Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT)

Everyone keeps talking and implementing virtual instructor-led training within their companies, so what is it? And why is it a crucial component of the world nowadays?         

VILT is now one of the fastest-growing industries. Virtual learning and digital training programs gained popularity during the pandemic and showed us incredible benefits. You can hold or participate in one from everywhere, anytime, and save tons of money on equipment, travel, etc. 

So, to avoid confusion, I suggest starting from the very beginning - understanding the concept of Virtual Instructor-Led training. Let's go. 

Definition

Training delivered in a virtual or simulated environment, when the instructor and student are in different locations, is called virtual instructor-led training (VILT). The main goal of virtual training is to replicate the traditional classroom or learning experience. 

Instructor-led Training or Virtual Instructor-Led Training

VILT Vs. ILT, what is the difference? It is straightforward, one is held offline face-to-face, and the other is held virtually to recreate the offline, face-to-face experience in the online format. Let's take a look at some similarities and differences. 

Similarities are:

• Both are instructor-led
• Both cover the same topics and materials  

Differences:

• ILT -while teaching ILT, it is easier to communicate and show empathy. Also body language is not limited.
• VILT - offers more time and distance flexibility 
• VILT - provides you with an incredible opportunity to deliver training in many ways, such as ready-to-use courses (pre-recorded),e-books, and podcasts. 

Which one should you pick? It is, after all, a matter of personal preference. Meanwhile, if you want to prosper and grow your client base, I recommend stepping outside of your comfort zone and entering the VILT market, where demand is somewhat higher than supply. You'll need to learn more about platforms, measures to take, and best practices, but all of this will lead to significant success, and we will be here to guide you along the way.

Benefits of Virtual Instructor-Led Training

So why should you choose VILT? It offers you unlimited benefits due to technological advances the modern world gives us. And we are going to take a look at some. Let's start with the following:

• Time Flexibility: The main benefit of VILT is the fact that it is very flexible. Especially if it is pre-recorded training, then everyone can access it anytime.
• Location freedom: If it is a live-session training, participants can join from any device and location.
• No extra costs: Virtual Instructor-Led training reduces costs for additional expenses, which are more of a liability. Expenses such as finding an excellent location, light, technology, etc. 
• Improves your technical skills: Let's be honest, we all got better at technology during the pandemic, and for many of us, Online Learning has become the best experience we have ever had with learning. If it was not for the coronavirus, would we get better at using everyday technology? Before, we couldn't perform the most straightforward actions on our laptops, even Gen Z. 
• Contribute to better communication: the fact that you can join this training from anywhere contributes to more straightforward communication. You can join the movement with hundreds of strangers from your comfortable and cozy home, which psychologically makes people feel safer. 
• Widens your thinking: As it is so easy to communicate with people worldwide, the chance that you will end up with somebody from a completely different culture is high. Working with people with diverse backgrounds will help you look at problems from a different perspective and generally will develop your thinking. Why is that important? Because in the age of globalization, people who can integrate with people from other cultures will succeed.        

How To Create Successful VILT

Now is the time for us to establish a Successful Virtual Instructor-Led Training to help you advance your career while making some money.

Step 1. Choose a Platform

To create a Successful VILT program, you will first need a place to make it. There are lots of website builders available out there. However, we recommend using end-to-end platforms to reduce costs. We will tell you later in this article about what platform to choose.

Step 2. Establish Clear Goals

Because of the limited time during VILT, it is crucial to have clear goals on what participants will gain after the single training or the whole training program. First, that motivates them to be more involved in the session, and their engagement contributes to positive reviews and testimonials for you, potentially boosting further sales.         

Step 3. Work on Content

Remember, the critical element of Virtual Training is Content. As the instructor, you must make your content understandable for your audience – vocabulary is essential. Try to use short and simple words to describe complicated concepts. Prepare your notes before the session; think of an order. An easy way to find out whether your content is understandable is to lecture your friend or relative. Listen to their feedback and try to implement it for your content to improve it.          

Step 4. Create some Guides 

An excellent way to help your users learn more effectively is using Learner's Guides. Generally, you can include the outline of your "lecture," glossary, and abstract. E.g., if you made notes to remember to talk about significant moments? Brilliant, send it to them! This will only ease your job, as if your trainees familiarize themselves with the content of your training lecture, it would be easier for them to understand and remember. 

Also, after each training session, you can send them the slides (if you use those during the session) or a summary of what they just learned. You cannot imagine how much your students will appreciate this kind of handout and how much they will recommend your VILTs to others.         

Step 5. Be Engaging

You don’t want to give your trainees middle school teachers vibes. Make your training sessions engaging and enjoyable! First of all, be friendly and humorous. Use ice-breaking questions to get your students interested in participating and getting to know them – this will help you teach them. Make a small tradition of playing a warm-up game in the middle of the session to ensure everyone is on the same page. Ask guiding questions, let them think, and teach them how to think the way to help them succeed in your course.

Step 6. Work on visibility 

Suppose you already have a client base, published courses, podcasts, and live sessions when you choose a platform. Your next step will be to work on the visibility of your website. One of the ways to do that is to create a blog where you'll share necessary and exciting information about training, coaching, your experience, etc. 

Step 7. Avoid These Mistakes

Believe me; you can succeed by following our tips and best practices and avoiding these mistakes. 

• Lack of time management – Being unable to manage those few minutes you have for your lectures is harmful to you and your trainees. Preplan your training sessions beforehand o. A time outline: informational part, question, and answer, introduction and summary, warm-up games, etc., should be included in the plan.
• Concentrating on one specific area too much and forgetting about other aspects and topics of the training – You don’t want to linger on one thing for too long and quickly skim through different points. To avoid that, prioritize your information (before the session starts).
• Lecturing – if you don’t want to bore your audience to death, consider avoiding this. It would be best if you made your training sessions engaging and Fun. Remember the Sawyers?
• Lack of preparation - not everyone is good at improvisation, and even if you are, why risk it if you can prepare flashcards with keywords, key concepts, and notes? Plus, by preparing for your class, you will automatically repeat the information during the real one, making the process easier.

Virtual Instructor-Led Training Platforms

I already told you a few paragraphs before that it is better to use end-to-end platforms. Why? Because if you choose a website builder such as WordPress or Wix, you must code some features, buy some plugins for extra functionality and pay for hosting. It sounds like lots of eadditionalcosts, right? Therefore go the easier way. Build your website on Uteach.

Uteach

Uteach is a perfect platform for coaches. It enables you to build a whole website in just a few clicks, with free plans and a 14-day free trial run for paid plans. You can easily design a website using custom templates and adjust each as much as you want. The website you create in Uteach will not only be responsive and modern, but it will also help you communicate your unique message to your audiences. 

Besides Uteach, you can consider one-time training platforms such as Zoom and Google Classroom. 

Zoom

Zoom is a popular choice, that’s for sure. It has a simple interface, and, all in all, it is relatively easy to work with without preparation. Access to your Zoom training session can be shared via links or passcodes, making hacking harder. You can also record your Zoom sessions, which can be helpful for several reasons: to track your progress, for your trainees to consult, and so on. But although Zoom comes free, you have to pay for a premium version to record your sessions or have unlimited time for your sessions, as the free version allows only half an hour. 

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is great because apart from lecturing video sessions, you can use it to post blogs, quizzes, assignments, and so on, unlike Zoom, which only offers sessions. You can easily track and grade your trainees' progress and grade them – all of that is free. Plus, if you are used to Google products, this is an excellent choice, as the platform is intuitive for Google users.

Virtual Instructor-Led Training Best Practices

If you completed everything you needed to start VILT, do not forget to research the best practices to be competitive. Here are some tips for YOU:

• Engage Your Learners: Add some interactive activities, ask questions during the training, and keep reminding learners that they are here to gain something. We talked about this before, and therefore, here I want to mention another element that will help keep the audience engaged and motivated: your enthusiasm. Everyone looks forward to learning from someone who cares about them, is not sleepy, and is energized enough to give learners energy and motivation. 
• Have a support team: One of the best practices to enhance and make the VILT experience for both parties enjoyable is to have a technical support team who will answer chat questions and quickly fix technical issues. 
• Have Fun: Do not be boring; training is supposed to be fun too. Yes, the main objective is for you to teach and for participants to learn. However, it is not a boring lecture. It has fun with what you do, makes jokes, and uses some icebreakers.
• Focus on Quality rather than Quantity: Offering tons of pre-recorded training and tive sessions with no quality will ruin your reputation. Make sure you put your heart and soul into the movement made for the audience. Remember, course hours do not matter! If a learner can comprehend the material in 10 minutes, do not make a 1-hour video; value others' time. 
• Make your training part of a more extensive learning journey: Teach how to work in groups and be patient and respectful toward other people's opinions and points of perspective. Learn how to be humane and tolerant and apply the knowledge to situations outside the box. Teach your students how to think, how ponder, and reflect.

Conclusion

To summarize this article, I can say that do not let challenges shake your confidence. Of course, you will face some obstacles on your way, but you definitely can overcome those. Keep reading our blog, and explore millions of ways to become a successful coach with a great website. 

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