At a workshop we held in our San Francisco offices in 2017, Udemy Instructor Alexa Fischer led a presentation for new instructors to help them supercharge their delivery in their online courses. During her presentation, she covered the mechanics of public speaking, increasing engagement, and how to connect with your students without the same feedback that you get from a live audience.
Alexa talks about the five pillars of engagement (Timestamp: 15:23 - 26:52) needed to become the confident, fun teacher that students crave in their video-based courses.
When it comes to engaging your student base, Alexa has five pillars of engagement:
- Connection - remember to speak to the student on the other side of the lens, not to yourself and especially not to the camera
- Be Yourself - show your personality! Students want to see someone that is real on the screen so be yourself and don’t be afraid to be human. Alexa talks with her hands so she always includes her torso in her videos so that students can see her hand gestures.
- Be Prepared - know what you want to say, how you want to say it, and be organized. Anyone can tell if someone is rambling or at a loss for words. If you prepare, everything will come across as natural and relaxed.
- Own your Position - you are the expert! Never forget that you are the expert and you have a wealth of knowledge to share with others. Don’t be shy or timid about sharing your expertise, own it!
- Lead with Enthusiasm - high energy = high engagement. Students can tell if you’re waning or are not interested in your topic. Show your enthusiasm for your area of expertise and you’ll create winning videos every time.
If you’re interested in watching her entire workshop, you can find the full 48-minute video here.
