As a Change Manager I stopped counting how many workshops I have hosted, it is an integral part of my work and something I really enjoy doing. During the last 2 years, all my workshops (except 2) have been done online. This is due to Covid but also that my projects were involving people from around the world. Being online has its advantages (I live on the Central Coast so I don’t have to travel) but it adds a lot of challenges too. I found many ways to make online workshops more engaging, here are some of my top tips.

1.      Start on a high!

While you wait for attendees to join, play a fun song to lift everyone spirit. I often play “Happy” from Pharrell Williams, you can’t go wrong with that one.

Have a welcome slide up with a nice picture representing the subject of the workshop.

If the group is not too big, ask everyone to introduce themselves and turn their camera on. When introducing themselves, you can ask attendees to answer a fun question like “if money was no object, which country would you visit? This will light up to mood and get instant connection between people.

Then start the workshop with an uplifting question relevant to the subject you will be covering. I would normally use a Word Cloud available in platform technology like Menti.com (see section below about tech) so everyone can answer at the same time. Here are some examples of uplifting questions: “What excites you the most about this project? What success looks like for you? Share examples of recent successes?”

2.      Use technology so everyone has their say

I’m a big fan of Mural board and Menti. Mural allows to recreate that board we used in face-to-face workshops where everyone can participate and create post-its. The additional bonus of the online platform vs the physical board is that you can download the post-its for future reference. Mural also has many templates like retrospective, user journey, brainstorm, and design thinking. It also has useful features like timer, voting option and even a celebration button that throws virtual confetti!

Menti serves a very different purpose. It allows to run quiz or survey your attendees, so you get everyone’s feedback quickly. I also use Menti to prioritise issues or solutions to work on. For example, I can ask everyone to brainstorm some solutions to a problem. Once I got all the answers, I give the audience a few minutes break and enter all the solutions in Menti. When they come back, I share my screen and they all proritise live the solutions on Menti. Since everyone has a say, its easy to move on and work on the top 3 solutions agreed.

The other important tech is creating rooms whether in Zoom or MS Teams. When I have a big group, I always try to divide and concur to get the most of people’s diverse thinking and time. Sometimes I prepare the room in advance as I specifically want certain people together. If not, I can randomly assign attendees on the spot.

3.      Give people breaks and time for fun

Keeping people’s attention online is much harder than in person. You don’t know if they are distracted and listening. To help engage them, use the above tips so they are constantly participating but also give room for a break (and announce it).

During the break, you can simply have music playing or have a fun Menti quiz. In a face-to-face workshop there would always be breaks where people have the chance to mingle. The Menti quiz is a way to recreate this mingle time. Since I often work with people overseas, I like to create a fun light quiz about culture. People really enjoy this simple interaction and stepping away from the work for a few minutes.

4.      Finish on a high

Like the opening, I try to find ways to finish on a high. Depending on the workshop, I sometimes have awards for those who participated the most or brought interesting idea, etc.

I also like to use Menti again and create a word cloud on what they enjoyed or learned during the workshop. This doesn’t replace a feedback form but is more about having a collective share before closing.

If people know each other, it could also be a good opportunity to have shoutouts to colleagues about the good the work they have done.

5.      And what about hybrid?

Hydrid is clearly becoming the norm for workshops and can be very challenging. Most of the time, the people online are the ones being penalised. Here are a few tricks to provide a better experience for everyone;

·        Everyone should be online and have the same experience. This means people in person should have their computer open with their camera on.

·        Allocate time to test sound and camera before you start.

·        If you have one person presenting in front of the audience, use a separate computer and camera to focus on them.

·        Put a tape on the floor so the presenter knows where to stand to be visible on the camera.

·        If you can, have a facilitator in person and one online so both crowds are taken care of.

·        If you break out in group, assign one person per group responsible to call in the people online and make sure the hybrid groups have a room to meet.

I hope these simple tips will help you engage your teams online. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like to hear more details or share your own tips.