As many of you will know our training has all been delivered virtually over the last 15 months or so. This has gone really well and the level of engagement and interaction on screen has been really good. I believe that meaningful engagements can be created online with the correct tone, approach, use of interactive tools and most of all, by being an honest and authentic presenter, trainer or coach.
The benefits of remote delivery to a large audience was brought home to me last week when I was asked to deliver a workshop on Resilience to over 80 staff members of Medtronic as part of Wellness Week. Many of these were remote working and it demonstrated the cost effectiveness and effective time use of a Zoom call. Cutting down on carbon emissions and not having to drive a distance was also a great aspect of the work.
The following day I found myself in an actual room with a large group of students pursuing their MSc in Management in the Smurfit Business School in UCD. This was my first time back in the physical space and it allowed an interaction, creativity and engagement that is unique to such a space. Interesting we were exploring the importance of Team Charters and Agreements around their own virtual and face to face collaborations that they will be engaged with over the next two years of their studies. It was so enjoyable to have the human interaction with everyone, especially as they arrived in and we could have the small talk that allows one to get a better understanding of who is in the room.
As someone who is very comfortable with online delivery and hopes to continue with this from a work life balance, carbon reduction and time effectiveness perspective, it’s important that we remain open to all forms of delivery and engagement. We need real face to face experiences, especially for new teams, onboarding and perhaps that creative spark. Experiencing the traffic around Dublin highlighted the impact that remote can have on our towns and villages in the quieter parts of this land!
