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ROStop wasting hours making workshop slides. Follow these 5 steps to ensure your ideas actually land and create real transformation.
I’ve facilitated hundreds of workshops for over 3000 people at major European brands. Here’s the exact process I use:
🎯 STEP 1: LISTEN DEEPLY
Gain a clear sense of their problems and where they want to get to. Don’t just ask about issues - get specific stories and examples. “Tell me about when this happened” and “How typical is this?”
🎯 STEP 2: UNDERSTAND THEIR SUCCESS VISION
Ask about how they’d like things to turn out. My favorite question: “If I could wave a magic wand and take all your problems away, how would things be different?”
For both problems and success, ask about the impact on their work and everyday life.
🎯 STEP 3: BRIDGE THE GAP
Work out the high-level path. What are the 3 key things they need to learn to get from problem to success? This becomes the backbone and narrative arc of your entire workshop.
🎯 STEP 4: DESIGN FOR CONTRAST
The key to engagement is variety. Change activities every few minutes: talk about an idea, do an exercise, debrief the experience, then repeat. Mix formats - individual work, small groups, large groups. Build toward a climax where they apply everything.
🎯 STEP 5: ENGAGE BEFORE THE EVENT
Send a short email introducing yourself and asking one open question. Put it in a survey or just ask them to hit reply. This gets people thinking about your topic before they even enter the room.
THEN and only then make your slides.
This approach ensures more engaged participants and greater transformation because you’re designing around their actual needs, not your assumptions.
What’s the biggest mistake you see in workshop design?
#workshops #training #facilitation #learning #transformation
@robdwillis
