Small Group Workshop
Conducting ideation workshops in small groups, rather than a single full day workshop with the entire team, allows for greater communication and participation among participants.
FAQ
What are tips for running successful workshops?
Especially for virtual workshop sessions, making room for thinking and stepping away from a set agenda is critical. We purposely create breaks between agenda items so relevant additional information can be shared, and actively seek everyone’s participation through a variety of activities that avoid confrontation (“popcorn”, going around the room, smaller breakout groups, etc.).
What are best practices for a workshop facilitator?
During virtual workshop sessions, it feels more difficult to speak up due to the hesitation from audio lags and the lack of capability in reading others’ body language. In virtual sessions, there is also no room for side conversations (unless using breakout rooms). To counter the difficulty of hosting active and engaging workshops virtually, we utilize participation activities including breakout sessions, group polling, and Google Documents and slides to keep everyone on the same page.
Great facilitation often keeps the end goal in mind, and steers participants through the journey with helpful visual aids, materials like a shared google document, and comprehensive note-taking. Other facilitator best practices include setting norms at the beginning of the meeting, such as “ship, shipmate, self”, “1/N”, and “oops ouch”.
What are workshop-appropriate activities, and what should be conducted in an alternative format?
Well-led workshops allow participants to actively engage, debate, and contribute ideas. Workshops that are less effective spend too much time reviewing over the same materials (lecture-style), clarifying confusion and logistics that can be predetermined beforehand, and when people are not on the same page. These pitfalls can be avoided with detailed agendas, pre-interview surveys, and advanced workshop materials.
How long should workshops run?
To keep everyone attentive, we have let virtual workshops run for a maximum of 2 hours, but when there is more content to be covered, we schedule multiple sessions over a couple days. This also makes room for “homework”, such as individual brainstorming between sessions, that can jumpstart productivity.
What is the ideal size for maximum participation in workshops?
We tend to keep small group workshops from 3-7 members total, with 1-2 facilitators. We have noticed that workshops that are any larger make it difficult for all individuals to equally participate and feel engaged.