In Your Face or
At Your Desktop

Cynthia Clay, the author of Great Webinars: How to Create Interactive Learning that is Captivating, Informative and Fun and the co-author with Ray Olitt of Peer Power: Transforming Workplace Relationships, loves to speak to audiences, face-to-face or virtually. Both books have been released by Pfeiffer/Jossey-Bass, imprints of John Wiley & Sons. 

She is passionate about helping leaders and employees communicate clearly, directly, and effectively to reduce workplace conflict. Her book, Peer Power, avoids the game-playing and manipulation at the heart of some approaches to getting what you want, and instead helps the reader incorporate four principles (Be Real, Take Responsibility, Extend Respect and Build Relationships) into their everyday interpersonal interactions. At the moment of need (for example, when someone is being attacked), Peer Power provides five strategies to transform the working relationship. Peer Power is your pocket coach to help you work well with anyone. Watch this interview to learn more.

How can you get more Peer Power in your life?

• Buy the book (at Amazon)
• Register for the upcoming Peer Power webinar, first in the 2012 Thought Leadership Series (sponsored by Adobe)
• Invite Cynthia to speak, face-to-face or virtually, at your next event

Cynthia is also a leading authority on designing and delivering engaging learning experiences in the virtual classroom. Great Webinars takes the novice facilitator from fear to effectiveness as she learns how to avoid mistakes that sink a webinar, how to build interaction, gain learning transfer, and build contingency plans to deal with technology snafus. Cynthia's techniques have been developed over many years leading virtual workshops with platforms such as WebEx, Adobe Connect, Microsoft Lync, and AT&T Connect. Clients like NovoNordisk, Halliburton, Valero Energy, and Genentech have benefited from her creative, practical approaches to virtual learning. Watch this interview to learn more.

How do you learn to deliver a Great Webinar?

• Buy the book (at Amazon)
• Attend her Great Webinars session at the 2012 ASTD International Conference & Exhibition in Denver, Colorado (May)
• Invite Cynthia Clay to speak, face-to-face or virtually, at your next event

NetSpeed Learning Solutions helps organizations develop better leaders and more engaged employees through face-to-face and virtual learning.

Speed Read Recommendation

The Resilience Factor

by Karen Reivich, PhD, and Andrew shatte, PhD

Trainer Tips: Whiteboarding Wizardry

by Cynthia Clay

Most web conference platforms have whiteboards. They function as the equivalent of a flipchart used in the face-to-face classroom. The most common use of a whiteboard in a virtual instructor-led training (VILT) session is to open it up, facilitate discussion and record participant ideas. But don't stop there! Consider these creative uses of whiteboards and annotation tools:

• Use a PowerPoint slide as your whiteboard. After your brief lecture, Include a diagram, a chart, a picture of a piece of equipment, or a blueprint (related to your content, of course). Have your learners annotate or label the various elements to reinforce what they heard.
   
• Use the same picture and list five to ten labels down the left side of the PowerPoint slide. Ask participants to draw a line from each label to the correct element on the slide.
   
• For teambuilding in the VILT environment, ask a team to draw a giraffe on a whiteboard. Give them two minutes to plan their process. Then mute their phone lines and tell them to execute their plan. Have the rest of your learners observe the creative teamwork that ensues.
   
• Create a participant grid on a slide with photos of your learners. As they arrive in the virtual classroom, ask people to "sign in" next to their photos, adding their names and favorite hobbies. You'll build a collaborative learning community as people get a sense of their fellow classmates.
   
• Create a motto and slogan for leadership in your organization. Have the group discuss aloud or offer ideas in a chat pod. While they make suggestions, have a volunteer (or two) draw the various mottos and type the various slogans on the whiteboard. It's attention-engaging to watch the images and words appear (no artistic talent necessary).

Learn more about these kinds of engaging, interaction techniques by taking NetSpeed's Virtual Facilitator Trainer Certification program. The next course opens in May 2012.