How do you run virtual workshops?
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— The LinkedIn Team
Virtual workshops are a great way to engage your team, share knowledge, and collaborate on projects. But they also pose some challenges, such as how to manage time, participation, and feedback effectively. In this article, you will learn some tips to design and deliver virtual workshops that are productive, interactive, and fun.
Plan ahead
Before you start your virtual workshop, you need to have a clear goal, agenda, and format. Think about what you want to achieve, how long it will take, and what tools you will use. Communicate these details to your participants in advance, and invite them to prepare any questions they might have. You can also send them a pre-workshop survey or quiz to assess their expectations and preferences.
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These being virtual events, keep them short and crisp to the point. Overloaded information would be harmful and the event would lose its purpose. You may want additional feedback etc for your coming virtual events.
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Dress for success is a very old saying that is more important today as it was late last century. I set the example by dressing for my virtual event right down to the jewelry, pants and shoes I'm wearing. I also mention this fact in my presentation/talk if I'm the presenter/speaker. Psychologically I am at the podium, on stage, fully present for my audience AND I teach this to my clients. This energy and confidence gets sent out to the audience and they respond by more present as well. P.S. I also get some attendees to come fully dressed as well doubling the energy thus creating a more professional event. The next time I speak, more of the audience is also fully dressed and present as if they were in the room with me. Try it!
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Set ground rules
At the beginning of your virtual workshop, you need to establish some ground rules for how you and your participants will interact. For example, you can ask them to mute their microphones when not speaking, use the chat or raise hand features to ask questions or share comments, and respect each other's opinions and feedback. You can also explain how you will facilitate the workshop, what activities you will do, and how you will monitor and measure their progress and engagement.
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Empowering the team to establish their own set of ground rules can yield significant benefits, provided that you maintain a sense of control and are able to manage the communication flow effectively. Consider posing questions such as: Would you prefer to allocate more time for lively debates or prioritize comprehensive coverage of the material? Do you favor discussing topics verbally or utilizing the chat function for submitting questions? Would you like to incorporate frequent short breaks or opt for fewer, more extended breaks? By seeking the team's input on these matters, you can facilitate a sense of ownership and tailor the workflow to better suit their preferences.
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Setting ground rules on how questions will be taken during the workshop is immensely important. In some scenarios, the facilitator of the workshop may find it difficult when half the group is unmuting themselves in the middle of the workshop to ask and half of them just show a raise of hands waiting for their turn. Not that any of this is a taboo but in the interest of time, and the facilitator's comfort, setting ground rules around this is non negotiable. Secondly, if there is any evaluation at the end of the program, it is always better to inform the participants in the beginning.
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Break it down
One of the biggest challenges of virtual workshops is to keep your participants focused and motivated throughout. To avoid boredom, fatigue, or distraction, you can break down your workshop into smaller segments, with different types of content and interaction. For example, you can use a mix of presentations, discussions, polls, games, breakout rooms, and case studies. You can also vary the pace, tone, and style of your delivery, and use visuals, stories, and humor to make it more engaging.
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Breaking the virtual workshop up into short segments is a GREAT way to make it feel like it's moving somewhere and the time will FLY by in a good way. Here's a simple plan for a 1-hour virtual workshop that will keep people engaged: - 5 min Welcome - 10 min Content Part 1 - 5 min Discussion - 10 min Content Part 2 - 10 min Activity - 10 min Content Part 3 - 10 min Q&A
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Given appropriate guidance, the judicious use of breakout rooms can serve several purposes: 1) Allow participants to engage with a smaller group while meeting an objective. 2) Allow work to be broken down into chunks that can be performed in parallel instead of serially. 3) Empower small groups to create their own structure and to share outcomes to the larger group at a summary level.
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Encourage participation
Another challenge of virtual workshops is to ensure that all your participants are actively involved. To encourage participation, you need to create a safe and supportive environment, where everyone feels comfortable to share their ideas, opinions, and feedback. You can also use different techniques to stimulate participation, such as asking open-ended questions, using icebreakers and warm-ups, acknowledging and rewarding contributions, and providing constructive and timely feedback.
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The ground rules are super key and a culture of that makes is fun and “safe” To jump in Are all very super important too Ie no ideas or suggestions are bad ideas etc How to build from one idea to another.
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Make it interactive. You want to keep an engaged and excited audience in order to avoid them using this as an opportunity to multitask. Use different learning styles. Also attempt to allow various individuals to participate so that it doesn't become a "one man show."
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Manage time
Time management is crucial for any workshop, but especially for virtual ones where you have less control over the external factors that might affect your schedule. To manage time effectively, you should stick to your agenda as much as possible. You can use timers, reminders, and checkpoints to keep track of your progress, and adjust your pace and activities accordingly. You can also plan some buffer time for technical issues, breaks, or extra questions.
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Managing time can make or break an online workshop. Schedule in breaks, but also be prepared to adapt if people are flagging. And if you find you are running out of time, it's best not to cram the content in at the end, it might be that you need another session for the rest of the content.
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One of the biggest failures I see in virtual events is getting stuck on one topic essentially missing the forest for a few trees. Have a plan, plan in some "wiggle" room, and stick to that plan. Know what the end state of every event is - there should be a clearly identified take away for the participants. If the discussion isn't leading you towards that goal, drive the conversation back on topic.
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Collect feedback
Feedback is essential for both you and your participants, as it helps you evaluate the impact of your virtual workshop. To collect feedback, you can use surveys, polls, quizzes, testimonials, or ratings. You can also ask your participants to share their key takeaways, challenges, and action plans at the end of the workshop. You can follow up with them after the workshop, and provide them with additional resources or support.
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The best way to get a high response rate of feedback on a session is to carve out 5-8 min at the end for them to complete the form. After you finish content, tell the group that you'd like them to reflect on their experience while it's fresh in their minds and to complete the feedback survey (drop link in the chat), then the group will come back together to discuss an action plan and answer final questions. You'll get a near 100% response rate and it will be more specific than an afterthought survey. For good measure, pun intended, send an additional survey or reflection activity about 2-3 weeks afterward to measure stickiness and impressions once the energy has worn down.
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Collecting feedback is essential for evaluating the success of workshops or meetings and identifying areas for improvement. Encourage participants to share their thoughts, suggestions, and experiences during and after the session. Use various methods, such as surveys, polls, or open discussions, to gather both quantitative and qualitative feedback. Establish a safe, non-judgmental environment where participants feel comfortable providing honest input. Analyze the collected feedback to identify patterns, trends, and actionable insights. Use the findings to inform future planning, adjust strategies, and continuously enhance the effectiveness of your workshops or meetings.
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Here’s what else to consider
This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?
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We do workshops virtually all over the world and gathered a lot of data/experience in how to differentiate the experience - starting with focus on the experience first, content second in the facilitation. The best content in the world is worthless if it does not lead to engagement/change. Second use language that is accretive to the audience - too many facilitators use their own language and lose the audience early. It has been mentioned already but cannot be over emphasized, have a technical/support person to ride shotgun - there is a reason why the most successful "late night" talk shows always have a sidekick - learn from them. Lastly have a purpose the audience can resonate with...compliance is not "a purpose"!
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One of the consistent opportunities I see in any live, virtual event is far too much presentation of information. This is exceptionally unfortunate since it is the absolute worst vehicle for pure delivery of information. Not only is asking people to commit live time to something they could literally consume at their convenience in bad taste, it’s a guaranteed way to get the least amount of engagement. If you’re are truly designing an audience-centric event, make it about the audience. That doesn’t mean you should never share information or do presentations with a live audience, but make sure the audience feels fully included in that experience. The stakes are way higher in a virtual environment, so you have to deliver.
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