7 Tips for Planning a Successful Workshop

A workshop is a specific and strategic co-creative workshop. In other words, it is a planned activity through which one or more facilitators they work together with the attendees on a particular topic.

Unlike conferences or debates, workshops are based on the active participation of those who attend them, so the selection of dynamics and preparation in general is somewhat more difficult and planning becomes more important.

Are you thinking about doing a workshop and don't know how to start? From IZO we want to share with you some basic practical recommendations so that you can prepare a workshop yourself. From the reason for making one, to the tips for leading it, to the process of assembling the materials and the final checklist. Let's start this 7-step journey!

1. PLAN THE WORKSHOP

Before any planning, you should start with a question that will guide the entire process: what is the strategic objective of the workshop? By answering this question, and keeping it in mind throughout the process, you will not lose focus and you will achieve excellent results.

The development of the workshop involves several aspects that you must consider, so your success will depend to a large extent on the order you can have during the planning. At this point, the basic questions become relevant:

• Why? Objective of the workshop. It is the most important question and basis for the construction of the workshop.
• For whom? It's your audience, who you want to participate in the workshop. The following questions depend on the target audience. We will detail this in point 2.
• Where? Physical space where activities can be carried out. It must have the necessary infrastructure and furniture, be easily accessible to attendees and have basic services such as toilets and Wi-Fi.
• How? Determine what type of impact you want to generate and the activities to carry out for this purpose. Your budget will largely define the type of Workshop you can carry out.
• Who? You can lead it internally, or you can partially or fully involve people outside the organization. It is recommended that it be external, or that there is someone from outside who provides another point of view.
• When? Define a date and time for the workshop to take place (ideally during working hours). You must agree on this with the leaders of each of the participants, since it will affect their working hours.
• How much? The duration is usually around four hours, although in some cases it can extend up to several days. It will depend on the strategic relevance of the workshop and the topic in question.

2. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Defining who the workshop is aimed at will condition the rest of the planning. Designing a workshop for middle managers is not the same as for senior managers, for example.

The link with the purpose of the workshop is a necessary condition for the call to be well received. For this reason, focus on the benefits of the workshop: what it will bring personally to each attendee.

The importance of stakeholders. Taking into account that the participants may be from different areas of the organization, the responsible persons (People Management and superiors of the guests) must agree on the day and time of the Workshop. Get a Sponsor and get a multiplier effect from their support!

3. CREATE A PROGRAM

First, you must internally define the times for each of the workshop activities. We recommend that each of them It does not last longer than 90 minutes, so as not to lose the audience's attention. In addition, prepare them in time, since they usually take a lot of work to prepare them.

Once you have the dynamics and their duration, you must order them in such a way that the workshop has a certain logical order and the topics are concatenated. It is time, then, to put together a general schedule for the workshop, which also includes rest times and meals, if necessary. It is preferable to calculate loose times, to have to hurry later.

Choose an impactful title for the workshop: one that is relevant, brief and at the same time explanatory. It's not that simple to do it! Avoid making the title generic. Be original and captivate guests right from the start.

4. PREPARE THE EXTRA MATERIAL

From individual invitations On paper even personalized gifts, the most humans What you add are those that will determine the emotional impact you generate on the participants.

We recommend that you review each of the activities you have defined in the agenda for the day. Think about what is necessary to carry them out: pens, blank sheets, pOst-itcolored pens, markers. Additionally, we recommend that you give each participant a notebook where they can take notes in an orderly manner. If you can have printed on it the agenda for the day, the Wi-Fi password and all the material such as presentations, questions that guide the dynamics to be developed during the workshop and relevant content, all the better!

?Merchandising is recommended? Yes, totally. Give everyone a certificate of attendance, a backpack, some piece of clothing, or even a relevant book on the subject of the workshop. These gifts make tangible what was learned during the workshop.

5. MAKE IT INTERACTIVE

You should think in advance about the pace and the moments that you want the attendees and you to experience during the workshop. This is how everything makes sense and is concatenated in a harmonious way.

At all times, you must lead the group to the right climate. It is key that you can have dynamics that allow attendees to actively participate, in such a way that a positive interaction is generated.

What if you do a little competition? We recommend you Kahoot.it, an online tool that will allow you to generate a multiple choice question and answer form. Using a unique code that you can provide to workshop attendees, they can enter from any device to Kahoot.it and participate. It's very entertaining and generates healthy competition. Try it!

6. LOOK FOR RELEVANT EXAMPLES

In all cases, participants will be able to better understand the activities and learning when you can provide them with concrete examples related to the topic. In this regard, the personal experiences you can share are especially important, as they give you credibility and trust as a facilitator.

You can cite both success stories and strategies that didn't work (and why), that are relevant to the organization's industry, ideally, or rely on companies or individuals that have a certain reputation. If that's the case, go beyond what attendees may already know: Cite something as close as possible, related to the company, its market and its environment.

Next, it invites participants to think about and share a specific action to which they can commit themselves in the short term. If possible, ask attendees to write down this commitment in the notebook where they are taking notes or on a specially prepared piece of paper, and to always write it down In the first person. It is important that the commitment be externalized and left in writing!

Finally, we recommend use recent statistics, that add value and that support your statements. Important: You should always include the source.

7. GENERATES A REAL CONNECTION

Beyond all the planning, and without ceasing to consider it important, you must be prepared as a moderator to carry out the workshop. In this regard, we want to give you three recommendations and tips for you to lead the workshop effectively.

1. Do it with energy. As moderator, you will mark the times of the Workshop. It is important that you can understand the participants and their moods. Vary the tones of voice, use different dynamics and cheer up your audience. Your body language should be open, close and positive. Give him enthusiasm and be generous with your knowledge.
2. Actively listen. The best way to get attendees to participate is to encourage and value their interventions. Cite the phrases that were relevant and publicly thank them for that contribution. Don't impose yourself, you don't want to reach a predefined conclusion. On the contrary, it guides the conversation so that the group can co-create. This is how each person will feel part and will better define the contents.
3. Take advantage of rest times. Get close to people, ask them how they are doing, how they have seen the workshop so far, what they think about the latest dynamic. They will give you honest feedback as long as you are close and humble. Then, anonymously include these comments in the next activity to encourage participation in later breaks.

In short, achieving a high level of empathy is the key. Connect with the participants and remember that The workshop is for attendees, so it seeks to add value to each of them.