Welcome back! It's been a moment! When we left off, I had just shared an article on running online/remote workshops, the tech I like to use, and the process I use to get the ball rolling.
Today, we're talking about in-person workshops. I'm approaching it as if you're going to a client site to run a session or to a different office. Of course, the same list is valid for running something in your own space, but you've got a little more leeway if you can pop upstairs for something you've forgotten.
As I'm currently putting together a new website and offering for the Facilitation Studio, I feel compelled to remind you that equipment is just a fraction of facilitation. Like any good design practice, most of it is 99% invisible.
My Setup
My in-person materials are less geeky than my remote stuff. You have way less control over what will be in the location where you're running your collaboration, so you need to keep things simple.
In the words of Rabbie Burns, The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley.
You need to plan to run the best workshop you can, but technology will fail when it comes down to it. Rooms will be booked wrong, whiteboards will have vanished, the projector or screen will be broken, and the power will go out. And yet, the show must go on.
If you have the things on this list, you'll always be prepared for a car-keys program. This was a principle that an Akela, who led a Cub Scouts pack I was an assistant with years ago, told me about. She always had a plan for if she turned up at the scout hall and all she had access to was what was in her pocket.
The car-keys kit
A printout of your agenda. Technology will fail, and whilst that can kill a remote workshop, it won't stop an in-person one from going ahead. Don't rely on tech.
Your printed materials. Printing templates or other materials on the day is tempting, but I try to avoid that as much as possible. You'll be very restricted to size (probably just A4, maybe A3) and to colour (probably black and white). You'll also have all your prints on 80gsm office paper, which Sharpies will bleed through and which don't feel "valuable" to your clients.
A defined bag to keep and carry your workshop stuff in. If you're anything like me, things that don't have defined homes will gradually disseminate themselves across every conceivable location. Having a grab bag is much easier than locating everything you should be taking with you every time you have a workshop; it's also easy to check if you have everything in stock. Photographers' backpacks are great because you can section them up using the velcro bits usually designed for lenses. They tend to have straps on the side, which are great for carrying your rolled paper or a poster tube, and you can access them from multiple directions. I use this one; it's not special, but does the job.
Have lots of pens. I like black Sharpies, which are fat enough that people can't write too much but thin enough for people to doodle thoughts. Treat Sharpies like consumables, and don't be too precious; people will "borrow" them. I try to reclaim them after every session, but they're definitely something that disappears.
Super sticky post-its. I read recently that the brand loyalty to Post-its is way above the norm for stationary, and I totally get it. The super sticky ones are worth it because you can't guarantee a nice, clean, smooth surface in a client space. Also, if you're leaving them up on a wall overnight, you want to have confidence that your workshop space won't look like a leaf-littered autumnal forest on your return in the morning. I prefer to have three colours, a lot of yellow ones, blue ones used to title groups and another random colour (usually purple as it's my favourite) for my own notes.
A roll of paper. A roll of paper is way more flexible than flipchart paper as you can make it any length to match your requirements. You can use it to draw maps, cover a gross table, make up for not having a whiteboard space, protect a client's precious wallpaper (or make sure post-its will stick to it), and so on. I like to grab a roll of Måla paper from the kid's section of IKEA any time I pass through. It's bleed-proof (Believe me, you don't want to get Sharpie on your client’s walls...), cheap but feels smooth and nice to write/draw on
Index cards. I like index cards as an alternative to post-its for anything involving multiple re-sorts and also for working in rooms like board rooms with nice big horizontal surfaces but often limited vertical spaces. They're also much easier to collect together after a session if you're keeping the outputs. As with Post-its, I stick to one colour, usually white, as it's the only one you can really buy in bulk and then use coloured ones sparingly.
Sticky dots. Though I tend to avoid dot voting, sticky dots are great for highlighting things, defining groups in multiple dimensions, and a myriad of other little exercises.
A watch to keep time. You can use a smartwatch and abuse the timer function (which I do) or an analogue works just as well. I am in the minority here, but I prefer not to use a big public-facing timer for most activities as I like to flex my timings if the conversation is fruitful and a watch allows me to do that. Having a watch also means you can leave your phone alone, which is a good look.
If you have those things with you, you should be able to run pretty much any workshop you've designed. Even if it's full of presentations and technological tricks, you can simplify it on the fly to work on just paper and pen.
The nearly essential things
I've not included these in essentials because you don't absolutely need them; realistically, you will use them in essentially every workshop though.
Your own laptop with a fully charged battery. Don't assume you'll have a plug within handy reach of where your laptop will need to sit in a room
A poster tube and folio to protect your print work and paper roll. Especially if you travel somewhere (they'll get bumped and banged) or live in the UK (they'll get wet). Secret knowledge: most airlines won't count them as extra hand baggage, so you can just take them on the plane with you rather than checking them (Don't check any of your workshop essentials on the way to a workshop...), but you may need to hand the tube to a crew member on boarding to put in a storage unit due to the length.
Adapters for all eventualities. I'm talking power (Laptop, iPad, etc) and also AV. For AV, you're probably talking about a USB-C to HDMI adapter at a minimum, but it's still worth carrying a VGA if you're working with more... traditional clients, as you do occasionally come across old-school projectors or screens.
This is a separate note, but this is a good reason to remember to keep your slides simple and accessible. Those pastel slides with ultra-fine type look fantastic until you throw them up on a client's 22-year-old projector, and suddenly they look blank.
Downloaded copies of your presentation and other materials. Don't assume you'll be able to access your client's Wi-Fi.
Mobile phone with hotspot. Hot-spotting on your phone works about 25% of the time in a pinch. Boardrooms (where I often find myself) have a habit of being very high in the air or deep in the bowels of a building. Neither space has a very good signal, but it may work!
Mobile phone with a decent camera. When I started working a nice chunky DSLR would be on this list... but now my phone is a better photographer than I ever was armed with that. Capture everything. Have your colleagues capture everything, too. There is never too much capture going on.
A battery pack for your phone. If you have to use your WiFi hotspot or take lots of capture shots, you need to keep your phone juiced up!
A Bluetooth speaker. Essential if you're playing any videos, but also good for background music if that's your workshop vibe.
The nice to haves
These are the things that I don't generally carry with me, but I will bring or source them for specific events. Most good venues usually provide these things, so you won't need to worry.
Snacks. Healthy, slow-release stuff in the morning, then increasingly sugar and caffeine focused as the day progresses.
A projector. If you absolutely need slides but you're working on a client's site that is unlikely to have a screen, then packing your own projector can be a good idea. You get some decent "pico" projectors now, but something bigger is often brighter and more flexible. In my experience, you can find a wall, but in the worst-case scenario, you might need to bring a screen (or use some of that paper roll!).
A microphone and speaker system. You'll need to amplify voices if you're working in a very large space. This makes whole group discussion very difficult, so you'll want to ensure you're managing that in smaller groups and using the mic to just give feedback to the broader group. You'll need an assistant to run about with a mic and set ground rules that you don't talk to the group without the mic and a way to get hold of the said mic.
The process checklist
I run through this basic mental checklist as I work towards an event to give it the best chance of going smoothly. This checklist is super tactical; it doesn't deal with designing the session but the logistics of what you're making happen.
The weeks before
Get the invite out as soon as a date and time are agreed upon. Don't wait to have an agenda, but do include the workshop's intent in the invite.
Book a venue
Make sure you understand the venue, the size of the rooms, how participants will move to breakout spaces if necessary, the WiFi setup, and whether the space is physically accessible to your participants.
Arrange catering (healthy snacks, light lunch, caffeine and sugar boost for afternoon)
Organise accommodation if needed for yourself and participants(for sessions starting before 10 AM or ending after 5 PM)
Book any follow-on sessions that you imagine might be required. It's easier to cancel them in future than book them on short notice.
Order custom-printed materials (canvases, instruction sheets, name tags) with plenty of time. You need at least a few days turnaround (or a chunky budget)
Stock up on workshop essentials (see above!). Even if a venue provides things on your essentials list, bring them along in case they don't meet your expectations.
Give clear guidance on when participants will be available for outside duties (calls, meetings etc)
The week before
Finalise your workshop agenda and timings.
Run this through with sponsors to ensure they're all in the loop.
Review the content produced by anyone else for the session. Is it up to standard? If not, can you support them on improving it?
Create a detailed facilitator guide for yourself and share it with your sponsors.
Send out the workshop agenda and any pre-reading materials at least a week ahead
The day before
Make sure you have tech essentials with you.
Prepare and pack any props or physical materials needed for activities
Send a reminder email repeating everything you've already shared.
Get a good night's sleep before the workshop. If you're starting first thing, try not to travel far; travel the day before.
The day of
Arrive at least an hour early to set up the space
Bring water and snacks for yourself
Do a quick relaxation exercise to centre yourself in the room. Then, take ownership of it and prepare to use it as a key part of your day.
Test any slides you'll be using in the space
Test any tech equipment you'll use. Even if you tested it yesterday, test it today.
Layout your printed materials where you can access them
Make sure there are clear instructions visible when people enter the room.
After
Take photos of everything (several times) before you begin the teardown and leave the room.
Say thank you. Send a thank-you email to everyone on the invite. Include a photo of everyone smiling and looking happy. This email acknowledges the work participants put in, allows the sponsors to reply with kind words for their team (and maybe even for you!), and inspires FOMO in folks who didn't turn up, hopefully galvanising them for next time.
That list should help you set things up!
Remember, the key to a successful workshop is rarely just having the right materials. The right materials are just tools that enable you to implement the collaborative framework you've designed.
So, while lists like this are great to read and very satisfying to write, you can have all the post-its in the world, but without the right intent and structure, you're going to have a meeting with bits of paper, not a collaborative workshop.
I hope this has been useful! Until next time, happy facilitating!
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