How to run online workshops.
Running workshops that people can fully participate in — no matter where they are in the world — has become increasingly important in the modern, digital workplace. With more and more companies offering flexible working options, the idea that you need to gather people in one place, in one time zone, is becoming outdated.
Recently I had to run a workshop where the majority of people were calling in. Out of nine participants, only three of us were in the same physical location, and I wanted to ensure the workshop was productive and useful for everyone. After all, Vizzuality has three offices and a strong contingent of remote workers so an unproductive online interaction could be both demoralizing and a blocker to our work.
I spotted an opportunity to improve the way we connect with one another online and decided to test out some ideas.
My objective.
My goal was to run a workshop in which any member of our team could actively participate and co-create ideas in small groups of two or three people — regardless of where they are physically located.
For me, a successful workshop is one where all participants feel like it has been a worthwhile exercise and I have gathered the information I need. Keeping to schedule and finishing on time is also an important indicator of success. After all, our time is valuable and there’s probably another meeting happening right after.
What I learned.
If you’re planning a workshop that will involve many people calling in — and you want them to work together in small groups or pairs — do the following:
Before the workshop.
Consider your options. Would it be better to run the same workshop multiple times with fewer people, or run the workshop once with more people?
Establish your communication channels. Decide which platform you are going to use and share a link to the online meeting room well in advance of the workshop.
Use the appropriate platform for the size of the group. I used Google Hangouts for the full-group conversations because it handles large groups pretty well. For the conversations between pairs, we used Slack so we could keep the main online meeting room open.
Check your equipment. There’s nothing worse than straining to hear someone who sounds like they got trapped at the bottom of a well. Make sure you have a good microphone and speaker so people can hear you and you can hear them. You should also check your internet connection and make sure it’s strong enough to handle multiple simultaneous video streams.
Prepare your materials and share them in advance. Set up a dedicated Slack channel and add all of your participants to it. Use this channel to share any reading that needs to be done before the workshop, along with any documents you’ll be using during the workshop. Pin them to the channel so they don’t get lost in the chatter.
If any of the documents are for the attention of specific individuals, for example a workbook or exercise they’ll be working on, send them a link to the document before the workshop begins.
Plan your pairs. If you’re going to split people up into smaller working groups, decide in advance who will work with who. This will reduce the time spent transitioning from full-group conversations to the smaller working groups.
Practice. Make sure you’re familiar with the meeting software you’ll be using, and know how to share your screen with the other participants.
During the workshop.
Turn on your video.This is a personal preference, but I like to see people’s faces when I’m talking to them. I can gauge their reactions better. If they look bored, I’ll ask them a direct question to bring them back into the conversation.
Watch the mute symbols.When someone wants to speak, they usually unmute their microphone while waiting for a good moment to jump in. Help them out by keeping an eye on their mute status and invite them to speak.
Allow extra time. Switching between full-group conversations and small-group conversations online takes longer than when everyone is in the same room. You’ll need to allow around five minutes for every transition — and that could really eat into your valuable workshop time.
Be aware that people might ignore you. If people want more time to work on an exercise, or are having a discussion that’s too good to stop, it’s very easy for them to ignore your request to rejoin the full-group conversation. You may want to think about incentives or tactics that will draw people back in when you need them to.
Get people to work in twos, not three’s. Conversation flows more easily online when it’s one-on-one. Remember all those awkward moments in a group chat when two people start talking at the same time and then stop? Two people working together will accomplish more in less time when the aim of your workshop is to gather as many ideas as possible.
Get personal. Call on people individually and one-by-one to share their ideas or feedback as this will ensure everyone has a chance to speak.
After the workshop.
Ask for feedback! Ask your participants what you could have done to make participating in the workshop easier and more enjoyable for them. They will definitely think of something that you haven’t.
Review. Revise. Iterate. Think about the method you used to guide the conversation. Did it help people focus on the subject or did the discussion spiral out of control? What would you do differently next time? Would a voting system help move things along in a more fluid way? Is there a way to utilise the chat function so questions and comments can be queued up? If you review and revise your methods every time, your workshop will get better with each iteration.
Say thank you! Thank your participants! Everyone wants to feel like their time and contribution is being appreciated so make sure you tell them that it is!
Would I do it again?
Absolutely! Running an online workshop has definitely made me rethink how a session can be organised to ensure full participation from everyone, no matter where they are. I learned that everything will probably take longer than you expect, and there may be extra materials you need to prepare in advance — you can’t just hand out post-it notes, flip charts and pens to people on the day.
I plan to continue refining my approach to hosting online workshops, adjusting my tactics to the aims and content of the session. For example, one thing I’d do differently next time is reduce the number of participants and keep everyone within the same conversation. This may mean I have to run the workshop more than once but I think it will be more efficient and less confusing for the participants. However, if running multiple workshops isn’t an option, then I would refine the method I use to get people working in smaller groups.
During a recent call that involved six of my teammates, most of whom were calling in, I used a voting system to help narrow down some choices I had presented to them. This approach helped focus the discussion and quickly led to a conclusion that no one objected to. To cast votes we made use of the chat function on Google Hangouts. I’d like to try this tactic on a larger group of people and see if it still works just as well.
Although there’s no magic formula to running an online workshop, the review, revise and iterate approach will help you develop a method that works for you and delights your participants. If you hold online workshops, I’d love to hear how you do it so please share your advice in the comments below!
