Running live online Excel training for a big group — and I mean big (50, 75, 100+ people per instructor) — is a completely different beast from a normal-sized workshop. All the things that make small-room training fun and spontaneous? Most of that goes out the window the second the attendee count spikes.
But large-audience Excel training still works. It can be high-impact, follow-along, and genuinely transformative… if you design for scale instead of fighting against it.
What follows are the principles I’ve learned from dozens of these sessions, refined by trial, error, and “OMG why is the chat exploding” moments.
Avoid surprises like your session depends on it (because it does)
The bigger the group, the more your session needs to run like a YouTube video with chapter timestamps. People want to know exactly what’s happening, when it’s happening, and how long it’ll take. If even three people get confused about what file they should have open or whether they’re supposed to be watching or doing… that confusion spreads fast.
So you tell them:
- What we’re doing right now
- What we’re doing next
- What file we’re using
- When the exercise starts and ends
And you repeat it. Multiple times. Out loud and in the chat.
This sounds excessive, but big groups hate ambiguity. If timing or instructions feel fuzzy, the session derails instantly.
Bonus trick: deputize your audience. Let them repost links, remind others where files are, and echo instructions. People like having a little ownership, and it keeps the chat manageable.
Make logistics painfully clear (and keep them visible)
Large-group online Excel training collapses when logistics are vague. You have to be explicit about:
- Where the downloads are
- Where the recording will be
- Whether you’re using Windows-only features
- What version of Excel is required
- How to check if Power Query or Python in Excel is available
This isn’t condescending. It’s protecting your session. And people genuinely appreciate clarity.
Also: don’t wait for the Q&A. Bring logistics up early and throughout. The more visible and repetitive they are, the fewer derailments you’ll hit.
Participation still matters, but you have to adjust for scale
When 80 people show up to a session, the vibe changes. Even typing in the chat becomes intimidating for a lot of learners. That doesn’t mean you abandon interactivity, but you pick your battles.
What works well in large rooms:
- Anonymous polls (perfect for formula questions or quick comprehension checks)
- Lightweight chat prompts (“Type Ready,” “Type SUM if you’ve used it,” etc.)
- Short, predictable exercises with a visible timer
What does not work:
- Breakout rooms (people freeze or disappear)
- Calling on individuals
- 20-minute group activities
- Any “surprise” assignment
Big rooms thrive on predictability, not pressure.
Let people follow along, but give them guardrails
Following along is the gold standard for Excel learning. But troubleshooting 50+ individual machines virtually is impossible. So you design your follow-along time with safety nets:
- Provide a clean starter file
- Provide a solution file
- Give written steps of every demo
- Share your speaker/instructor notes
This isn’t giving away “secret sauce.” It’s how you help a large group become self-sufficient. If someone gets stuck, they check the solution and jump back in. Zero shame. No holding up the session.
Encourage hands-on work, but make it easy for people to recover if something glitches or they miss a step.
Keep exercises short, simple, and clearly timed
Five to ten minutes. That’s really the sweet spot. Keep the exercises simple: just a few steps, a small dataset, ideally all on one sheet so nobody’s hunting around or zooming in and out trying to find things.
Throw a timer on the screen. It calms people down. When they know exactly how long they have and what the goal is, they stay focused instead of spiraling. Again, they want to know what’s happening at any moment.
Also make it crystal clear that it’s totally fine to peek at the solution file whenever they need to. You do not want someone silently struggling and then dragging the next 20 minutes off course because they got stuck on Step 2.
Reduce technical risk before it tanks your session
Way too many huge Excel trainings that fall apart because:
- Someone has the wrong Excel version
- Excel for Mac works differently
- Power Query isn’t enabled
- Their display zoom is at 125%
- They’re trying to join from a Chromebook
With a large group, you cannot stop for every edge case. It’s just not possible.
So you:
- Send requirements early
- Provide sample/test files ahead of time
- Give a simple preflight checklist
- Accept that some people will still miss it (and that’s okay)
And then you keep moving. You simply don’t have the time or bandwidth to confirm that every single person requested the right access or is joining from the machine they’re supposed to be on.
A few Excel-specific tricks that make big sessions smoother
These little choices go a long way when you’ve got 100 people watching your screen:
- Use Zoom to Selection often
- Bump your demo font size to 16–20 pts
- Freeze panes early and often
- Once you’ve used a formula, prompt, or keyboard shortcut, add it straight to the chat for learners to copy
- Use named ranges when referencing far-off cells
- Keep datasets small enough for older machines and online screenshares
- Use
FORMULATEXT()andCtrl + ~to show formulas used on screen
These things sound small, but they dramatically reduce confusion.
Large-group Excel training really can work
If your goal is to give people reps, build confidence, and get them genuinely better at Excel, large-audience online training absolutely works. You just have to design it like the medium it is, not the small-group classroom you might wish it were.
Be clear. Be structured. Be predictable. Let people follow along, but give them safety nets. And don’t be afraid to open up your materials: the more self-sufficient the audience, the better the experience for everyone.
Large-audience Excel training checklist
Use this as a prep guide for your next session, or hand it to your team.
If you’re planning Excel training for a large group…
This is literally what I help teams design and deliver. If you want to talk curriculum, logistics, or how to keep a big room engaged, book a free discovery call:
When you make things clear, predictable, and easy to follow, large groups don’t just “get through” Excel training; they thrive in it. That’s what I want to help you accomplish.