More Tips for ADHD Teleclass/Podcast Instructors

Logistics

Be Mindful of Your Surroundings

• Call from a quiet location.
• Turn off the ringer of a multi–line phone or any other phone in the room.

Use Optimal Equipment

The best equipment choice for your conference is a phone unit directly hardwired into telephone lines. If possible, avoid using cell phones, cordless phones, speakerphones and Internet telephone services for your conference, as they often pick up static and background noise. A bad connection can sometimes be the cause of background static. If this happens, hang up and dial in again until you get a clear line. Test the working condition of your equipment before a significant conference.

Don't Forget the Extras

• Do not put your phone on hold if you have on-hold music or advertisements. Your on-hold music will play for conference Participants making conversation impossible in your absence.
• Turn off your call waiting or its beeping will disrupt the conference and may be confused with entry or exit chimes. For example, dialing *70 before the conference dial-in number disables call waiting for some phone services. If you need assistance with this feature, contact your local phone service provider.

Take Advantage of Conference Controls

• Self–mute can be used by any conference Participant and can be turned on and off by toggling “6” on the telephone keypad.
• Decide which conference mode works best for your conference and toggle “7” on your telephone keypad to make your selection. You must have entered your Organizer Access Code when joining a conference to access this control during a conference.
• Conversation Mode provides an open, un-muted conference in which all Participants can speak freely. This mode works best for small groups of conferees.
• Q&A Mode automatically mutes members of the conference call who entered the Participant Access Code, while still allowing those who entered with the Organizer Access Code to speak. However, muted Participants may un-mute themselves by pressing touch-tone “6”. This mode works best with medium or large groups of conferees.
• Presentation Mode automatically mutes members of the conference call who entered the Participant Access Code, enabling conference Participants to listen without being able to speak to others on the conference. This mode works best with large groups of conferees for reducing background noise.

We hope you will find our tips on eliminating conference call background noise and distractions will help keep the focus on what’s most important, your message.

Communication Styles

• Visual: see, look, imagine, frame, draw, view, color, get a picture, paint, visualize. e.g. Do some of these words look familiar? Are you getting the picture? What do you see yourself doing as a result of this class?
• Auditory: ummm, voice in head, oooh, hear, listen, sound, tune in/out, click, rings a bell, tell me, resonate, e.g. Do some of these words sound familiar; sound ok? Is this clicking? What resonated with you today? What idea did you hear that you liked?
• Kinestetic: feel, touch, in touch, intensity, grasp, intuition, tapping in to, intuition, catch on, grasp, connect, excited. e.g. Do these words feel ok? Is this comfortable? Is this catching on? What do you feel you learned today? What action will you be taking today?
• Auditory–digital: order, logic, sequence, niggling thought/gut feeling, e.g. Does this make sense to you?; understand, think, process, figure out, solve, decide, logical, realistic, on track; e.g. So what do you think about today‘s class?

There are a few styles for conducting a teleclass. It can be a straight lecture with an opportunity for participants to ask questions; it can be a combination of lecture and worksheets, a power point presentation or handouts, or it can be a very interactive session. Below are some guidelines if you would like your teleclass to be intereactive.

Six Strategies

1. It‘s all about them.

Always find out why they are on the call. Why did you sign up for the class? If 10 people or less, hear from all. More than 10 hear from 6 or 7. What would you like to get from the class? What attracted you to the class? What were you hoping to get out of the class?

Draw people in. Put checkmarks next to names for participation

2. Build Rapport

Building rapport builds loyalty. Getting people to participate helps to build rapport. Call people by name. Welcome and acknowledge them. Respect them for being early/on time. Respect them for participating. Use the words "you" and "your." Share some of yourself. Be open.

3. Techniques to Encourage Participation

Ask open ended questions. Begin with what, where, when and how. Before asking a question, say, ‘I'm going to ask a question" or "Here's a question Who here has...?" "Who would like to begin?" This way of asking presupposes that someone wants to be first.

"Next?" This encourages someone else to speak up and moves the class along. "I‘d like to hear from each of you" ("or from at least 6 of you" if a large class.) "I‘d like to hear from everybody, going around the room." (round robin) "I‘d like to hear from someone who has not shared yet."

Ask people to expand on their answer. e.g. "Tell me more." "Can you explain that?" "Could you expand on that?"

Build a list of ideas from class input (build one in each class) Get the ball rolling by providing the first example of a list. You set the tone for what kind of answers you want.

Employ the one–word technique: Half way through the class ask for one or two words to describe what they like so far today. This gives you a sense of what people are valuing.

4. Listen for the expert.

Why would you want to know who the expert in the group is? They can be disruptive or supportive. They can add to the course content. They can reinforce what you are saying. It's good networking to embrace and welcome the expert. When you embrace the expert, it reduces resistance in them.

How do you find out who the expert is? "I'd like to hear one comment from each person. Who's had experience with this?"

Strategy if someone is butting in a lot: "So here's my request—that we hear from someone who hasn‘t spoken yet." or "What I‘d like to do now is listen to someone we haven't heard from."

5. Be Who You Are

If you have a sense of humor, use it.Teach what you know Invite family and friends to your course. Acknowledge people by name. Write their names down. Make mistakes and tell true stories. Make fun of yourself.

6. How to Physically Prepare to Lead a Teleclass

• A headset
• List of attendees—alphabetic order
• Pen and paper
• Have filler material "bonus tips; strategies"
• Binder system for notes
• Time zone chart—always talk in eastern time zone
• Clock
• Glass of water
• Quiet place
• Go to bathroom

Create Teleclass Titles that Capture Attention

Here is a list of suggested words to use:

Capture attention by asking a question. Employ odd numbers in your title, like 3 or 5. Be thinking of your target audience. Speak directly to them. What is it they want to learn?

Examples:

• "Learn how to train your puppy in 9 days." Presupposes you have a puppy and can do it in 9 days.
• "Discover the first step to creating the life of your dreams."

Teleclass Description—Three Styles

1. Starting paragraph with "At the end of this course you will be able to..." "By the end of this class you will learn seven strategies."
2. Surface the problem your class resolves—"Do you go to networking meetings and feel awkward?" "Are you overwhelmed by piles of paper?"
3. Short sentences. Numerous problems. e.g. Fear networking? Hate large groups? Have trouble speaking in groups? Then this class is for you.

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