example, one person has wonderful graphics talents but doesn’t like to speak. So our team strived to play to the strengths of each individual. That moved our project forward.
The scale of your project should align with your capacity . We had to adjust our expectations when we shifted from an in-person conference in communities to a virtual conference. We had hoped to offer CEUs, but that was too complex to do virtually. We eventually decided on a format and scale that our team and partners could successfully implement. The program has to be realistic for the conditions.
You have to eat an elephant one bite at a time . Planning a virtual conference was initially overwhelming, but by breaking it down into smaller steps, we were able to meet our goals.
You may reach audiences you didn’t expect to reach. Our primary audience was community members, but we had significant participation from Extension professionals. That was an unintended — and positive — outcome. Engaging virtual audiences is not impossible, but it requires intentional design and planning. We incorporated a number of strategies to increase audience engagement. The first day of our conference was very interactive. We used polls, Mentimeter, and breakout rooms. The result was high engagement.
Engagement strategies should be flexible and reflect audience needs.
The final day of our conference targeted farmers. Because we knew some might have limited internet connectivity and would have to dial in, we focused on talking and panel discussion. Presenters did not use slides, and we did not use interactive tools such as polls and Mentimeter.
You have to believe in yourself and press forward even if there are obstacles. Use the resources you have.
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