Impress your audience and achieve your goals with this detailed virtual leadership training event planning guide.

“ By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”  - Benjamin Franklin

Pre-Event: Set the Stage for Success

Define Your Vision:

Who is your ideal attendee? Develop a participant persona. (Who is the target audience, and how can you help them?)

What kind of experience do you want to create? (Interactive, engaging, skill-building) (Plan a training event that blends expert presentations with interactive exercises, role-playing scenarios, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities in breakout rooms.) Tailor the experience for the type of participants

Pick Your Date & Time:

Considering your target audience if you are targeting corporate workers, you might choose a weekday morning or afternoon to minimize scheduling conflicts during their core working hours. Utilizing a time zone converter would be beneficial if you have international participants.

Choose the Perfect Platform:

Depending on the nature of your leadership training event, a platform with breakout room functionality, whiteboarding capabilities, and polling features like Zoom or Webex would be ideal. Here’s the in-depth comparison blog you can refer to for the same.

Craft a Compelling Budget:

Crafting a compelling budget for your virtual event involves careful consideration of various expenses to ensure a successful outcome. Allocate funds for essential elements such as the platform license, which may range from $500 to $2000 depending on the features and duration needed. Additionally, budget for hiring a leadership development expert as your presenter, which could cost approximately $1000 to $5000 depending on their experience and credentials. Don't forget to include marketing costs for social media ads promoting the event, with a budget ranging from $200 to $1000 depending on the reach and targeting options. Lastly, consider additional services like closed captioning for accessibility, which may add $100 to $500 to your budget. By strategically allocating funds to these key areas, you can ensure a compelling and successful virtual event within your budget constraints.

Build Buzz with Marketing:

Develop a captivating website, landing page or post showcasing the benefits of attending the training event, the leadership development expert's bio, and a clear registration form.

Design eye-catching social media graphics highlighting the training event's theme and targeted email blasts to your subscriber list interested in leadership development.

‍Assemble Your Dream Team:

Secure a qualified event producer expert who is engaging and can effectively guide participants through interactive exercises and role-playing scenarios in a virtual setting.

Finalise the training content, presentations and activities.

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Streamline Registration:

Create a user-friendly registration process that captures essential attendee information like name, email address, and current leadership experience level (beginner, intermediate, etc.).

Consider offering an early-bird discount to incentivise sign-ups before the training event to get an early grasp of participant numbers.

Embrace Practice Makes Perfect:

Conduct dry runs with the facilitators and your production team to simulate the training event flow.

Test all platform functionalities, ensuring seamless screen sharing for presentations, clear audio for interactive exercises, and smooth functionality of breakout rooms.

Event Day: Deliver an Unforgettable Experience

Technical Readiness is Key (Including Advanced Features)

Have a designated team member available to troubleshoot any technical issues attendees might encounter, like login problems or audio difficulties.

Set up the platform according to your plan, including your company logo and branding elements. Upload the facilitator's presentation beforehand and ensure they have presenter permissions.

Instruct the expert and any moderators to log in early for last-minute adjustments and a smooth transition into the live training event.

Utilize advanced platform features to enhance engagement:

Explore platforms with breakout room features that allow for facilitated group discussions, role-playing scenarios in smaller groups, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities.

If your platform offers integrations with online whiteboard tools, incorporate them to encourage real-time collaboration during brainstorming sessions.

Presentation Perfection:

Ensure the facilitator has a reliable internet connection and high-quality audio equipment to avoid disruptions during the training event.

Monitor the live chat functionality for any questions or technical difficulties attendees might encounter. Address questions promptly and troubleshoot any technical issues that arise.

Keep Attendees Engaged

Vary presentation styles: Balance expert presentations with interactive activities to keep attendees focused and energized. Incorporate case studies, short video clips of real-world leadership scenarios, or polls to break up lecture portions.

Facilitate peer-to-peer learning: Utilize breakout rooms to encourage attendees to share their experiences, discuss challenges, and practice communication skills with each other. The expert can provide guidance and answer questions within each breakout room.

Gamification: Consider incorporating gamification elements like points or badges for participation in polls, Q&A, or breakout room discussions. This can add a fun layer of competition and motivate attendees to stay involved.

Live coaching opportunities: If the platform allows, explore features that enable attendees to volunteer for live coaching sessions with the expert. This can provide real-time feedback and personalize the learning experience.

Post-Event: Nurture Relationships

Express Gratitude: Expressing gratitude and measuring success are crucial steps in post-event activities. By sending a heartfelt thank-you email to attendees, along with valuable resources such as a recording of the training event and a downloadable guide, you reinforce the positive experience they had and provide them with additional value to continue their learning journey. Additionally, including a discount code for a future leadership development program not only incentivizes attendees to engage further but also fosters loyalty to your brand.

Measure Your Success: Measuring success through data analysis allows you to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of your event. By analyzing metrics such as registrations, attendance rates, and engagement levels in polls and Q&A sessions, you can assess whether you achieved your goals of equipping attendees with communication skills and generating leads for future programs. This valuable feedback enables you to identify areas of improvement for future events and refine your strategies for even greater success.

Gather Feedback: Conduct surveys to identify areas for improvement in future training events, such as preferred content format, desired length of interactive activities, or additional communication skills attendees would like to learn.

Prioritize accessibility: Offer closed captions for the training event recording and alternative presentation formats like downloadable PDF guides with summaries of key points and communication strategies. This ensures inclusivity for attendees who may prefer a non-video format or require additional accessibility features.

By following this comprehensive checklist and incorporating real-life examples, you'll be well-equipped to plan and execute a virtual leadership training event that fosters a dynamic learning environment and empowers attendees to become more effective leaders. Remember, a successful virtual event is all about providing value to your audience, achieving your desired outcomes, and fostering a sense of connection and community, even in a digital space.