Rohrbeck Heger GmbH

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    Strategic Foresight Insights

23.04.2020

Running effective digital workshops

We love workshops – and we guess you do too! Unfortunately, your normal ‘offline’ workshop will not work in an online setting. Why? Because:

  • Concentration spans are shorter online
  • You cannot improvise as easily online
  • Facilitating smaller groups is more difficult online

At Rohrbeck Heger, we run online workshops using some tools built specifically for running remote workshops. With that experience in mind, here’s some of our advice for running a workshop online:

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL ONLINE WORKSHOP

PLAN ACCORDINGLY
  • Have several shorter online sessions instead of one longer workshop
  • Prepare much more thoroughly than you might for an offline workshop
  • Moderate and explain clearly and repeatedly – ensuring participants can follow
SET AN ONLINE-FRIENDLY AGENDA
  • If you’re using a specific interactive tool – which we highly recommend – start the session with a 10-15 minute familiarisation exercise to let new users explore the tool. Energizers, getting to know each other, etc. work well
  • Schedule some breaks, for people to briefly step away from the computer
HAVE 2 MODERATORS
  • Support each other in facilitating discussions and solving technical issues – and have a back-up in case one of you lose internet connection.
MAKE THE MOST OF AVAILABLE DIGITAL FUNCTIONALITY
  • Create digital whiteboards – re-use whiteboards digitally as you would in an offline setting
  • Assign colours to individuals – to easily identify input, e.g. post-it’s, from different participants
  • Use comments – to provide secondary or supporting information
  • Use polls – to get everybody’s opinion on something you need an answer to
  • Use chat-boxes – to allow everybody to quickly ask questions, and effectively prioritise which questions to answer.
DO A TRIAL RUN
  • Check that the tool, format, templates, timing and moderation work as intended
  • Identify/foresee issues users may have – and prepare to address them

Please reach out if you’d like some further tips or assistance in running digital workshops!

More tips are also available in this briefing: A Guide to Digital Meetings

Tags:

DigitalisationOnline Meeting