Planning an Online Workshop: Your Guide to a Successful Virtual Workshop
Planning an Online Workshop: Your Guide to a Successful Virtual Workshop
First, the good news — you don't need to worry about snacks or drinks for your participants. But that doesn't mean you don't need any preparation for a virtual workshop..
An online workshop can be intense and demanding, but it also offers the opportunity to bring people from all over the world together to work on a common topic. In this blog series, we share our experiences in planning and conducting virtual workshops.
Join Mia in our practical example and see how she plans a workshop on her journey to creating a new open-source video chat program.
Workshops thrive on participant interaction. Even virtually, it's important to create opportunities for active engagement and communication. The following tips will help you make your online workshop a success.
Video Chat – A Must for a Successful Online Workshop
We have found that a pure audio chat is not sufficient for intensive exchange. Each participant should have a webcam and use it.
Communication is more than just words — facial expressions and gestures play a crucial role. In a workshop that requires concentration and commitment, it's important to use as many communication channels as possible. This helps avoid misunderstandings and keeps participants focused.
Clarify in advance whether everyone meets the technical requirements, and mention this explicitly in your invitation.
Establishing Common Rules
Holding the attention of all participants is a particular challenge in a virtual workshop. Distractions like smartphones or incoming emails are ubiquitous. In in-person workshops, it's easy to agree to put away electronic devices. Online, that's more difficult. Therefore, it's important to establish behavioral rules together at the beginning. Allocate time for this, preferably right at the start of the workshop.
These rules can vary depending on the group. While open conversation works well in a small circle, a speakers' list might be useful in larger groups. The key is that all participants feel comfortable with the rules and that they were developed collaboratively.
Handling Rule Violations
Virtually, it's harder to notice a "rule violation." Participants might automatically receive chat messages or emails while sitting at their computers. Try suggesting technical solutions to help participants shield themselves from distractions. Is it possible, for example, to mute notifications from other channels during the workshop? Can mobile phones be set to silent and kept out of reach?
If you notice that someone seems mentally absent, kindly address them. Ask if everything is okay or if a short break is needed. It's important to proceed sensitively so that no one feels singled out.
Choosing the Right Participants
A successful workshop thrives on diverse perspectives but also on a manageable group size. Think carefully about whom you want to invite and limit the number of participants to what's necessary. This ensures that everyone has a chance to speak and keeps the discussion productive.
Planning – An Essential Foundation
Good preparation is crucial. Define a clear goal for your workshop (see Defining Goals) and create an agenda with time allocations. If not everyone knows each other, plan an introduction round, include a summary with reflection on the goals, and make sure to schedule sufficient breaks — they are essential for maintaining concentration!
From experience, breaks are often forgotten in planning or shortened during the workshop in favor of longer discussions. Don't do that! Without breaks, you risk losing your participants. They may become irritated, easily distracted, or simply leave the workshop. No matter what happens, plan breaks and stick to them, because a virtual workshop is intense and demands a lot of concentration from everyone involved.
Because a virtual workshop can be tiring, you should also consider how many hours per day it will run. Our experience shows that it's more effective to spread a workshop over several days. Instead of an 8-hour marathon, we recommend 2 days with 4 hours each. Your participants will work more effectively on the workshop topics, and the additional overnight break can bring interesting and helpful insights.
Choosing the Right Methods and Tools
Consider which collaboration options you want and can use. There are virtual whiteboards, flipcharts — which you can prepare in advance — brainstorming programs, and much more.
Try to avoid using PowerPoint in virtual workshops; participants might otherwise see you as a presenter and reduce their own participation.
We will introduce some examples of virtual collaboration tools in one of the next articles and briefly discuss their implementation. However, it's important that you think in advance not only about the selection but also about the technical setup and how your participants can actively collaborate.
Additional hardware like an electronic pen might also be part of the technical implementation. Allocate time beforehand to familiarize yourself with the methods and hardware, and test them in your virtual work environment. When you use a method in the workshop, don't forget to explain it beforehand and describe how your participants can engage.
Actively Involving Participants
Actively integrating your participants is crucial, not only in virtual workshops. Think ahead about how you can involve less active participants.
Try to gently slow down those who contribute a lot to give quieter participants the opportunity to engage. This is challenging virtually because people often slip into "listener mode" in front of the screen. A good way to encourage participation is to ask open-ended questions.
Consider in advance how you can frame open questions; for example, during brainstorming: "What other aspects of ... come to mind?" And when you've asked the open question, use the "power of silence." Don't answer yourself! Don't skip over the question! Wait patiently — eventually, someone will respond.
Gather Feedback and Grow
Lastly, don't despair! Leading virtual workshops is very challenging, and unexpected issues can arise. Remember: Not everything will always go according to plan, and that's okay.
Actively ask for feedback at the end. What went well? Where is there room for improvement? Ask how your participants might have approached things differently. Incorporate these insights into your next preparation. If not all workshop goals are achieved, reflect as a group on whether you've moved closer to the goals or gained important insights from the process.
Being Both Participant and Workshop Leader — Is That Possible?
In smaller groups, you might find yourself both leading the workshop and participating. In this dual role, it's important to clearly separate the two. Make it clear when you are moderating and when you are contributing your own ideas. This prevents misunderstandings and ensures transparency. Simple phrases like "Next, I will guide you through the brainstorming" or "As a participant, I think the following rule is important—what do you think?" are sufficient.
Practical Example: Mia Plans Her Workshop
In the last article, Mia realized that she lacks important skills for her project, especially in marketing. After discussions with her friends, Zou and Peter offer their support. To consolidate ideas and jointly define the functional scope of the video chat, Mia decides to plan an online workshop.
Setting Goals Using SMART
Mia defines the workshop goal using the SMART method ((Defining Goals).
"The goal of the two-day workshop is to jointly determine the functional scope of the video chat and define it so that a rough plan is possible to create."
Choosing Methods and Tools
She plans to conduct a brainstorming session followed by event storming. After some research, she finds suitable open-source tools for mind mapping (mind mapping tools) and virtual whiteboards (whiteboard tools)). For the video conference, she selects a product that allows up to 5 participants for free. Mia is satisfied with these technical solutions for now.
Creating the Agenda
Mia puts together a rough agenda. She thinks a short introduction round is beneficial — even though they're friends, the session can be used to discuss previous work experiences and competencies. Mia schedules blocks of 1–2 hours before taking a short break.
After lunch and at the end of the day, she includes a feedback round so everyone can briefly share what's going well and what could be improved. Naturally, there's a summary and a detailed feedback session at the very end. The agenda for the first morning looks like this:
Invitation to Participants
She sends the agenda along with access details and the workshop goal to Zou and Peter. She also asks them to think about their own goals for the workshop and emphasizes the importance of a functioning webcam.
Outlook
Mia is eager to hear what her friends think about the agenda and the workshop. She's also excited to start tackling the project together. How the workshop unfolds and how the two methods (brainstorming and event storming) are implemented will be detailed in the upcoming articles.
Note: This article is part of our series on virtual workshops and effective project planning. Discover more posts on project management, agile working, and self-organization on our blog.
Share your experiences or ask us your questions about online workshops! Leave a comment or discuss with us on X or LinkedIn.