How can you design and deliver virtual team workshops that achieve the same outcomes as in-person workshops?

1. Clearly define the objectives and desired outcomes of the workshop. What do you want participants to learn, achieve, or create by the end of the workshop? Having clear objectives will guide the content and activities of the virtual workshop, ensuring it aligns with the intended results. 2.Design the workshop to be interactive and engaging to maintain participants' attention and encourage active participation. Incorporate a mix of activities such as group discussions, breakout sessions, polls, quizzes, and hands-on exercises. Utilize interactive tools and platforms to facilitate collaboration and interaction among participants, simulating the engagement experienced in an in-person workshop.

My take on preparing content would be to chunk it for digestibility, organizing it into manageable segments focused on specific topics. Incorporate visual aids like slides and videos to enhance understanding and engagement. Use interactive materials such as polls and quizzes to actively involve participants, facilitating real-time interaction and reinforcing learning.

Debrifing session of the workshop is important. At the end of the activities, conducting a debrifing session helps the participants to explore what happened, why it happened and what should happen in the future. It provides reflecting the experience they had together and behavioral outcomes that is the first step to implement in practice after workshop.

The energy coming from the facilitator can make or break a workshop. Here are a few tips I've found helpful: -If possible, connect with participants prior to the workshop to help break the ice with natural conversation without needing to force icebreaker games (though those can work too!). -Encourage people to use chat and raise hand features, and engage with those comments as you go. -Overprepare! If you're nervous about the content, it's much harder to speak with confidence. -And most importantly, have fun!!! If you are confident and excited, it will make for a much more engaging experience.

Yes, measuring feedback is so important in determining the success of your workshop! In addition to those quantitative measures, I also find it helpful to include plenty of open text questions. I've had amazing, creative ideas on how to improve workshops come directly from participants!

Virtual sessions require a little bit more intentionality and a "gamified" structure to keep everyone engaged and attentive. When planning your content, make sure you account for: - Check-in with the audience moments. - Polls. - Open-ended questions for the audience to answer via chat. - Interactive dashboards. - Break out rooms. - Meaningful ice-breakers (not just: where is everyone tuning in from?) - An engaging slide deck.

1.Introduce elements of gamification, such as challenges, leaderboards, and rewards, to make the workshop more interactive and competitive. Gamified activities can increase motivation and participation, making the virtual experience more enjoyable for participants. 2.Incorporate surprise elements or unexpected moments throughout the workshop to keep participants engaged and excited. This could include guest speakers, live demonstrations, or interactive polls with surprising results. Adding moments of novelty can break up the routine and make the virtual experience more memorable.