Soft Skills You Need When Teaching Online

In this era of scientific and IT revolution, and especially with Covid-19 spreading everywhere, applying information technology to teaching and promoting online teaching methods is becoming a trend around the world, and Vietnam is no exception.

If you are a teacher still struggling to switch to this way of teaching, or just starting out with online teaching, join us in looking at the soft skills this work needs in the article below. We hope this information helps your teaching. Let's get started!

What is online teaching?

Online teaching: a trend in the age of technology

Online teaching and training is a form of online education that lets learners receive information easily through devices such as phones, computers or tablets with an internet connection. Students can learn at home or anywhere without going to a classroom.

→ Read more: How do online training and distance training differ?

Soft skills needed when teaching online

Communication ability

For teachers, whatever you teach, you need the skill of passing on information. In online teaching you can't interact with learners directly and instead pass on knowledge through video. That makes it one of the most important skills in online teaching.

One of the soft skills needed in online teaching is communicating information

Logical flow in the knowledge you pass on, simple and easy words, an expressive tone suited to the subject, and especially body language during teaching are all factors you need to communicate accurately and effectively.

Drafting and presenting skills

Another equally important soft skill is drafting and using tools, online teaching software common ones including PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Lightworks, Movavi, and more, to deliver a quality lesson that is easy to absorb. Drafting skills always go together with communication skills.

To pass on knowledge well, you also need to present the lesson clearly and logically. Drafting and presenting differ by subject and learner. If you teach math, your slides must be very logical. If you teach financial analysis courses, Excel tables are an indispensable aid.

See more: How to make interesting, effective digital lessons with PowerPoint

Ability to divide teaching content

First, decide whether the lesson is long or short and how much information it holds. That lets you divide content and time for each session more precisely. If a session is too long, learners get tired and bored.

On the other hand, if a session is too short, learners feel let down and “cheated”. Also, if you break the content at the wrong place, learners won't fully understand the message you want to share.

Knowing basic filming

Another necessary soft skill in online teaching is basic filming. In online learning, many learners prefer teachers who use video to deliver lessons. So knowing how to film is a big advantage when you enter online education. Filming requirements differ by subject and teaching style.

Knowing how to set up camera angles and edit video is a big advantage in online teaching

For example, if you teach piano or singing, you need to filter the sound carefully. For IT, recording the computer screen with a voice guide is enough. Lighting is also an important factor to watch when filming online lessons.

See also: Using Movavi to make lesson videos more effectively

Online marketing skills

Opening an online class means you also have to run online marketing method. This is an effective, low-cost way to promote your course to potential learners everywhere.

So you should also gain some knowledge of digital marketing basics and skill with common online marketing tools such as running Facebook ads, creating useful content, reading Google Analytics reports and more. These tools are fairly easy to use and come with ready-made features, so a few days of learning is enough to start applying them.

Community management and customer care skills

At some point your learner base becomes large enough to form a community on social networks. Then you will need one more soft skill for teaching online: community management and customer care.

You will need to interact and care for customers diligently so they sign up for more courses or refer friends. Community activity is also a way to widen your reach to more people.

Ability to build a personal brand on social networks

Teaching quality goes hand in hand with the teacher's reputation and level. To attract more new learners, you should also build a personal brand of your own. Some activities teachers in any field can do: advising on professional forums, mentoring a few individuals, creating useful professional content for the community, or simply staying careful and polished in everything you say on social networks.

Crisis management skills

You will surely make mistakes now and then while teaching. You may be too busy to answer a learner's question in time, and they complain in the community. Or you may accidentally include an inappropriate detail and the video gets shared on social networks.

Situations like these can put you in a crisis. You need to keep them from becoming a real crisis and solve them in time. First, be sincere and open to the situation. Then be honest with everyone to find what caused the problem and find a thorough solution.

Patience

Teachers always need patience with learners, and in online teaching you need even more. Online teachers with high patience can give learners a higher level of support.

They tend to persist a little longer in helping students solve problems. They explain a question from a different angle and keep the conversation going despite students' resistance. They hope the breakthrough moment is near. Patience is truly a necessary skill in online education.

Notes and tips for teaching online

Things to note when teaching online for better results

Preparation

Before an online session, prepare carefully so the lesson works as well as possible.

• Technical faults can break the emotional flow for both teacher and learners, and the lesson loses its continuity. So make sure your microphone, camera, internet and so on work reliably. If your computer suddenly disconnects, you can use a phone with a 4G plan to continue your lesson.
• Suitable space: The surrounding space strongly affects learners' mood and focus. So choose a quiet teaching corner with little foot traffic.
• Neat clothing: This makes the teacher look professional and serious. Also, the lesson may be saved and shared widely on social networks, so tidy clothing is very important.
• Draft online class rules: Since this is a brand-new way of teaching and learning, teachers need to set specific rules and send them to learners a day before, or announce them a few minutes before class, so learners follow them seriously.
• Unlike lessons in a physical classroom, in online teaching teachers usually need to prepare short videos, images or diagrams to illustrate, helping learners picture and absorb knowledge as easily as possible.

During the lesson

• Set a sensible lesson length: online learners find it harder to concentrate than in a classroom, so each session of about 45 to 60 minutes works well. Break the lesson into small, clear parts. Teachers should answer questions concisely so students can follow as easily as possible.
• Speak at a moderate pace, not fast: the connection is sometimes unstable. If the teacher talks too fast, learners may not hear clearly and will miss the material.
• Let students speak one at a time. This cuts background noise, and the other students will know who is presenting.
• Stay serious and focused throughout the lesson.

Review what was covered at the end of the lesson

• After teaching, summarize the day's lesson so learners can go over the key points again.
• Record the lesson and send the video afterwards, so students who did not understand something can open it and watch again.

Conclusion

We hope this article gave you useful knowledge and information about teaching online. We hope you can apply these tips in your own classes and have enjoyable, effective lessons.