| THAT AWKWARD SOUND OF SILENCE:WHEN NO ONE WILL RESPOND TO YOUR QUESTION |
| One of the most dreaded and dreadful moments for a virtual trainer is when an open-ended question is asked and absolutely no one responds. You wait, smiling at your participants in anticipation that someone will say something. Anything. But there is total silence. It happens. What’s a trainer to do? Try these strategies: |
 Immediately engage participants when they join the session.Soft openers (start-before-the-start) and openers that invite participation via chat set the stage for active participation throughout the session. Ask an open- ended, topic-related question that almost all participants will be able to answer (e.g., What challenging behavior pushes your hot button? What is your favorite book to share with children?) Read responses aloud with appropriate comments. Whenever possible, ask your open-ended question both verbally and by sharing it on a slide. Once you have posed your question, change the screen to the gallery view if that is an option in your platform. Seeing faces promotes discussion. It also allows you to observe your participants for signs that they may be willing to share their thoughts verbally. Be patient. Participants need a few seconds to formulate their response to your question, determine their willingness to speak up, and unmute themselves. When it seems that no one will respond, count to five before abandoning the discussion. Often times, someone will speak just as you are about to move on. Consider whether to switch the expected mode of response from verbal to typing in the chat. You may also want to answer the question yourself by saying something like, “In the past, teachers shared that . . .” In a session with preregistration, review the participant list in advance. If you are acquainted with several participants, contact them in advance of the training, share the question, and ask if they would be willing to speak when the time comes. Finally, if you are a training participant and the presenter is waiting and waiting and waiting for a response to a question, help her out! Answer the question. Ask for the question to be repeated or clarified. Make a comment about the topic even if it is not a direct response to the question. Just say something! |