Photo by: Kandace’s Cakes via Canva
My favorite past time has always been baking, specifically, cake decorating. I love the process of turning a bunch of ingredients into a delicious piece of art. I first discovered my love for this hobby with several dozen batches of chocolate chip cookies, a recipe I will forever remember by heart. In the beginning, the taste of the cookies wasn’t great, and the final look of the product definitely needed work. Over time, I learned I could take the recipe and make it my own. I went back and took lots of notes, added a bit more of this, took out a bit of that, and eventually the final product tasted AND looked amazing! This gave me the boost of confidence I needed to branch out into other kinds of baking. Ultimately, this led to my love of baking and decorating cakes, which has become my specialty.
What does this have to do with the virtual classroom, you ask? When I reflect on my experience as a cake aficionado, and my journey from novice to expert, it reminds me of my experience as a virtual classroom (VC) producer.
Much like my mission to improve the chocolate chip cookie recipe, I’m always trying to improve my skills as a VC producer. When I’m prepping for a new virtual course, I tend to look over the same lesson plan again and again, read it out loud to myself and my dogs, then log in to the virtual classroom to practice it. The initial run through doesn’t always sound great, but I make notes, calm my nerves, put on a smile, and keep going through it until I’m satisfied with my own performance.
When the day of delivery finally arrives, I review my long list of notes, take a deep breath, and adjust my posture in my chair. Even though I’m sometimes nervous, when I engage in small talk with our clients, it’s enough to help calm those nervous butterflies! I know our participants can hear my smile in my voice.
Although I haven’t been a virtual classroom producer as long as I’ve been a baker, there’s one thing I’ve learned from both professions: with constant practice, repetition, and some tweaking of the “recipe,” you’ll continue to improve and go from being a novice to an expert. While it won’t happen overnight, give it time and you’ll get there.
How does one of your favorite hobbies relate to training?
For the complete “recipe” and the core skills to ensure a smooth and successful virtual learning experience for your participants, you don’t want to miss the Virtual Classroom Producer workshop.
