Designing Workshop Activities

[53] Fifteen Best Practices for How to Lead a Workshop On Wednesday, I gave a workshop on how to give a workshop—very meta, I know. Andreas Schröter invited me to a be.boosted event where the new generation of fellows will soon be leading their own workshops. So the timing was perfect! But what actually matters when planning and running your own workshop? Here are 15 best practices I’ve developed over the years: ---------- PREPARATION & PLANNING ---------- ⏳ 1) Time Your Workshop Realistically Less is more—don’t overload. For a 60-minute session, plan 30 minutes of content and 30 minutes of interaction. ☕ 2) Include Breaks (Even in Short Workshops!) Attention spans fade fast. Give a 5-10 minute break every 45-60 minutes to keep energy up. 🎤 3) Start Strong—Skip Awkward Intros Ditch the long bios. Open with a question, story, or surprise: "What made the best workshop you’ve attended great?" 🙋 4) Engage Participants Immediately Ask easy, low-stakes questions in the first five minutes: "What’s one word that describes how you feel about leading a workshop?" 🖥️ 5) Prepare Interactive Elements—But Only With Purpose In my humble opinion, many workshops are currently overusing interactive elements like complex quizzes or flashy slides just to seem impressive. Interaction is great, but only when it serves a clear purpose. ---------- DURING THE WORKSHOP ---------- 🎭 6) Get Participants Doing Something People remember what they do. Use polls, breakout rooms, or whiteboards. Example: "In pairs, share one example from experience." 🤫 7) Embrace Silence—Give Thinking Time Ask a question, then wait at least five seconds. If no response: "Take 10 seconds, then type in the chat." 🔁 8) Repeat Key Takeaways Say it → Show it → Let them say it. Reinforce key points with slides, stories, and activities. ⏱️ 9) Manage Time—Stay on Track Use a timer and give reminders: "Two minutes left!" Always build in buffer time. 🛠 10) Have a Backup Plan for Activities No answers? → Share an example. Too fast? → Add a bonus prompt. Too quiet? → Start with 1:1 or small groups. ---------- CLOSING & FOLLOW-UP ---------- 📌 11) Summarize Clearly Before Ending Never stop abruptly—people need closure (and so do you). The final moments of a workshop are often the most important, yet the least prepared. ✅ 12) End with a Call to Action Encourage immediate application or long-term reflection. Example: "Before you log off, write down one thing you’ll use in your next workshop." ❓ 13) Leave Time for Questions—But Make It Engaging Instead of "Any questions?", try more concrete questions such as: "What additional experiences have you had that we haven’t discussed today?” 📚 14) Offer Follow-Up Resources Share slides, key takeaways, or further reading. If possible, offer to answer follow-up questions. 🎉 15) End with Energy & Gratitude Avoid awkward fade-outs! Close with a final thought. If possible, rehearse your closing as much as your opening.

Forget "Know-Feel-Do." Here’s why I’ve stopped designing workshops and programs around how I want people to feel. One of the first things I did in my design process was map out: - What I wanted participants to know - What I wanted them to feel - What I wanted them to do Maybe you do this too? And for 'feel' I would say things like Empowered Connected Inspired. But here’s the problem… 💡 You can’t make people feel anything. People walk into a room (or log into Zoom) with their baggage. Some might be excited, others sceptical, and some just exhausted from their day. Ot have biggest concerns happening in their lives. But what we can do is... • Create a safe space to support them. • Decide how we show up as facilitators. • Design experiences that meet their needs But we can’t control their feelings. So instead of saying: ❌ "I want them to feel empowered." ✅ I focus on: "They’ve mapped out a game plan and linked it to what they want in their lives." Instead of: ❌ "I want them to feel connected." ✅ I design an exercise where each participant discusses their hopes and fears with at least three others. Outcomes, not emotions. And a byproduct... When people take action, feelings follow. Confidence comes from greater clarity. Empowerment comes from progress. And if it doesn't, that's also ok! Our role isn't to impose emotions but to foster spaces where genuine growth happens. The transformation will take care of itself. ~~ ♻️ Share if this shift makes sense to you! ✍️ Have you ever rethought how you design your workshops? Drop your thoughts below!

After years of facilitating strategy workshops, I've noticed the standard "hopes and fears" opener rarely changes how teams actually work. So I've been exploring a different sequence. Four questions that create an arc from agency to action: » We are in complete control of… » We can call upon… » We are at the mercy of… » We no longer really need… The order matters. You can't start by asking what to cut—people protect everything. You can't start with constraints—that leads to despair. Build agency first, then abundance, then face reality, then create space. What typically surfaces: Control: "We own our definition of done" Call upon: "Jorge in IT who actually gets what we're building" Mercy of: "12-week procurement cycles" (fine, design around them!) No longer need: "That Wednesday sync that's really just anxiety theater" The best moment is when someone realizes they've been asking permission for something they actually control. Or when they finally name the "essential" process that's burning 30% of their capacity for no real value. I've written up a simple facilitation guide—with timings, what to watch for, and how to handle the inevitable "we control nothing" response. What's one thing your team treats as unchangeable that might actually be a choice? #Strategy #Facilitation #WorkshopDesign #Leadership #TeamEffectiveness https://lnkd.in/e8JhaCsm

Toilets, Trains, and Teamwork — What my vacation to Japan taught me about facilitation. I just got back from nearly two weeks in Japan. I lived there for a few months during a semester abroad in college, but it had been (cough) a few decades since I’d been back. SO much fun, and SUCH an inspiring place. Below are a few reflections on what workshop facilitators (whether in-house or independent) can learn from the unique (and sometimes crazy) world of Japanese culture. (Check out the carousel for more details.) ----- 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. HOW TO APPLY THIS TO FACILITATION: - Design sessions that ebb and flow — from wild to still, from loud to reflective. That rhythm makes everything more memorable. - Build in moments of quiet reflection between high-energy exercises. - Don’t just facilitate the discuss — facilitate the tempo and energy. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀. HOW TO APPLY THIS TO FACILITATION: - We don’t let people talk all willy-nilly in workshops. Discussions are sequenced. The facilitator decides who speaks in what order. - Build a rhythm into your sessions where everyone gets a chance to reflect, speak, and respond — not just react-in-real-time. This avoids the “collaboration chaos” of typical meetings. - When we model turn-taking as facilitators, we show that speed isn’t just about “going fast” — it’s about flowing together without friction. 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗶-𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼-𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵. HOW TO APPLY THIS TO FACILITATION: - The best sessions aren’t about the flashiest tools — they’re about using the right format to get the best thinking from the group. - Sometimes Sticky-Notes + Marker beats an app. Don’t mistake “modern” for “better.” - Use high-tech tools to speed things up — but low-tech tools to slow things down when it matters. Both have their place. 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹. HOW TO APPLY THIS TO FACILITATION: - Magic doesn’t come from complexity — it comes from intention. - Add tiny moments of delight — a surprising slide, a thoughtful snack, a playful sound cue — that make the experience feel crafted and special. - Use subtle cues to guide the flow, like musical timers, visual signals, or tone shifts — so people always feel held, not herded. 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆. HOW TO APPLY THIS TO FACILITATION: - Treat fun as fuel — not fluff. The sillier moments can often lead to the smartest insights. Design sessions that are both fun and productive — not one, then the other. - A light atmosphere makes heavy work feel possible. The goal isn’t to make everything easy — it’s to make it easier to try.

CONNECT AND ENABLE – ACTIVITY #1: IMAGE CONNECT 🔬 Engagement is not the same thing as enablement. An activity can spark energy... and still not prepare people to do anything differently. That’s the lens behind my Connect and Enable experiment. I’m revisiting facilitation activities using three questions: • How would I design this with today’s tools and learning realities? • How does it intentionally create human connection? • How does it actually enable performance? Activity #1: Image Connect 🖼️ ⚒️How I design it now: Image Connect has always been interactive. What’s changed is how intentionally I design for visibility and follow-through. I make sure participants can annotate together, see patterns form in real time, and that the output becomes an artifact we can return to later, not just a momentary check-in. 🤝🏻How it creates connection: Metaphor gives people a safe way to express how they’re showing up and to notice shared themes. That builds empathy, curiosity, and trust early. 🎯How it enables performance: By surfacing mindset and emotional state, participants are more ready to participate, take risks, and engage in the learning that follows. The activity didn’t change. The intention did. That shift is what moves Image Connect from engagement to enablement. ❓Where have you seen an activity feel engaging in the moment, but fall short on enablement? 👇🏻Share and let's work through it together! #ConnectAndEnable #LearningDesign #Facilitation

How I Build Any Class, Course, or Workshop (and how you can too) People often ask me how I design my courses. The answer isn’t magic. It’s a process. One you can steal. Step 1: Start at the End Before slides, stories, or exercises, I define the outcome. • How should they feel when it’s over? • What should they know that they didn’t before? • What should they do next (concretely, not vaguely)? If you can’t answer those three, you’re not ready to design. Step 2: Build from Your Inventory I keep a library of: • Stories (personal + case studies) • Research and data points • Frameworks and lessons • Exercises, challenges, and reflections When a company asks me for a “custom” workshop, I don’t start from scratch. I remix from this inventory by plugging in the right stories and lessons that match the outcomes. Customization ≠ Reinventing the wheel. It’s remixing with intent. (This took me a while to do -- building this inventory -- but once I had it, I realized how powerful it has become for me). Step 3: Sequence for Energy I design like a rollercoaster: • Start with something that surprises or makes them lean in. • Mix moments of listening with moments of doing. • End with action (what they’ll do on Monday). The order matters as much as the content. Step 4: Test + Tighten Every class, talk, or program is a draft. I note what stories landed, what exercises flopped, what moments sparked energy. That’s how I grow my inventory, and why each program gets sharper over time. 💡 Save this for later: Next time you need to build a course, a workshop, or even a keynote, use this checklist: 1. Define Feel → Know → Do 2. Pull from your inventory 3. Design the sequence 4. Test and improve It’s not about creating from scratch. It’s about reverse engineering for outcomes. Curious... what’s the one inventory item you lean on most when teaching or presenting?

#TGIF - Today, I'm sharing some learning from conducting workshops . These were value-driven product strategy workshops with impactful results as shared by my participants. Most of these are actual reasons for the packed workshops which you can use. Plan and Set an #Agenda: Start with a well-defined agenda to keep the session focused and on track. Never ever skip this. Keep phones on silent mode or away during the session. Consider All #Biases: Keep personal biases and feelings out of the room to ensure decision-making within/between and among participants is not compromised. Use #Factual #Data: Prepare in advance, get those real world use cases, collect, share and support strategic choices with facts to ensure credibility and effectiveness. #Prioritize #Ideas: After generating ideas, evaluate and prioritize them based on their potential impact, feasibility, and alignment with your product's goals and what the participants can prototype. Organize them by importance, size, or other relevant factors. Be Open to #Feedback: Actively seek input from participants and stakeholders such as co-facilitators, customers, and team members. Listen to their concerns and suggestions, and be willing to incorporate new ideas into your strategy. Don’t drive it alone. #Encourage Diverse #Thinking: Create a fun and inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are encouraged to drive innovative solutions. Give people room to speak without fear. Add joy. Build Participant #Consensus: From the beginning aim to build consensus among participants to ensure everyone is aligned with the strategy and is going along as a team. Look out for isolated members, get them involved. Set Clear #Objectives: Define clear, measurable objectives to provide a direction for your strategy workshop. Don't lose sight of the collective goals. Write them out, big and bold. Create a #Roadmap: Finally develop a strategic roadmap to outline the steps needed to achieve your objectives for every participant. #FollowUp: Ensure there are follow-up actions to implement the agreed-upon strategy and monitor progress, make sure everyone has a role to play, every gear has a rotary action, one stops, everyone stops.   Don’t forget to tell me how this works out for you and drag a comment, if you have any tips and recommendations. #workshop #facilitation #training #Strategy #innovation #india #USA

I used to pack my workshops with as many frameworks as possible. Last week showed me why that's exactly wrong. After Conference for Conferences last week, my mind is buzzing with a realization that's reshaping how I design workshops entirely. I've been getting more requests to teach decision-making workshops on Day 1 of team offsites—helping lay the groundwork for strategic conversations that follow. But watching how teams actually interact made me curious: how can I help them build deeper trust and connection while learning to make better decisions, faster? Three insights from last week that are already transforming my approach: 🎯 Start with the transformation, not the agenda: Jenny Sauer-Klein reminded us to center on the "Primary Shift"—what's the from-to experience you want attendees to have? Instead of just teaching frameworks, what if I focused on the transformation from "decision paralysis" to "confident, aligned action"? ✂️ "Writing by erasing" creates more impact: Tucker Bryant's concept hit hard: stop trying to add more and more. What could I intentionally remove from my workshops to create space for what really matters? Sometimes the most powerful tool is subtraction. 🎲 Fun isn't frivolous—it's fertile ground: Watching AI-generated humor, truth-or-dare moments in fireside chats, and opportunities to dance, draw, and sing showed me how play cultivates the psychological safety teams need for real strategic thinking. The shift I'm making: What if decision-making workshops weren't just about frameworks, but about creating the conditions where teams naturally make better choices together? Huge thanks to Jenny Sauer-Klein for curating such a thoughtful experience, and to all the fellow convening nerds who made it unforgettable. What's one thing you'd subtract from your next team gathering to make room for something more meaningful?

“Make it harder—but in a good way.” We often chase smooth training experiences: flawless slides, perfectly timed modules, minimal friction. But according to Elizabeth Bjork & Robert Bjork, that’s exactly where we miss the boat. Their research argues that desirable difficulties—those thoughtfully introduced hurdles—boost long-term learning far more than comfortable ease. Key takeaways: • Learning ≠ Performance: Just because learners blaze through a module doesn’t mean they’ll remember it. • ‘Make it harder—but make it meaningful’: Spacing, interleaving, retrieval practice (yes—frequent testing) all work. • Don’t mistake familiarity for mastery: Rereading feels good. It doesn’t last. So what does this mean for us as designers and facilitators? Rethink your “easy wins” modules. Could you insert a quick retrieval task or surprise switch-up? Instead of big blocks of content, build short segments that force learners to pull information—not just consume it. Add variety—flip the order, change the format, ask a question instead of delivering a slide. Variety + retrieval = stronger memory. When we shift focus from “smooth experience” to “durable learning,” we flip the script. Training becomes less about immediate comfort and more about lasting impact. If you’re designing your next workshop, micro-course, or internal training, ask: Where am I making it too easy? Maybe that’s where the magic is hiding. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gyh362hv

Facilitation is one of the most powerful leadership skills in my toolkit. Whenever people come together, there is an opportunity for facilitation. And how we facilitate can shape the dynamics of a group, unlocking clarity, collaboration, and action. As someone who facilitates in-person and online sessions year-round, I’ve developed a set of core principles that guide me in the room. Whether you’re leading a team conversation, hosting a retreat, or designing a participatory process, I hope these insights help you, too: ✨ 1. The Relaxation Response A facilitator’s energy sets the tone. When we stay calm, we create space for others to think, engage, and contribute. Prioritizing self-care and intentional recovery is not a luxury—it’s essential for long-term impact. I am grateful to Virginia Rich for offering this most beautiful description of the relaxation response: “A facilitator’s role is one of profound encouragement of a group, an inclusive management of timelines, and being firm while remaining unerringly kind and gracious.” 🔍 2. Visualization Great facilitation starts before the event begins. I mentally walk through the entire session in advance, refining logistics and anticipating challenges. The paradox? The more prepared I am, the more flexible I can be in the moment. 🌊 3. Whole-Part-Whole Structure The most effective workshops follow a rhythm: • Whole – Establish shared context. • Part – Break into small groups for depth. • Whole – Regroup to integrate learning. This ensures clarity, engagement, and collective insight. 🤝 4. Building Rapport Facilitators don’t just hold space—they shape it. Small actions, like meaningful introductions and engagement principles, create trust. And when people feel connected, they stay engaged. 🔄 5. Check-In: Honoring the Flow No plan survives first contact with reality. If a group needs to shift course, I pause, acknowledge the moment, and invite them to decide together. Trusting the group’s wisdom leads to better outcomes. 🎭 6. Dare to Try Facilitation isn’t just about talking—it’s about creating experiences. I challenge myself to expand beyond verbal discussion, incorporating journaling, movement, and silence. Silence, when held well, is not empty—it’s full of possibility. 📡 7. Distinguishing Signal from Noise Not all feedback is useful. Reading the group requires self-mastery—knowing when to adjust, when to push forward, and when to let deeper insights surface. Which of these principles resonates with you the most? And what have you learned from your own facilitation experiences? Special thanks to Mimi Wang, MSPOD for the conversation that helped shape these insights. #Leadership #Facilitation #WorkshopDesign #Collaboration #AdaptiveLeadership Check out the full post here: https://lnkd.in/ecg7qhyh