In our observations over the years we have found that online facilitators often commit 2 common errors:

1 - They talk too much.

It seems  they do not think through, in advance, the instructions they want to give or how they want to transmit information to their learners, so they say the same thing, but in a variety of ways, as if they are trying to find the "best way" to express themselves at that moment.  Here is a case in point from a session we recently observed:

Facilitator:

I'd like you to find 2 blank piece of pieces of paper. They can be blank pieces of paper from the printer. Or, it can be the back of your intersession assignment - if you printed it out. It can be the blank back-sides of the pages from your workbook and if you only have one piece of paper, you can turn it over for the second activity - so therefore, you have two pieces of paper.

Really? You have to supply that many suggestions to find a blank piece of paper?!  When teaching online, it is imperative to be very specific in your language and only give your participants exactly the information they need to be successful in the class or at the task you are preparing them for. Learning by listening is the hardest way to learn - do not overwhelm your learners with a bunch of extraneous information that they have to "weed through" to get to the important message.  "Please, take out a blank piece of paper and indicate when you are ready" is sufficient.

2 - They are afraid of silence.

This is not a phone conversation when dead-air indicates someone is no longer engaged in the conversation. When we are learning online - - we need to expect that people are thinking and processing - - and they do that quietly.  When you ask, "Think of a situation that exemplifies X and write it in chat"  don't panic when nothing shows up in chat for 90 seconds or more. People are fulfilling the task you just assigned them. If you begin to talk again, you simply stop their processing and then you truly get nothing in response.  Ask a question and be quiet, please.