Interactive Online Session Design 101

Have you ever struggled to make your online sessions more interactive?

During the pandemic, I led thousands of online sessions on Zoom. I immersed myself in everything there was to know about virtual facilitation.

I learned that there were some core design elements that would, without fail, increase engagement and interaction in my sessions.

I use these 5 design elements in every session I lead.

Using these elements will save you time and guesswork when you design your virtual sessions. Your group members will participate more. And you'll get better results.

Unfortunately, most online sessions aren't designed for interaction.

A lot of people simply default to do the same thing they did in-person, but online.

But engaging online sessions need to be designed differently than in-person. And once you learn these design elements you'll have a template that you can use over and over again.

Here are the elements:

Element 1: The Welcome

The first minutes of a session are mission-critical for success. It's when participants decide whether they trust you and want to participate. That's why designing a warm welcome is so important.

Element 2: The Warm-Up

Athletes know the importance of warming up. The same goes for group work. Warm-ups help people feel safe, connected, and creative. And it can be as easy as a quick group check-in.

Element 3: The "3 A"s: Aims, Agreements, Agenda

So much group time is wasted when the purpose of the session isn't clear. That's why you need to be explicit about the session aims, agreements, and agenda. This will help you and your group to get aligned.

Element 4: The "1-2-4-All" Rule

The 1-2-4-All rule helps you design for individual work (1), work in pairs (2), in small groups (4), and in the whole group (all). This will unleash more energy and creativity in your group.

Element 5: The Closing

Like every good story, every interactive session has a beginning, a middle, and an end. We need endings to make meaning and take action. The best closings give everyone an opportunity to share something they've learned.