8 GUIDING PRINCIPLESTO WORKSHOP DESIGN

By Hannah Johnson Sr. Associate Strategist

HELLO

Workshops provide opportunities for participants to actively engage in the design process. These interactions can support informative and inspiring exchanges that spark new ideas, surface important information, and ultimately enable progress towards the expressed goals.

Here are 8 best practices I find helpful when designing workshop experiences.

1

Believe inpeople potential

People are exceptional beings capable of limitless possibilities. With this is mind, it’s important to design environments that allow people to tap into their creative genius and contribute their best selves.

2

Remember that it’s not about you

Putting your participants at the center of the design process does many things, two of which are:

1) Ensures that the correct needs are being met to effectively produce the desired outcomes

2) Reduces the pressure of the designer to know all of the answers--after all, the designer’s job is to facilitate the process that leads to answers.

3

Lead with intentions

Intention setting is a powerful exercise that enables you to visualize the flow of an experience and eventual outcome. Imagining how you hope participants will feel, what you hope they’ll do during the workshop, and how you want them to walk away from the experience are forms you can weave into the design. By naming them in the beginning, you can ensure they’re accounted for throughout the process.

4

Set clear goals

In addition to intentions, clear vision and goals serve as the North Star to effective workshop design. Not only does it allow team members, client, stakeholders, etc. to understand the rationale for decisions made, but it also anchors the work.

5

Align activations with intentions

and goals Each activity, beginning from the introductions to the closing activity should support the stated intentions and goals.

6

Test & practice

Practice makes perfect. If time permits, testing activities allows you to refine the process.

7

Have fun & go all-in

Participants will follow your lead. If you model the behavior you hope to evoke of your participants, they will be more likely to engage in the desired fashion.

8

Close the loop

If you are asking people to donate their time, it’s also important to thank them and share a snippet of how their contributions has helped your process.

THE END

hello@goodcorps.com @GOODcorps