How Can You Make Training More Interactive?

Interactivity doesn’t mean nonstop activities

Many trainers equate interactivity with a string of games and activities. Yet a session overloaded with activities is just as tiring as a continuous lecture, and it can cause the objectives to be lost from view. Useful interactivity is the kind that requires participants to apply what they have just learned.

The right reflex is to ask, for each part of the program, what participants should be able to do afterward, then design the activity that lets them try it out during the session.

Structure the session in short cycles

A group’s attention declines when the same way of working goes on for too long. Build your agenda in cycles: a brief input, an application activity, a group debrief. Each cycle ends with a summary that links it to what comes next.

This structure also helps the trainer: they always know where the group stands and can shorten or extend a cycle as needed without jeopardizing the whole day.

Also prepare backup activities. If a cycle runs faster than expected, you have an extra exercise ready; if it falls behind, you know which activity to cut without touching the essentials. This flexibility keeps you from sacrificing the discussion time at the end of the day, which is often the most valuable.

Effective techniques, even without digital tools

Several proven techniques get a group actively involved without any special equipment. They can be adapted to most subjects.

• An opening question asked before the input, to surface participants’ assumptions
• A few minutes of pair work followed by a group debrief
• A case study drawn from participants’ real situations
• A short role-play of a workplace situation
• A participant summarizing a concept instead of the trainer
• A closing round on what each person will put into practice

Quizzes as checkpoints, not decoration

A well-timed quiz provides valuable information: has the whole group understood the concept, or only the fastest learners? Used after a key input, it lets you decide on the spot whether to revisit a point or move on.

A tool such as QuizPlay lets you run these quizzes with the whole group and display the results instantly, which turns the check into a discussion. What matters most is still discussing the answers, especially mistakes shared by several participants.

Adapting interactivity to remote training

Remotely, nonverbal cues disappear and attention wanders more quickly. Engage participants early in the session with a simple question everyone answers, to establish the habit of participating. Alternate channels: spoken answers, written messages, breakout groups, live quizzes.

Also prepare written instructions for each activity. When a participant drifts off for a few moments, they should be able to catch up without interrupting the group.

Finally, keep video conferencing segments short and build in real breaks: a rested group participates far more than one that is kept engaged without a pause.

Monitoring engagement throughout the session

Rather than a long satisfaction survey at the end of the day, track indicators during the training: participation rates in activities, the quality of the questions asked, success at the checkpoints. Learning progress from one quiz to the next shows whether the concepts are sinking in.

Round this out with an open question at the end of the session about what each person plans to put into practice. The answers say more about the training’s impact than an overall rating.