As a trainer, coach, or consultant, you are facing a major challenge: How should distance training work? You are not alone with this question! We present 5 solutions in e-learning on how you can stay close to your participants even without being physically present.

5 Challenges in Distance Training

Are you a trainer, coach, or consultant out of passion? Then you probably care deeply about the personal connection to your participants. And – we probably don't need to explain it at length – the topic of "contact" has not been easy since April 2020. The obvious alternative to the previous in-person training is e-learning: But how personal can training over digital devices really be?

Let's collect the 5 biggest challenges you are currently facing alongside thousands of other trainers. In the next step, we will present you with 5 methods on how to establish – and maintain! – personal connections despite e-learning. And finally, we will show you 5 concrete examples of these methods.

Here’s what you value in your in-person training:

1. The participants should get to know you and build trust.

2. You want to know the participants and their concerns/wishes/goals.

3. You want to be there as a contact person for specific questions.

4. You want to keep track and actively support as needed.

5. The participants should exchange ideas and support each other.

5 Methods in E-Learning for High Personal Connection

Of course, face-to-face training is very valuable. The personal, direct exchange from person to person is not easily replaceable. But: For each of the mentioned challenges, there are very good methods in e-learning. If the personal connection is important to you, you can also promote it online and successfully offer distance training.

| Goal in In-Person Training | Method in E-Learning || ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ || The participants should get to know you and build trust | Personal videos in the online course || You want to know the participants and their concerns/wishes/goals | Surveys and quizzes in the online course || You want to be there as a contact person for specific questions | Provide contact options and communicate clearly + hold webinars || You want to keep track and actively support as needed | Overview of progress in the e-learning tool || The participants should exchange ideas and support each other | Exercises for collaborative online learning + invite comments |

What the individual methods can look like in detail, we will show you in the following with concrete examples!

Example Course for E-Learning with blink.it

You can obtain information about various methods. Or you can simply test them yourself: Join our free example course for blink.it now and experience how training can succeed at a distance.

5 Solutions in the Example with blink.it

1. Incorporate Personal Videos in the Online Course

Show yourself to your participants and speak to them, even if you are not standing directly in front of them! Before the method of "video," some trainers, coaches, and consultants have great respect. The thought of speaking in front of a camera discourages some – even though they are used to speaking live in front of several people!

However, videos in the online course are a success booster for several reasons:

• Your participants feel that you are speaking to them personally.

• Videos enliven an online course immensely.

• Through visuals and sound, what is said stays better in memory.

• You can convey much better verbally than in writing.

• Your participants have a picture of you and trust you more.

… With videos in the online course, you remain present even without physical presence! Since this topic in e-learning is both very important and a significant challenge, we have created a comprehensive information page on this topic:

In addition, we have compiled several examples of videos in online training for you. This way, you quickly get an impression of how to use videos sensibly in e-learning:

2. Incorporate Surveys and Quizzes in the Online Course

Communication works in (at least) two directions! Therefore, you also want to get to know your participants. What are their current challenges? What is their goal with your training or coaching? To find this out, you can easily incorporate a survey or a quiz with the right e-learning tool. Ideally, do this once at the beginning of your e-learning to get to know your participants. Then intermittently, as a reflection exercise. And once at the end, to find out about progress and see where there may still be open topics.

Here’s what a survey at blink.it looks like:

An example survey with the blink.it learning platform.

3. Offer Webinars and Other Contact Options

To be there for your participants despite distance, you should clearly communicate in e-learning how your participants can reach you when needed. Three typical options include:

• You give them your email address and offer to respond to all emails, for example, once a week.

• You offer a small webinar once a week where all participants can ask their questions personally and live.

• You encourage your participants in all exercises to share their experiences and questions via comments directly under the exercise.

The comment function at blink.it looks like this:

Here’s how comments appear on the blink.it learning platform.

4. Keep Track of Participants' Progress in the Tool

The e-learning has been running for a while, and you want to know the current status with your participants despite the distance? With the blink.it learning platform, you can see at a glance how far individual participants have progressed. This way, you always keep track and can inquire if a participant is falling behind more than expected.

Here’s what the participant overview looks like for you as an admin at blink.it:

As an admin, you can see the status of your participants in all chapters and contents at any time. Note: Last names are obscured in the screenshot for privacy reasons.

5. Offer Exercises for Collaborative Online Learning

The fifth solution for making your training successful despite distance: Make your content as interactive as possible! Even if each participant is sitting at home on their laptop or tablet, you can bring everyone together digitally with targeted methods. We have already mentioned the comment function above – this is generally always a simple method to promote interaction in the online course.

In addition to the comment function, there are many exercises for collaborative online learning. In this blog article, I have already presented some in detail: 3 E-Learning Exercises: How to Successfully Learn Online Together

Get inspired! With our training card game, the rocket pack, you’ll receive 40 best-practice examples for your online course.

You can see that training can also be interactive and personal without traditional presence. Try out the various methods and thus find out what works particularly well for you. Good luck and have fun!

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Free Online Course

Do you want to see how training can succeed at a distance? Then join our free time management course now and test blink.it first as a participant.

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