Mad Dash Virtual Strategy Helped Us Cross the Finish Line!

Each new virtual training motivates me to create new ideas, and last week was no different. I facilitated a four-day online session with 145 participants, so I had to have sufficient variety to keep the engagement high throughout. (BTW, it was fantastic!)

Whenever possible, I try to transform an activity I would use in-person to something I can do in the virtual world. Mad Dash is an example of this. During an in-person training, I might hang envelopes on the walls all around the room. Teams will choose a “runner” so that when I say “go” they make a Mad Dash to grab an envelope. Inside the envelopes are a variety of questions or tasks that the team answers or completes. Sometimes I might put a gift certificate, money or a door prize in one of the envelopes.
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To transform Mad Dash, I set up a Google slide deck. The first slide had directions so that I could model the task. This was followed by six slides, each with 6 envelopes on them. Thirty-six envelopes were enough for the 35 teams I had in breakout rooms. After I sent the teams to breakout rooms, they accessed the slide deck via a url I posted in the chat, then dashed for an envelope, deleting it to reveal the question underneath.
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The dash added a bit of a competitive feeling, the surprise inside increased curiosity, and the novelty sustained their attention. Now that I have created the slides, I can use the idea for all types of questions and tasks. If you’d like to copy the master slides, you can do so here.
https://tinyurl.com/y3fnxvnh
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I'd love to help upskill your training facilitators in virtual engagement strategies. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to discuss ways we can collaborate.