So you’re thinking, “Workshop? Isn’t that just a fancy word for a meeting?”
Nope! Not even close.
Think of it this way: meetings are like casual chats – great for sharing info and catching up. Workshops, on the other hand, are like intense brainstorming sessions where you roll up your sleeves and get stuff done.
For example, imagine you’re trying to come up with a new product. In a meeting, you might discuss or quickly brainstorm some ideas, but that’s usually as far as it goes. In a workshop, if you have the time, you’d actually build prototypes! You’d leave with tangible results, not just a list of to-dos.
Workshops need everyone to be fully engaged, not just passively listening. It’s like a team sport – everyone’s playing, and a skilled facilitator is the coach, guiding you towards the winning goal.
To run a full-scale and successful workshop, you need the right tools and techniques for different challenges. You need to understand the problem you’re trying to solve and how to guide the group towards a solution.
Here are some basic steps:
- Purpose. Before you even start planning, clearly define the challenge you’re tackling. What problem are you trying to solve with this workshop. Then, set a concrete goal. What specific outcome do you want to achieve? What tangible deliverables or changes will demonstrate the workshop’s success?
- Get to know the participants. Do they know each other? What do they work with?
- Choose methods for the workshop, create the material (presentations, worksheets) and figure out how to document everything along the way.
- Prep the room, tech, furniture, coffee, and get all your materials and presentations ready.
- Run the Workshop: Pay close attention to the difficulty level and be ready to adjust on the fly.
- Gather all the results and snap some pics of the work displayed around the room (whiteboards, worksheets, etc.). Make sure the photos are clear! If it is allowed, take some photos of the room during the workshop as well.
- Wrap Up & Celebrate! Remind everyone of the goal, highlight what we achieved, and express our gratitude for their participation. Finally, explain how their work will be used and why it matters.
- Ask for feedback. Depending on the situation you could ask for feedback directly or after a day or two.
Facilitating a workshop can be challenging, but doing it is the best way to learn workshop facilitation. I love the potential and effectiveness that a creative workshop, organized in the right way, holds. If you’ve never really done it the right way, start practicing—it’s powerful! Utilize this way of problem-solving at home, in your business, or at your corporate job.
Want to know more about problem solving and innovation workshops or how to use design thinking and user experience methods check out the rest of the blog or send me a message!
Happy workshop planning!
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