3 Tips for running a workshop that 'Wow's'

When you run workshops there is a definite line between failure and success. Your reputation and the piece of work you are looking to have as a focus of your workshop will sink or swim as a result of how well you plan, run and follow up on the workshop itself. To move your workshop into the stratosphere though, explore these three areas:

1) know your audience: I know it sounds really basic but many people underestimate how powerful this can be. Yes, it is good that you are focused on what you want to achieve from holding the workshop but you also need to know who is coming. For two reasons, one is to make sure you get the right people in the room (enthusiasm can plummet when people realise there aren't the subject matter experts or decision makers in the room), but walls so you can tailor the workshop to make the most of everyone's time. Everyone brings with them their dynamics that occur outside the room, so depending on who your audience is you can manage group dynamics. When you have people from teams who don't get along, or if you have management and frontline staff in the room, you need to take that into account and cater for those groups when you have breakout sessions.

If you are having breakout sessions make sure managers are spread out to each group or if you are looking for a 'hierarchy' perspective or solution then group the managers and frontline staff together. Be aware though that staff may not speak freely when a Manager is present so take that also into consideration.  

If you are facilitating, make sure you create a 'safe space' for everyone to have an opinion and  take on the responsibility to make sure everyone is heard. You can do this by outlining ground rules for your workshop and asking permission to be able to hold everyone to account to those ground rules.

Also be sure to phrase things in a way that everyone understands what is being presented. Keep information as simple as possible and check in that everyone understands the content before you go into any activity. When you have a range of attendees from various areas it is very important to simplify and check in regularly.

2) Have an ice breaker at the beginning of the workshop and after every break. An ice-breaker is something that most people dislike when they come into a workshop but once it has been completed they once again understand why it is necessary. You need to get the energy up in the room after a break or at the beginning of a workshop so an ice breaker is a game or activity that can have people step out of their comfort zone and get the energy up in the room.

There are lots of books and articles on ice breakers so try out a few and remember to consider your audience - are they competitive or are they creative, so you can tailor the ice breaker to the group. There is nothing worse than an ice breaker that is too hard or that your attendees can't connect with, so make sure you consider aspect that in your selections. I ran a great ice breaker of a match stick challenge for a group of finance managers, they enjoyed the intellectual challenges more than physical ones.  Communication teams generally enjoy more artistic challenges, so tailoring your ice breaker to your group helps.

3) Get creative: workshops in the landscape of corporate world don't have to be boring or just flip charts and whiteboards. Get creative. I have literally walked through timelines of major programs after 'building' it with the group and had confetti poppers to celebrate milestones, with subject matter experts 'celebrating' the achievement of those milestones.  You can also have youtube clips to explain concepts. The sky is the limit but keep in mind OH&S considerations. The more creative the more interaction you will get on your topics and the better the output from the workshop. Always stay focused on what you want to achieve and make sure you aren't being creative for creativity's sake.

These are just three tips for running workshops that will make them more interesting and productive. If you want to learn how to run better workshops check out our step by step skill session on how to run a success workshop.