What are some effective strategies for team workshops in remote settings?

My experience running successful remote workshops: 1. Have all participants on the video call hide their self-view. This helps recreate a live meeting session. 2. Keep the agenda tight with short presentations. Monologues are boring for everyone. And people lose interest. If 1 person has a lot to cover, break it up into 10-15 minute chunks with break-out rooms. 3. Break-out rooms keep the energy flowing. Ideally, you identify breakout room groups ahead of schedule. Give people 5-10 mins. Hard stop. When they come back asking more more time, you know you they're engaged. 4. Every 55 min, get people moving. Remote meetings are draining. Have fun. Play music. Dance. Bathroom breaks. 3-4hrs/day over 2-3 days max. Don't kill your team.

First, consider your team's needs and ask opening ended queries that invite candid debate amongst team members. What are your team's primary goals? What challenges do you face? What tools and platforms will help the team be most successful? For example, if your team is mostly focused on communication and collaboration, you'll need different tools than if they're focused on project management or customer service. Do your research. There are a lot of different tools and platforms available, so it's important to do your research before you choose the right ones for your team. Read reviews, compare features, and try out different tools before you commit. This helps you get the most out of the tools and to avoid some frustration in the process.

Active participation is the key success. 1. Gather insights before the meeting. Remember, most people don't speak up in meetings. Ask everyone ahead of time. Create a slide that shows the feedback. Chart it. Open with it. 2. Leverage short, targeted presentations. Monologues in-person are boring. They are worse on video calls. 3. Use pictures and stories. And do your best to engage the audience. Use people's names and pull them in as examples where possible. Personalizing gets people paying attention for when you call their name. 4. Leverage break-out rooms. Give groups a problem to solve and a short time to solve it. 5-10 mins with a 30 second presentation to everyone. You'll be amazed at how well the 3rd round turns out.

I’ve both led and collaborated in successful team workshops that have generated creativity and innovative thinking. In my opinion, keys to success include: 1. Starting with an icebreaker activity. This will help participants get to know each other and feel more comfortable participating in the workshop. 2. Using a variety of activities and formats. This will help to keep participants engaged and prevent boredom. 3. Encouraging participation from everyone. Making sure to give everyone a chance to speak and share their ideas. 4. Being both positive and enthusiastic during all workshop interactions. Your energy and enthusiasm will be contagious and will help to create a positive learning environment.

Setting clear expectations and goals is key. This is the foundation for any successful remote team. Make sure everyone knows what they're working towards and how their work contributes to the overall team goals. For example, I once had a team member working on a project that was really important to me, but I didn't communicate the expectations clearly enough. As a result, the team member didn't deliver the project on time and to the quality standards I was hoping for. I learned my lesson and now I always make sure to set clear expectations and goals with my team, even if it feels repetitive. Beyond this, Provide regular feedback. Remote work can be isolating, so it's important to give your team members regular feedback on their work.

Add as less layers of technology as possible to the event. Resist the temptation to add fireworks, bells and whistles available to “promote engagement”. Simplify every step of the agenda and structure time to get people connected, working together with a clear purpose and a defined goal. Anything that is between people (a layer of technology) must help people to work together and have more meaningful interaction.

As the host, it's on you to bring the energy. If this isn't your forte, learn to do it. Practice, practice. practice. Before big presentations and training sessions, I walk around my home pretending I'm running the call. I make up fake questions. I run through my piece all the way through multiple times. Each time you do this, you'll get better. Your confidence will rise. When the workshop starts: - hide self-view in your video conference so you don't watch yourself - Sit up straight: keeps blood flowing to your brain and your air passages engaged - Smile and remember that the people on the other side of the screen are just people. Just like you. You don't need to be perfect.

It doesn’t have to be 100% digital. Consider how you will use physical elements to help participants engage and remain present. It may be as simple as encouraging everyone to stretch when the remote meeting goes flat. Or suggesting to look around or through the window to draw some inspiration and a change of perspective. Or to go for a scavenger hunt in their work space for a bit of fun and team building. You could even prepare the remote meeting by sending something to all participants that could have been available if all participants were collocated. Think stationery or small snacks for example. Sometimes, giving space to the physical world brings people closer despite the distance.

Remember to also use the time before the workshop for preparation and orientation. This too requires guidance. Commitment starts even before the workshop. Utilize independent reflection as part of collaborative work as well. It can produce more diverse perspectives in the outcome. Don't forget to make a plan for how the jointly produced and learned material will be integrated into everyday work and followed up.

Engagement strategy for remote team workshops depends on the outcomes you want. We need to recognise that it is much more draining to engage online than in person, especially post-lockdowns. Essential considerations should be - keep it small (6-8 ppl max) - keep it short (50 mins then break) - keep it focused (specific topics instead of multiple topics)