Design Facilitator’s Handbook: The little things we know about and overlook when conducting workshops.
Here is a list of some things I think are important to consider while running a workshop. One thing for sure is that like with everything else, the more experience you have, the better you get and the same goes with facilitating a workshop. But there are some things I’m aware of, but that are not obvious to me when preparing or running a workshop and that I fail to apply sometimes. Perhaps writing it down will help consolidate them in my mind.
- Set clear workshops goals and communicate them with participants.
Any workshop has a purpose. As a facilitator, you need to make it clear for yourself about what it is that you want to accomplish with the workshop and how the different activities you plan to conduct will help you reach that goal.
Having that clarity helps you gain confidence running the workshops and will serve as a light for when things will get confusing during the workshops. The other thing here is communicating the workshop objectives to participants. It makes it clear for them the reasons for their engagement with you, and provides them with understanding of how their time will be used and for what purpose.
2. Be well-informed about the workshop venue and check every detail possible around the logistics.
Instead of discovering the workshop venue at the same time with participants, make sure you inspect the site in advance, or at least get enough information about it.
Here are some questions to consider:
- Is the venue in a shady area?
- Is it indoors or outdoors?
- What kind of chairs and tables are available?
- Will the participants be comfortable?
- Do you need extra seating?
- Is there a restroom with running water?
- Is the venue easily accessible and well-known in the town?
- Are the lights and ventilation in good working order?
Think about any aspects of the venue that could affect the participants’ experience and, consequently, the workshop as a whole.
When it comes to logistics, there’s often so much to think about that it’s almost impossible to get everything right. But you can get the most of it if you take some time to think about it in advance. What you need is often closely linked to the activities you plan to conduct. This could include materials like Post-its, boards, pens, pencils, markers, tape, video projector, paper board and more.
Additionally, consider the activity sheets (documents with various tasks or exercises for participants to complete during the workshop) — make sure you have enough for all the participants, yourself, any co-facilitators, and even some extras just in case. If you can’t secure everything you need, think about alternative solutions, such as for instance sharing an activity sheet with other facilitators.
3. Know your participants
When looking for participants, it’s easy to make a list of criteria. What we forget sometimes is considering our participants’ social context and where our workshop fits into their daily lives.
You will have to think about what participants’ daily activities your workshop will interrupt and how you should go about it. For instance, if the workshop will interrupt some participants’ daily prayer time (especially for muslims) you can’t just ignore it just because the participant has confirmed his availability. In any case, if that thing is really important for participants, they might leave the workshop to take care of it. Or, even if they stay (as a mark of respect), their mind might not be fully on the workshop because they’re thinking about that important thing they are supposed to do at that specific time. In such cases, it’s a good practice to schedule a break for participants to perform their prayers without any inconvenience.
4. Have a reservoir of energizing exercise
Consider maintaining your participants and your own energy levels throughout the workshop.
You could plan your workshop activities and break times meticulously, but occasionally, as facilitators, we overlook the proper timing for activity execution. Consequently, some of our exercises may turn out to be more challenging for participants than initially anticipated. It’s a good idea to plan break times during the workshop and include various types of icebreakers (and have some in reserve) to help both participants and yourself get into the right mood for activities.
5. Create a comfortable environment for the participants
Unless you are conducting an IQ experimentation, know that you are not evaluating the participants' intelligence, the workshop is not an exam.
It’s important to create an environment where participants feel at ease sharing their thoughts. One effective approach I often use (constantly try to use) is active listening — this involves truly paying attention to what participants say, summarizing it back to them to ensure understanding, and giving every participant a chance to contribute and be heard.
6. Pay attention to participants engagement
Keep an eye on the participants’ level of engagement during the workshop. Observe those who appear to not get what is going on and take note of anyone who was previously active but has become unusually quiet. Feel free to repeat yourself in different ways when giving explanations. Give others examples or have a participant who understands the concept explain it differently if necessary.
7. Always consider buffer time.
Unless you’re a guru in time management and even if you are, you should consider having buffer time.
A common mistake I frequently make is assuming that if we’re running short on time, I can compensate by using break time. This is not a good approach. It might be more suitable to extend the entire workshop by 30 minutes to an hour, or you can determine buffer time by adding an extra 5 or 10 minutes to the pre-set execution time for each activity.
8. Limits the number of facilitators
When co-facilitating a workshop, make sure to establish and communicate the specific roles of each facilitator to the participants. Avoid leaving participants in the dark, wondering, “What is this person’s role here?” as it can be distracting for them.
9. Be flexible
Prepare yourself to handle any unforeseen situation and be flexible in adjusting your activities accordingly. The workshops become unproductive when we force our way out of it and when we want it to go exactly as we planned. Plan but be prepared to deviate from it if necessary.
What I find useful is to imagine the entire workshop, thinking about how it could go from the start to the finish, including any unexpected things that might come up. This doesn’t mean I’m fully prepared for every challenge, but it helps me get into the right mindset to be creative in solving them.
What are other important considerations often overlooked when preparing or conducting workshops you can think of? Feel free to share them in the comments below. Thanks!
