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Workshop Preparation

Discover how to design and facilitate effective workshops. Learn how to define objectives, create an agenda, prepare activities, and manage the group to achieve collaborative results.

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Workshop preparation is the process of designing and planning a collaborative work session, with a clear objective, a structured agenda, and a series of dynamic activities, to achieve a specific result within a limited time.

What Is Workshop Preparation?

Imagine you are the host of an important dinner. You do not wait until the guests arrive to decide what you are going to cook. Weeks in advance, you plan the menu (the objective and activities), make the shopping list (the materials), prepare some ingredients ahead of time (the pre-work), and set the table (the environment). The success of the dinner depends 90% on this preparation.

Facilitating a workshop is the same. Success does not come from improvising during the session, but from meticulous planning. A well-prepared workshop is a well-executed workshop.

Why Is It Important?

  • Ensures productive results: A clear agenda and well-designed activities guarantee that the group’s time is used effectively to achieve the objective.
  • Builds trust: When participants see that the session is well-organized, they trust the facilitator and the process, and they engage more.
  • Reduces risk: Anticipating potential problems (an activity that does not work, a debate that goes on too long) allows you to have a plan B.
  • Respects others’ time: A workshop is a very costly time investment (multiply the number of participants by their hourly salaries). Good preparation ensures that investment is worthwhile.

Steps for Preparing a Successful Workshop

  1. Define the “Why” (The Objectives):

    • Why are we doing this workshop? What problem are we trying to solve?
    • What is the concrete deliverable we must have at the end of the session? (e.g., “a prioritized list of features,” “three solution concepts sketched out”). Be very specific.

  2. Define the “Who” (The Participants):

    • Who needs to be in the room to achieve the objective? Invite a cross-functional group (design, product, engineering, business).
    • Keep the group as small as possible (ideally, fewer than 8 people).
    • Assign clear roles (a facilitator, a decision-maker or “Decider”).

  3. Design the “How” (The Agenda and Activities):

    • Break the session into time blocks. A good agenda alternates between individual work, group work, and discussion.
    • For each block, choose a specific activity or exercise (e.g., [[Crazy 8’s]] for ideation, dot voting for prioritization).
    • Example Flow:
      • Opening (5 min): Icebreaker and present objectives.
      • Diverge (20 min): Individual work to generate many ideas (e.g., silent brainstorming).
      • Explore (30 min): Work in pairs to develop the best ideas.
      • Converge (15 min): Group sharing and decision-making (e.g., voting).
      • Close (5 min): Summarize decisions and next steps.

  4. Prepare the “What” (Materials and Logistics):

    • Physical Environment: Book a room with a large whiteboard, sticky notes, markers, etc.
    • Digital Environment: Prepare a Miro or FigJam board with the agenda and frameworks for each activity.
    • Pre-communication: Send an invitation with the agenda, objectives, and any materials that participants should review in advance.

Mentor Tips

  • Never go into a workshop without a detailed agenda: And share it with participants before the session.
  • Be pessimistic about time: Activities always take longer than you think. It is better to plan fewer activities and do them well than to try to cram in too many things.
  • Prepare an icebreaker: Starting with a short, fun activity helps people relax and get into a collaborative mode.
  • Think about the group’s energy: Alternate high-energy activities (debating, presenting) with low-energy activities (writing in silence, drawing). Do not keep the group in the same dynamic for more than 30-40 minutes.

Resources and Tools

Tags

ux process facilitation mid-level