I like the open door policy until it becomes an issue for some, that's when i must tactfully intervene, usually in a one on one setting. 

Students that are not engaged is the subject matter will not fare well. It's my job as an educator to get and keep them "motivated." Hands on assignments weaved into lecture and written work seems to fair quite well for me.

Synchronous teaching online keeps everyone on pace with the course in real time, where asynchronous lag a little. I can see this for diffrent situations.

Gaining trust of the students is the first thing for me. The students have to have trust that we know what were talking about, and there are lots of "fake it till you make it" teachers out there.

Using basic skills like the learning tree is a great tool to never get lost. I always say keep it simple, follow the hierarachy of the tree through the modules and lessons.  Teaching 3 ways: visual, audio and written. Not everyone learns the same way