Episode 174: Learn how to make virtual teaching more engaging, build stronger connections, and turn Zoom failures into meaningful student wins.
In this episode, John Chen sits down with Leila Kubesh, keynote speaker, consultant, entrepreneur, Ohio Teacher of the Year, and National Teachers Hall of Fame inductee, to explore what she learned from 26 years in education and her unexpected journey into virtual teaching.
Leila shares how she went from not knowing what Zoom was at the start of the pandemic to using it almost every day, why her first week of virtual teaching “flopped,” and how planning, guided activities, technology, humor, and relationship-building helped her create more engaging online learning experiences. She also explains why students need to feel psychologically safe before they can take risks, speak up, and truly participate.
From teaching students how to cook through a virtual cooking show to raising $18,000 for a Japanese Zen garden, Leila shares powerful stories about kindness, community involvement, and her “Art of the Ask” approach to enlisting support. She also discusses how social media helped her connect with people and grow her network from one LinkedIn follower to around 20,000.
The conversation also looks ahead at the future of virtual and hybrid meetings, including virtual reality, real-time translation, live captions, and technology that can make global collaboration more accessible.
Key Takeaways
- Turn early virtual teaching failures into opportunities to learn and improve.
- Build psychological safety so students feel comfortable participating and taking risks.
- Use guided activities, smaller groups, technology, humor, and storytelling to make virtual learning engaging.
- Use the “Art of the Ask” to enlist support, mobilize communities, and create meaningful opportunities.
- Find creative ways to make virtual and hybrid experiences more inclusive through captions, translation, and flexible participation.
Whether you’re an educator, speaker, leader, or virtual meeting host, this episode of Engaging Virtual Meetings offers practical lessons on creating connection, encouraging participation, and finding new ways to make people feel included—even when things don’t go according to plan.
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Connect with Leila Kubesch:
Website: https://leilakubesch.com/
Connect with John Chen:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceojohnchen/
