What do you learn in initio's online-facilitation training?

Everything you need to moderate interactive meetings and workshops online: The right tools (with their strengths and weaknesses), plenty of methods, tricks, and "techniques" . You will learn to avoid the most common stumbling blocks . At the end you will be able to independently facilitate workshops on all conceivable topics. Here is an overview of all the details .

How long does such a training for virtual meetings take?

That depends a lot on your skill level . We train beginners and advanced learners and are very flexible depending on your previous knowledge. There are usually between 2 and 6 sessions of 2 hours each.

Can't you keep it short and sweet?

Of course. If you want to prepare for a specific online-meeting, we will coach you personally in advance and work out a coherent, activating, varied methodical procedure with you, with which you can be seen.

How much does the online-facilitation training cost?

Less than you think. Contact for us a free initial consultation and quote !

▷ Customized Training for Online Moderation Hybrid Meetings

Seminars and trainings

In our customized trainings and webinars for online meetings, virtual workshops, online conferences, and digital moderation, we teach you how to professionally prepare and conduct virtual meetings. If you have learned to facilitate online-meetings efficiently and professionally, you can also work with others in a virtual environment, remote and online – at least as well as in the office. In our trainings you will learn how to do this.

Our Offerings on the Topic of Virtual Moderation Collaboration

Online-facilitation training

Prepare and facilitate online-meetings professionally!
Online tools and methods
Creating positive group dynamics in remote teams

Further information

Moderators for Online Meetings, Retreats, Large Groups

Professionally facilitated online-workshops
Activating and interactive Formats
Promoting cohesion in remote teams

Further information

Leadership Collaboration in virtual Teams

Develop lead virtual teams
Transform remote teams into high-performance teams
Trust, reliability, collaboration

Further information

Can online meetings completely replace face-to-face meetings?

Yes! You can achieve the same goals with online-meetings and virtual workshops but sometimes you have to follow a different approach.

In our digital training courses, you will learn how to achieve even better results in online-meetings and skilfully designed online-workshops than in conventional “face-to-face meetings”.

The challenges in virtual meetings

Things can go very wrong in virtual meetings. Here are some examples:

Little interaction

Meetings seem rigid, there is little interaction. The cameras are switched off, one person is holding a monologue, there is little interaction or discussion. This hardly generates any creative ideas and no culture of innovation.

Limited perception

People are used to perceiving on several “levels”. Gestures, facial expressions and tone of voice are certainly conveyed in video meetings. Body language details, on the other hand, can be lost – this “perception level” is only available to us to a limited extent via video conferencing.

Pitfalls in communication

Spoken communication in online tools is different and sometimes limited. Sentences become shorter, language changes, nuances are sometimes not perceived.

In our training for online moderation and virtual meetings, we teach you how to effectively compensate for these effects.

Sequence of events

Even in online-workshops, strong characters may dominate the meeting. You can avoid this by using a clever scenario or a well laid-out proceeding. We teach you what it takes for a successful remote workshop/meeting.

Dealing with unequal "presence"

The tendency for extroverted participants to dominate in online meetings and for introverts not to have as much “air time” is reinforced in virtual meetings if you don’t counteract as a moderator. We will show you, as future online-facilitators, proven methodologies on how to Engage and activate silent participants.

Lack of feedback for the presenter or facilitator

For presenters or trainers, there is often a feeling of communicating with a “black hole” with little or no feedback.

While you are talking, everyone else is getting quieter and quieter and you wonder if they are actually still listening and how much participants have actually understood. In face-to-face meetings, listeners may also become sleepy or otherwise distracted.

In our trainings for professional online moderation We show you tricks and techniques on how to avoid this in virtual meetings or how to react skillfully and keep everyone focused and “present”.

Technical challenges

As a moderator and presenter, you need to prepare online meetings much better and also have Plan B and C ready in case something goes wrong.

But what to do if the Internet connection suddenly suffers breaks down or other technology involved doesn’t work as expected? We show you how these situations can be faced and resolved professionally in virtual meetings.

In-depth knowledge of tools and their functions

In most virtual meetings, only a few features of online meeting tools are used: audio and screen sharing.

However, most tools enable much more virtual interaction if you know the features and know how to use them skillfully.

We teach you formats and tools that allow you to achieve far more online and virtually than just “showing” and “collecting comments“!

The physical environment in online meetings

Where I sit and whether I sit alone or with several participants in a room makes a difference. Is the room too loud? This disturbs the other participants. Is the background “too private?” This looks umprofessional…

With us, you will also learn how to conduct online meetings professionally, even from your home office.

We can help

If you want to facilitate efficient online-meetings and good virtual teamwork, you need these skills:

Knowledge of suitable tools
Practice in applying virtual interactive methods
Skillful handling of functions and platforms
Knowledge of how to control group dynamics in a virtual environment
Development of efficient and goal-oriented workshop-formats that work well in online-meetings
Measures and tools to promote and consolidate collaboration in remote teams

Training for Professional Online Moderation of Virtual Meetings

With us you learn

how to use these tools efficiently to get things done in a short time
Methods and formats to make meetings interactive
how to promote group dynamics in such a way that close cooperation is developed in remote teams in the long run
which platforms are particularly suitable for which purpose
how to select the appropriate online-tools and use them effectively and professionally
know all relevant functions
and you will learn goal-oriented workshop scenarios and formats to achieve your workshop goals in online-meetings.

Raw outline of the training

We deliver our trainings online – because you only learn how to swim once in the water
We work with a digital mix of methods to ensure that everyone is actively involved, e.g. interactive online-sessions, work in break-out groups between sessions and exchanges on a virtual training platform to consolidate learning success between training sessions.
Case clinic transfer: We encourage participants to try out all the things they have learned directly in their working environmentso that we can reflect upon the results, learnings and difficulties in the training
We show tips, tricks, and methods that bring quick changes
We will also train you to meet the challenges in leading virtual teams
But we also talk about “new ways of working” and how you can embed online-meetings into new work processes

Short Training: Moderation of Online Meetings

Our online-facilitation training courses are always tailor-made.

If you’re looking for a short training in professional online moderation, we focus on the essentials.

If you would like to “dive deep into the topic”, we can also develop a suitable curriculum for you. Please ask us – we always provide “tailor-made” and customized training.

Online Workshop Moderation: Questions Addressed in the Training

How can I, as an online moderator, conduct a web meeting or webinar and focus the attention of participants?
In an online-meeting or webinar, how can I foster the participation of individuals and the interaction between participants ?
Which tools are particularly suitable for which purposes in online-meetings? And if you are bound to certain tools: How do you get the most out of your existing toolkit?
What can I do to avoid misunderstandings and lead virtual meetings with confidence?
What is the best way to prepare web meetings and how do I design a webinar in the virtual classroom?
What online-facilitation tips are there for the individual phases of the online-meeting?
How do I conduct online-workshops in an efficient, interactive and participation-oriented way?
Can I do exercises and group work in the virtual classroom?
How can a team feeling be created in virtual team meetings?
How can I tell that the attendees of my digital webinar really understood the material?
How do I deal with different nations, behaviours and language barriers in a virtual meeting or webinar?

These Methods and Tools You Will Learn in the Online Moderation Training

Interactive, engaging, and activating online methods with which you can develop goals, strategies, and action plans online in all group sizes
how to use interaction-triggering elements online in a targeted manner
how opinion-forming and decision-making work efficiently and fairly in the virtual space
Methods on how to specifically prepare your online presentations for this medium, so that you can convince your audience and receive feedback
How to present yourself best, with optimal audio quality and suitable background
alternating small group work online
How to skillfully implement “Liberating Structures” and other activating online workshop methods
virtual constellations to map polarities and opinions and create resources for collaboration
how to share small group results online and form valuable extracts from them
how to design plenary discussions “in large rounds” effectively
How to celebrate special team moments online, project milestones, team holidays….

Precisely tailored seminar content

We tailor-make our training concepts, so that we meet the exact needs of our clients and trainees. We do not deliver a standard program. In doing so, we use the platforms that you are familiar with and already use in your everyday work-life.

In order to achieve best quality results, this is how we proceed:

We conduct a non-binding initial interview
make you an offer (as above – or modified to your needs)
We determine the goals and contents of the training together with you
create an individual curriculum for your company
carry out the training
provide high-quality and informative training documents for downloading
evaluate the success and participant assessments in the follow-up, if you wish.

Your training could look like this

As already described: We always train to your requirements. Therefore, the exact procedure depends on the learning objectives that we define with you in advance.

However, such (or similar) formats areoften booked:

“Short and crisp”

3h concise input
try out some tools
Attractive training documents with all the knowledge to download

“In-depth”

2 trainings, 2-3h each
pointed input
Trying out and practicing tools and formats
Attractive training documents with all the knowledge to download

“Learning Journey”

3 trainings, 2-3h each
pointed input
Trying out and practicing tools and formats
Acquisition of a “method toolkit“
Developing your own workshop processes
Meeting in small groups between the workshops to further try out and practice together
Exchange and sharing of learning experiences on a virtual learning platform between training sessions
Attractive training documents with all the knowledge to download

However, these are only some of the possible options. Together with you we adapt the contents and the procedure to your specific needs.

Training hybrid meetings and hybrid workshops

Hybrid formats are becoming increasingly important in the everyday life of many companies and organizations.

Hybrid formats are workshops in which one part of the participants takes part “in presence” and others online.

The challenge is to give all participants, whether in the home office or on-site, the same opportunities for participation and interaction. But how do people “on site” and virtual participants share the same work tools, such as virtual bulletin boards, voting tools, etc? How are hybrid breakout sessions possible?

To ensure this, a certain amount of additional technical and personnel effort is required.

In our hybrid facilitation practice (as consultants, we now regularly facilitate such hybrid formats), we have seen all the relevant pitfalls – and would like to save you from any mistakes.

We have

Implementation tips
Proven tips for the technical setup
Tools that have proven to work also under hybrid conditions
Things you should definitely pay attention to already when inviting and planning hybrid events
Proven practical tips for hybrid and yet very efficient breakout groups
Time for all your questions
Example proceedings for interactive elements in a hybrid environment
Time to work on your practical examples

Here is a free initial consultation on hybrid training!

10 Reasons why You should Participate in our Webinar for Online Moderation Methods

Comprehensive training: you will learn the subject matter in depth and breadth. After the training, you are guaranteed to be an online facilitation specialist.
Our trainers are experienced practitioners
Learning by example: We apply virtual moderation methods during the training itself. Therefore, you learn from the first moment!
Bookable at any time : many training dates available
Individual: We adapt our training contents to your specific needs
Time flexibility: Our trainers live and work in different time zones and are used to dealing with customers in international settings.
“Case clinic“: Coaching also for “tricky cases” and special challenges (can also be booked as individual coaching )
Tailor-made trainings for closed groups (“inhouse trainings”)
Current expertise: Our trainers are specialized and long-time practitioners of the methods, approaches, and formats taught here (“coming from practice“)
Low price – a lot of output for a moderate investment (“more than worth the money“)

One on one coaching reflecting your individual needs regarding online meetings

Are you a manager, project leader, or internal consultant?
Do you have special content-related challenges, are you involved in a highly demanding project?
Do you need individual support or work in distant time zones?

We also offer individual coaching – even at “unusual hours” and on the most difficult topics concerning

Online Moderation
Moderation of virtual meetings
Team building and team development for virtual teams
Collaboration in virtual teams
Leading remote teams
Remote office culture
Lateral leadership – online and offline
Trust and reliability in virtual teams

Target group

Our training for moderation of online meetings and virtual and hybrid meetings is aimed at existing groups from companies or organizations (“in-house trainings”). We do not currently offer open training for individuals.

Secure your free initial consultation here!

Our Trainers for Online Meetings and Online Moderation

Florian Grolman

Managing Consultant. Focus areas: Strategy development, Change Management, Organizational Consulting and Organizational Development, Team Development, Leadership Training, Vision and Values Development.

Juliane NeumannRead Article

Juliane Neumann

Consultant and coach. Focus areas: Distributed work & remote teams, team development, digital transformation, agile work in distributed teams, training of leaders in distributed teams

Stephan DohrnRead Article

Stephan Dohrn

Consultant and Coach. Main areas of focus: Distributed Work & Remote Teams, Team Development, Digital Transformation,
Psychological Safety in Teams, Agile Work in Distributed Contexts, Leadership and Entrepreneurial Coaching, Change Management.

Florian Grolman

Juliane NeumannRead Article

Juliane Neumann

Consultant and coach. Focus areas: Distributed work & remote teams, team development, digital transformation, agile work in distributed teams, training of leaders in distributed teams

Stephan DohrnRead Article

Stephan Dohrn

Secure your free initial consultation here!

FAQ – frequently asked questions about online-facilitation training

Was lernt man im Online-Moderations-Training von initio?

Alles, was Sie brauchen, um interaktive Meetings und Workshops online zu moderieren: Die richtigen Tools (mit ihren Stärken und Schwächen), jede Menge Methoden, Tricks und “Kniffe”. Sie lernen die häufigsten Stolperfallen zu vermeiden. Am Ende können Sie Workshops zu allen denkbaren Themen selbständig moderieren. Hier ein Überblick über alle Details.

Wie lange dauert so ein Training für virtuelle Meetings?

Das hängt sehr von Ihrem Kenntnisstand ab. Wir trainieren Anfänger und Fortgeschrittene und richten uns sehr flexibel nach Ihren Vorkenntnissen. Üblicherweise sind es zwischen 2 und 6 Termine von jeweils 2 Stunden.

Geht’s auch “kurz und knackig”?

Natürlich. Wenn Sie sich auf ein konkretes Online-Meeting vorbereiten wollen, coachen wir Sie im Vorfeld persönlich und erarbeiten mit Ihnen einen stimmigen, aktivierenden, abwechslungsreichen methodischen Ablauf, mit dem Sie sich sehen lassen können.

Wieviel kostet das Online-Moderations-Training?

Weniger, als Sie denken. Kontaktieren Sie für uns ein kostenloses Erstgespräch und ein Angebot!

Secure your free initial consultation here!

Kostenfreies Erstgespräch

Noch nicht überzeugt? Testen Sie uns in einem kostenfreien Erstgespräch:

Wir erörtern gemeinsam Ihre Herausforderung
Wir zeigen Lösungswege auf
Bei weiterführendem Interesse erstellen wir ein Grob-Konzept
Kalkulation der anfallenden Kosten

Hier bekommen Sie alle Informationen, die Sie brauchen:

Vereinbaren Sie hier ein kostenfreies Erstgespräch!

Looking for a Strategy? Planning a Change?

Uncover hidden resistances
Turn your employees into ‘drivers’ of your change

… through our 21 years of experience in many industries!

Get advice now

Free and non-binding

In-depth Articles

Let’s talk!

We have more than 21 years of experience and will be happy to advise you!

Book your free initial consultation. We will get in touch with you.

ENTHUSIASTIC CUSTOMER REACTIONS AND OPINIONS:

Thank you very much for the highly professional and motivating implementation of the Open Space. The feedback from the participants was consistently positive.

Thank you again for the great workshop – we have already started implementing the first suggestions and are having a lot of fun doing so.

The training was enjoyable and, above all, it advanced us, inspired us, and was fun. Thank you very much for that!

That was really good. You understand your craft!

Thank you for the great event. We took away a lot of impulses and look forward to reaping the benefits.

We have received very positive feedback about your training. Thank you very much for that!

That was a really great workshop, thank you very much!

Thank you once again for this all-around successful workshop day! We couldn’t have managed it like this without your support. The effort was worth it!

Thank you again for the great workshop – we are very happy with the outcome!

The day was extremely productive. I am very motivated to continue working with the results.

I’m always thrilled to work with professionals – Thank you very much for the goal-oriented moderation!

A big thank you for moderating the workshop. As a team, we emerged from the day with a good team spirit and a clearer picture regarding the way forward. The workshop was very worthwhile!

4-day workshop and yet: playful, creative, inspiring and structured with good methodology. Highly recommended.

Objective, constructive, optimistic – You have put us on course. Thank you to initio – I will definitely recommend you!

The DAV sincerely thanks initio for their support on this sometimes challenging journey. A mission statement of this quality would not have been possible without initio, and above all, we would not have conducted the discussion so openly. We are grateful for this impetus.

Once again, my sincere thanks for the excellent collaboration, organization, and the great results of the workshops!

We achieved all our goals and it was exactly what I had envisioned. Thank you very much!

It’s fun to work with you!

That was a very good method. We couldn’t have done it without you!

The support in the preparation and execution of our retreat was very professional and helped us greatly. We were very satisfied with the two intensive days

Everyone was very satisfied with your moderation. The agreements made together work wonders. The team workshop did us a lot of good!

It’s truly impressive how you perceive group dynamics and spontaneously guide them in a targeted manner for further proceedings during the event. We all, and I personally, really liked that.

The change management training was very good! You truly understand the subject matter in depth – it shows.

You moderated our two-day strategy workshop very professionally. The challenge was significant, and the result is very good. Thank you very much for that!

The minister’s cabinet and the department are pleased with the excellent cooperation, which is characterized by trust, reliability, and great empathy!

You were a real asset to our team development. Thank you very much for that!

I thoroughly enjoyed working with you both personally and professionally, and it was a great pleasure to conduct this workshop together with you!

Thank you for the valuable insights into your practical work and the many tips and moderation tricks that provided a lively glimpse into the implementation of methods.

The interactive conference design was really helpful in implementing our WE strategy. Through the high employee participation, we received important impulses for further implementation. The preparation was precise, and the on-site collaboration was professional and very pleasant. Thank you!

Your vigilant and well-founded moderation and inspiration have helped us tremendously. The team was also thrilled!

I have received only positive feedback about your training. The content was very relevant to practice and everyone also found the structure of the seminar very good!

I am very satisfied with the consultation. The workshop has brought us a great step forward. Thank you for that!

Thank you for the great training. You have stimulated many thought processes in me!

Her expertise received 9.5 out of 10 possible points, her teaching 8.8 and the learning atmosphere 9.7 points. Top!

Thank you once again for the truly excellent consultation! This quality is not often encountered.

Thank you very much for your great support. Thanks to your help, we have truly taken a big step forward.

We are all thrilled with your seminar. Thank you very much! I have already implemented the first impulses and I’m already noticing initial successes. I’m looking forward to trying more…

A very helpful and good workshop! The results also helped us greatly during the restructuring phase.

This was a very efficient process that provided us with valuable insights and results. I am looking forward to the further process.

Our leadership conference greatly benefited from your intensive methodical consultation and professional moderation. The results exceeded our expectations!

The Open Space format was a powerful and thoroughly successful kick-off for our change process. The ministry was also thrilled!

The team development was truly excellent preparation for our strategy retreat.

We have received exclusively positive feedback on the conference. We can work very well with the results. Thank you very much for your commitment!

initio operates in the sensitive, complex, and dynamic field of strategic consulting not only efficiently but with foresight, sustainability, and passion. The impulses from our collaboration continue to influence our daily business at Sony Music to this day.

You prepared our workshop intensively and precisely. Both the method and moderation fit very well with our objectives. We were able to continue working very successfully with the results. Thank you very much!

I received particularly positive feedback regarding your moderation. Several workshop-experienced participants reported that they came with rather low expectations and left extremely positively surprised.

I have rarely experienced processes where so much has been achieved.

I will adopt some of your methods for my own workshops.

Thank you very much for this team development process. I’m glad we booked you.

You have played a very significant role in the success of our event, because without your support, it would have been much more difficult for us to ‘sell’ your innovative approach. Thank you for that!

The seminar was very helpful and will accompany me for weeks and months to come.

Very good! 1.6 as feedback score from workshop participants – I hope we continue the constructive and very pleasant collaboration!

Your sharp analytical skills were very impressive and helpful.

I learned a great deal in your seminar. It was exactly the right mix of theory, inspiration, and practical application. Therefore, I give it 9 out of 10 points!

Thank you for these really good, efficient days! The workshop was received positively throughout.
Thank you very much for your support!

The mission statement process was straightforward and creative. A very good result all around!

4 days workshop and yet: playful, creative, inspiring and structured with good methodology. Absolutely recommended.

By your professional steering of the process, you have played a significant part in the success of the project. Thank you very much!

Thank you very much for the really helpful seminar!

A model of this quality would not have been possible without your help. The result, however, is thoroughly gratifying and is already finding its way into our daily work.

The well-prepared and professionally accompanied team event gave us valuable suggestions and insights. Together we are now implementing this in further concrete steps. Thank you very much!

Thank you for the valuable insights into your practical work and the many tips and facilitation tricks that gave a lively insight into method implementation.

Rarely received such a well-structured seminar with excellent content.

It was impressive to see how much came out of our workshop. That was outstanding!

We are more than satisfied with the result. Thanks again for doing an excellent job! We hope to continue working with you!

The method training was very helpful. We can highly recommend initio Consulting for future seminars.

After the workshops with initio, we can clearly see how we can develop and proceed further and which tasks have high priority now. Thank you very much for your support!

The strategy workshop was extremely productive. You have always kept the group focused on the essential issues. We fully recommend your facilitation!