quality and easy production? Yes, it’s possible!
The perfect online Plan B
Getting sick is always inconvenient. Preparing for such a scenario is a must for self-employed individuals and is easy with blended learning. Therefore, the rule is: Make sure to take precautions in a timely manner and set up a plan before it becomes urgent. Gather impulses, exercises, and perhaps a video or two for your online support that you can quickly provide in case of illness.
If you offer online support, blended learning is not only a flexible method to digitally supplement your trainings, but also your perfect plan B in an emergency.
Preparation is everything! Take a few minutes to jot down notes for your next training: What content could you offer online? What would be suitable for a short video? Our guide for trainers can help you with this!
