Luckily, use of tools for online workshops and collaboration like Mural and Miro has made projects more effective than ever. At the time of the pandemic many of us had to quickly transform how to work in innovation projects and go online, in no time. We managed to transform all workshop material and exercises for digital settings and make it work with Zoom + Google Slides presentations + Digital worksheets + Mural. The new ways of working became a total game-changer and soon I loved the way I could work all over the country (and world) with online creativity and workshops!
So, here is a quick intro for you on how to plan an online workshop!
Why You Should Run An Online Workshop
Before we jump into the “how,” let’s quickly go through the “why.” Workshops online offer a ton of advantages:
- Flexibility: Team members scattered across the globe? Bring ’em on! Online workshops break down geographical barriers, making collaboration effective and fun.
- Efficiency: Say goodbye to messy notes and lost sticky notes. Everything is neatly recorded and easily accessible in one central location. That is if you prepare and guide well.
- Engagement: Interactive features like voting, timers, and breakout rooms can keep participants engaged and energized. But remember to take many short breaks, they are even more important in online workshops.
- Cost-Effective: No travel expenses, no venue rentals, just pure collaborative power.
The Best Online Collaboration Tools
Both Mural and Miro are fantastic platforms. I have used Mural all the way and I am so impressed with the many features for collaboration. I have participated in project where we used Miro and it was easy and worked well, but I have not tested it fully, to be honest. So I suggest you try them out and find what works for you.
The Best Features In Mural
What I like most about Mural is the outline and follow feature. It’s so easy to guide a group of workshop participants when you can simply tell them to follow my cursor/avatar or ask them to click on a section in the outline to zoom in on a specific part of the canvas.
How To Run Your First Online Workshop
Ready to give it a try? Here’s a simple guide to running a successful online workshop:
Choose Your Platform: Experiment with both Mural and Miro to see which one feels like the best fit for your team and workshop style. Most offer free trials, so you can test them out before committing. I have worked a lot with Microsoft Whiteboard in Teams but it has not all the features I’m used to so I have not used it for real time collaboration in workshops.
Plan Your Workshop: Just like any workshop, careful planning is key. Define your objectives, create a clear agenda, and choose the right activities to achieve your goals. Check out the tips for workshop planning here. You often need to be a group of facilitators to manage the online collaboration, even if it is only a few participants.
Transitioning to online workshops requires adjustments. Online communication won’t flow as smoothly as in person, so a well-defined structure is essential. You might consider directing questions exclusively to the chat (perhaps with a dedicated facilitator to manage them) or instructing participants to mute their microphones and raise their (virtual) hands before speaking.
These seemingly small details are crucial—don’t overlook them. A collaborative workshop with unclear communication is destined to fail. Invest extra time in planning and testing.
Prepare Your Digital Whiteboard: Set up your Mural or Miro board in advance. Create frames for each activity, add instructions, and include any necessary templates or resources. Think through how participants will contribute to the board. For experienced participants, everyone should contribute directly to the board. For less experienced groups, assign one experienced participant per group to record contributions in Mural. If you have many groups, you might want to make them each a separate board.
Mural offers numerous ready-to-use templates for various collaborative exercises and workshops. These can be particularly helpful if you’re new to creating your own or simply prefer not to.
If you prefer to design your own, you have complete creative freedom to make your canvas fun, visually appealing, functional, or whatever suits your needs. Customize it to perfectly align with your specific workshop or client, incorporating brand colors, images, and examples from the company and its competitors.
Invite Your Participants: Send out invitations with clear instructions on how to access the online whiteboard. Make sure everyone has the necessary software and knows how to use it. Participants must use a computer, no tablets or phones!
In the invitation, I recommend asking participants to test both the platform link (Mural/Miro) and the meeting link (Zoom) in advance. You should also outline any ground rules beforehand, such as how to ask questions and where to find support if they encounter any issues.
Facilitate the Session: Begin by reviewing the ground rules for using the online tools, such as the chat function, sound/mute options, and breakout rooms. Introduce the facilitators—and yes, I recommend having more than one person running the workshop, especially with larger groups. I’ve successfully facilitated small online workshops (2-5 participants) solo, but it really depends on the specific situation. During the workshop itself, think of yourself as a guide, keeping the conversation going and making sure everyone gets a chance to chime in. Use all the cool features the platform has to get people talking and keep track of how things are going.
Follow Up: After the workshop, share the results with participants and assign any action items. The beauty of digital whiteboards is that everything is already documented, making follow-up a breeze.
Tips For An Online Workshop:
- Keep it Visual: Use a balanced mix of images, icons, and colors to make your online whiteboard more appealing and engaging.
- Instructions instructions instructions!: The Mural (or Miro) board must have instructions, an outline and be very easy to navigate. Make clear steps (1 2 3 etc) so the process is easy to follow. It should not be possible to get lost!
- Encourage Participation: Use icebreakers and interactive activities to get everyone involved. A space on the canvas for everyone to introduce themselves is a simple but easy one.
- Use Breakout Rooms: Breakout rooms can be very effective for facilitating discussions. However, if you’re using them extensively in platforms like Google Meet, Zoom, or Teams, careful planning is essential. Ensure easy access to instructions, provide a chat function or other communication channel for questions and technical support, and—crucially—test the entire workshop process beforehand.
- Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment: The best way to learn is by doing. Try different features and templates to see what works best for your team.
Get some training and inspiration on Mural here. I love to visualize my projects in it, and have had a lot of fun preparing and running workshops with it, primarily using custom-made canvases. However, I think the templates are excellent too, especially if they suit your needs. For example a brainstorm template like this below.
I’ve also created templates for workshop sessions in Mural, and I’m thrilled with the results. My “Small Business Mapping” workshop in Mural has significantly improved the effectiveness of the first coaching meetings.
Happy workshop planning!
