How To Facilitate Your First Workshop (Step-by-Step Guide)

Summary

This video script offers a step-by-step guide to facilitating a 15-minute micro workshop called 'Note and Vote,' designed to help beginners overcome the fear of leading their first workshop. The script includes a detailed facilitation guide, a Miro template for remote workshops, and onboarding videos for both facilitators and participants. By mastering these exercises, facilitators can efficiently gather and prioritize ideas, enhancing the workshop experience in a short time frame.

Takeaways

• 😌 'Note and Vote' is a 15-minute micro workshop designed to ease facilitators into the process with a short and manageable activity.
• 📝 The workshop consists of two main exercises: noting down ideas individually and then voting on them, which are fundamental to most effective workshops.
• 👤 Armor, a full-time facilitator at Agent Smart, shares personal experiences to relate to the initial fears of first-time facilitators.
• 📑 A script is provided for facilitators to use word-for-word, ensuring they know exactly what to say during the workshop.
• 📲 A Miro template is offered to facilitate the workshop remotely, complete with an onboarding video for facilitators and participants.
• 🎨 The setup for an in-person workshop requires sticky notes, sharpies for clear and concise writing, and voting dots.
• ⏱ A timer is recommended for managing the time effectively during the ideation and voting phases of the workshop.
• 🤝 'Note and Vote' promotes efficiency, capturing all ideas without bias, and ensuring everyone's voice is heard through anonymous voting.
• 📈 The workshop is beneficial for prioritizing problems, quick ideation, and sharing sessions, and is used by Agent Smart internally and with clients.
• 🔄 The process involves writing individual ideas, followed by a silent voting period where participants prioritize the ideas they find most valuable.
• 📚 The video script provides a step-by-step guide for both in-person and remote facilitation, including preparation, execution, and follow-up discussions.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the 'Note and Vote' micro workshop?

The 'Note and Vote' micro workshop is designed to efficiently gather and prioritize ideas within a short time frame, typically 15 minutes, using two main exercises: noting and voting.

Who is the speaker in the video and what is their role?

The speaker in the video is Omar, a full-time facilitator at Agent Smart, who guides viewers through the process of running a micro workshop for the first time.

What are the initial fears that new facilitators might experience when conducting their first workshop?

New facilitators might fear not being able to present confidently, explain exercises correctly, manage time effectively, or provide a useful outcome that participants perceive as a waste of time.

What is provided in the video to help first-time facilitators feel more confident?

The video provides a step-by-step guide, a word-for-word script for facilitators to use, a Miro template for remote workshops, and onboarding videos for both facilitators and participants.

What is the significance of using sticky notes in the 'Note and Vote' workshop?

Sticky notes are used for individuals to write down their ideas concisely and anonymously, which helps in capturing everyone's input without bias and makes the voting process straightforward.

Why are sharpies recommended over regular pens for writing on sticky notes?

Sharpies are recommended because they are harder to read from a distance and they encourage participants to be concise, writing only one idea per sticky note.

How does the anonymity in the 'Note and Vote' workshop benefit the idea generation process?

Anonymity ensures that everyone's voice is heard without the influence of others' opinions, allowing for a more diverse and unbiased collection of ideas.

What is the role of the voting dots in the 'Note and Vote' workshop?

Voting dots allow each participant to silently prioritize ideas by placing them on the sticky notes they find most valuable, leading to a clear understanding of the most supported ideas.

What is the benefit of using the 'working together alone' approach during the ideation phase?

The 'working together alone' approach provides each participant with individual thinking time, reducing the pressure of groupthink and allowing for a wider range of ideas to be generated.

How does the video script guide facilitators through the remote workshop process using Miro?

The script includes detailed instructions for setting up the Miro board, introducing the exercise, managing the timing of each phase, and facilitating the voting process, all while ensuring participants are comfortable with the platform.

What resources are provided in the video to assist facilitators in running their first micro workshop?

Resources provided include a word-by-word script for facilitators, a Miro template for the workshop, and separate onboarding videos for facilitators and participants, all accessible through a link in the video description.