Virtual Training

7Emotional Discipline

Nothing causes learners to lean in, buy in, and trust you more than relaxed, assertive confidence (RAC). In the virtual classroom, RAC is your most powerful emotional state.

When you pair relaxed, assertive confidence with a sound curriculum, mastery of virtual training delivery techniques, and production and technology, you are more apt to build emotional connections with your learners and their knowledge is more likely to stick.

When training, you are onstage. Learners are always subconsciously scanning you for clues about your emotional state and trustworthiness. In a virtual classroom, however, people put you under an especially powerful microscope. They observe your facial expressions, body language, the tone and inflection of your voice, and the words you use. They interpret those clues and alter their perception of you based on how your behavior makes them feel. This is called emotional contagion.

Emotional contagion¹ is a subconscious response that allows us to pick up on the emotions of other humans without much conscious effort.² Like invisible vibrations, emotions are easily transferred from one person to the other when we are together.

We are constantly scanning those around us for clues about their emotional state. We read between the lines, interpret those clues, and alter our approach to people based on our perceptions.

I've spent most of my life around horses. Horses have an innate ability to sense hesitation and fear. They test new riders ...