ask good questions: Never say "so what do we think? or any questions?" always say something like - "take a minute and think about the most important point you have in relation to this" - you can then ask individuals about their point/s...and continue with "how can you add or indeed argue with what X just said"

Effective facilitation starts long before the workshop. It’s essential to gather insights about participants, their workflows, and manager feedback to create a clear agenda aligned with their needs. Structuring the session into smaller, balanced groups allows for strength-based collaboration, where participants learn from and support each other. The focus isn’t just on solving problems during the session but on empowering teams to replicate processes independently. Achieve this in a short time by practicing real-world scenarios, providing immediate feedback, and fostering teamwork to build self-sufficiency and long-term impact.

Three weeks ago I ran an online problem-solving workshop - with only 60 minutes and 12 participants. Very challenging! Here's how what I did to get the most out of it: 1?? Share the key questions with the participants in advance 2?? Prepare clear explanation for all exercises - to be given both by voice, as well as in writing (e.g. in the virtual whiteboard) 3?? Choose simple & straightforward exercises (I used the Sailboat, simple dot voting to identify challenges, simple ideation) 4?? Assign a "Decision Maker," one person to turn to when things should move along The workshop went great, and the group identified 5 key challenges to address. Productive 60 minutes!

Be clear on the agenda, objectives, and time limits for each item, and establish ground rules upfront. You can then leverage the pre-work by sending surveys or tasks to gather ideas and contributions ahead of the workshop, maximising time and effectiveness. Most importantly, facilitate, don’t dominate. Use the pre-work to share your insights ahead of time, this will allow you to focus on guiding the conversation rather than contributing too much. This provides you with the space to actively listen, ask clarifying questions, and keep discussions productive and on topic.

This happens more often than not. I would suggest: - Setting clear goals: Define objectives and share them upfront. Use timeboxing: Allocate specific time for each activity to maintain focus. - Encouraging concise input: Ask participants for short, impactful contributions. - Leveraging breakout groups: Divide participants into smaller teams for more focused discussions. - Using structured techniques: Apply methods like “round-robin” or “1-2-4-All” to gather input quickly. - Monitoring participation: Actively involve quieter members with targeted prompts.