Top tips for running virtual workshops

I’m sure we’ve all been there…asking a question in a Microsoft Teams meeting and all you get is tumbleweeds. No one willing to be one to speaks up to offer their input. Working virtually can be hard. This is especially true when it comes to running creative workshops. Sessions that require groups of people to collaborate freely and openly. That’s why we’ve pulled together our top tips for getting the most out of your virtual workshops.

Tip 1 – Be clear why participants input is important

When individuals are working remotely there is so much competition for people’s time. People are jumping between meetings, things overrun and people struggle to take breaks. It’s really important when preparing for your workshop that you communicate with your participants what you expect them to bring to the session and why this is important to the outcome. This will help ensure you get attendance for all your participants.

Tip 2 – Cameras on!

While being able to see someone’s face on a video call doesn’t let you read body language quite like being in a room together it’s much better than speaking to a blank screen. As a facilitator it also gives you the chance to see who might be getting distracted, bored or confused.

Tip 3 – Digital whiteboards are your friend

Collaboration is hard when you are connected over a video call but there are some great tools out there to help you. Digital whiteboarding tools such as Mural and Miro are great ways to replicate a real-life wall that you might use in a workshop. You can use them to prepare worksheets or templates for your session just like you would for an in-person session.

Tip 4 – Make sure everyone has access to the tools

Nothing will throw off your timings like getting into a session and spending 15 minutes at the start trying to get everyone access to the tool your are using such as Mural or Miro. Prepare your board early and send it out with the workshop invite with instructions for participants to access the tool and check it’s all working before they attend the session. This allows you to head off any potential issues before your workshop. It’s worth noting some organisations may block digital whiteboarding tools so if you’re unsure ask someone from the organisation to do a quick test before you prepare all your materials.

Tip 5 – Keep your sessions short

I’ve run all day virtual workshops before and let me tell you, it’s a struggle. Keeping people focused and keeping peoples energy up is much more of a challenge virtually than when you are together in a room (even if only because you can’t fill people with sugary snacks!). Virtual sessions will work more effectively if you break them up into shorter sessions no longer than half a day each.

Tip 6 – Use structured activities

The more structure you can provide, the easier it will be for people to collaborate when working virtually. Creating structured activities with very clear instructions will benefit your workshop hugely. There are loads of existing templates that can be leveraged within tools such as Mural or Miro to help or you can create your own ones too.

When creating boards in Mural or Miro I always lay out all my activity templates on a single board with timings against each activity. I walk through this at the start of the workshop so everyone understands what activities we are going to do and where they are on the board.

Tip 7 – Timers are your friend

Just like in a physical workshop timers are really useful to keep people on track. Tools like Mural and Miro have timers built in. These can be seen by all participants so are useful to make sure you don’t run over during any of your activities.

Tip 7 – Give everyone a voice

When creating your activities make sure you give everyone an opportunity to input into the workshop. In virtual sessions I’ve found you get a few loud voices that are not afraid to speak up and many voices that are happy to sit in the background and listen. Building in sections of individual activity such as individual ideation can make sure that everyone is encouraged to participate and input into the workshop.

Tip 8 – Gather feedback

As with any workshop session feedback is important to improve future sessions. I find adding a final 5-minute feedback exercise at the end of a session is a useful way to find out what works well and what needs to be improved.

I hope you find these tips useful for your virtual workshops. Let us know what you have found to work well when running your own workshops!