Have you ever planned a live online session so carefullyâŚ
Only for the best moment to come from something completely unplanned?
Thatâs what I kept thinking about after a live session with my friend and collaborator, Lux Narayan, Co-founder and CEO of online engagement platform StreamAlive.
Because here’s what I am hearing from a lot of live session leaders:
Engaging online audiences feels like it’s only getting harder.
And for you âthe live session leaderâthe challenges are real.
Here are a few things participants in the session called out:
- “I am met with silence.”
- “Nobody wants to go first.”
- “Getting all the room engaged somehow.”
- “Having the time for meaningful engagement.”
- “Get a fuller picture of what the entire group thinks.”
- “Knowing that what we’re covering is going to be useful for them.”
đI can relate to every single one of these – maybe you can too?
So how do you, as Lux says, “unmute the audience?”
In the session Lux walked us through what happens to engagement when you combine smart tech, human connection âand a facilitator who knows how to work with whatever shows up in the room.
The Zoom room was buzzing. The chat was on fire. And StreamAlive was amplifying the magic.
Here are my three biggest takeaways:
1/ AI can make your job easier â not less human
One thing I loved seeing was how StreamAlive uses AI to help live session leaders make sense of whatâs happening in the chat.
Because letâs be honestâŚ
When you ask a good question and 50 responses suddenly flood in, it can feel like being handed 50 sticky notes at once and trying to sort them while everyone watches. đ
StreamAlive uses AI to help by:
⨠Summarizing what people are saying
đ Spotting patterns in the responses
â Tracking questions so they donât get lost in the chat avalanche
That doesnât replace the facilitator.
It supports the facilitator.
It gives you more capacity to listen, notice, respond, and make better choices in the moment.
Thatâs the kind of AI use Iâm excited about: tech that helps us be more present, not less.
2/ Shared moments create the magic
Early in the session Lux asked a simple question:
đ âWhatâs one comfort food where you live?â
Such a good prompt.
âď¸Itâs easy to answer.
âď¸Itâs personal without being too vulnerable.
âď¸And it instantly reveals something about whoâs in the room.
But the real magic came from seeing the responses turn into a visual.
Suddenly, we werenât just a group of people sitting behind screens.
We were a group with samosas, soup, pasta, dumplings, and all kinds of local deliciousness woven into the same shared moment.
Thatâs what I love about great live online facilitation.
You create something that only this group could have created.
Not a generic icebreaker.
Not a slide everyone has seen before.
A tiny, unique snapshot of the humans in the room.
3/ State over script
My favourite part of the session?
Watching Lux embrace the unknown. Facilitator Chad Littlefield calls this “state over script”.
There were moments where Lux didnât try to over-control the experience. He stayed curious. He responded to what was happening. He worked with the group instead of forcing the group through a rigid plan.
Thatâs a skill.
And itâs one of the hardest parts of live facilitation.
Because when we feel uncertain, our instinct is often to cling to the script.
We think:
âDonât go off track.â
âDonât open that can of worms.â
âStick to the plan, Gwyn!â
But sometimes the most valuable thing you can do is notice the energy in the room and follow it.
That doesnât mean winging it.
It means holding the goal clearly while staying flexible about how you get there.
This is where your state comes in:
Are you present?
Are you curious?
Are you willing to be surprised?
Can you work with whatâs emerging instead of panicking when things get a little spicy?
Because thatâs where the real magic happens.
My biggest reminderđ
Live online sessions donât become engaging because we add more tools or content.
They become engaging when we use tools in service of something deeper:
Meaning.
Connection.
Real-time insight.
A shared experience that couldnât have happened any other way.
AI can help us see patterns.
Visuals can help us create memorable moments.
But the facilitator still holds the magic. â¨
Thatâs you.
Curious to see Lux and StreamAlive in action? Check out the recording of the session here đLINK.
Thanks to Lux and to everyone who took part in the live session!
Over to you đ¤
đ What’s one way you can bring a little more of your facilitator magic to your sessions?
Hit reply and let me knowâIâd love to hear it!
đ Live Event: Make Your Virtual Training Stick
Join me and the team at SessionLab on June 18 for a free 90-minute interactive session for making your virtual training stick. Using the Online Engagement Scorecard you’ll be able to pinpoint what’s working, areas for growth, and simple strategies you can use straight away.
If you are a virtual trainer, online educator, or L&D team leader looking to increase engagement and impact – this session is for you.
More information and registration link on the SessionLab community (free to join) đ LINK.
Get your free Online Engagement Score & Report here (if you haven’t already:)
âđ Thanks for reading The Quest
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