Photo by Beci Harmony on Unsplash

Get creative

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Virtual workshops are not the poorer cousin of in-person workshops. With the right design they can excite, create impact, and keep your learners engaged.

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These are great ideas for learning workshops and content sessions.

Here I give you a how-to for 10 activities to make your virtual workshops fun and energetic:

1. Debate
2. Quiz
3. Running Chat and Commentary
4. Virtual Thumbs Up
5. Let’s Get Physical
6. Virtual Collaboration
7. Breakout Groups
8. Pair and Share
9. Icebreaker Games
10. Closing

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1. Debate

Create action by holding a virtual debate. This is a powerful exercise when you want learners to consider different points of view.

How:

1. First, split the learners into two breakout groups to discuss strategy and form their arguments.
2. Provide instructions, such as:

• Each group has 3 speaking slots (1-minute each).
• Groups take turns (group one has their first minute then group 2).
• Ask the group to mute their cameras so only the two speakers are visible.
• Strict time limits with reminders at 20 seconds and 10 seconds left.
• The producer or a volunteer should keep a running commentary of key arguments in the chat.
• At the end of the debate summarise key arguments and ask the group to vote for the most persuasive arguments.

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2. Quiz

Useful at the end of mini-topics and a fun way to reinforce key messages and assess what’s landed with the group and what hasn’t.

How:

1. List quiz questions on slides with the answer options at the bottom.
2. One question per slide.
3. Ask the group to type in their answer in the chat (i.e. a, b, c, d or all of the above).
4. An alternative approach is anonymous polls (but likely to take much longer and potentially lose the enthusiasm of the group).

3. Running Chat Commentary

Learner engagement is at risk when the facilitator talks for too long. Keep the group connected by asking learners to provide a running commentary in the chat, sharing their own examples and asking questions.

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4. Virtual Thumbs Up

Use this simple feature as a response to questions (“virtual thumbs up if you’ve had a similar experience”). Encourage the group to use thumbs up throughout the workshop.

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5. Let’s Get Physical

Ask the group to answer questions with physical responses. Great for tactile learners with the bonus of injecting some energy:

• Thumbs up for yes.
• Thumbs down for no.
• Wavering hand for unsure.
• Clap to show support.

This approach works best in smaller groups, it’s difficult to see everyone’s responses when the group is big (15 or more people).

Encourage the group to have their camera on.

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6. Virtual Collaboration

Make whiteboard and sticky note activities virtual. Many tools have built-in whiteboard and collaboration features.

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7. Breakout Groups

An oldie but a goodie. Learners tend to open up more in smaller groups. Most conferencing software (MS Teams, Zoom, Blue Jeans, GoToMeeting etc.) have this feature.

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8. Pair and Share

Strategically use breakout rooms for pair and share activities. This is a powerful tool for more intensive activities such as coaching, giving and receiving feedback, and deep dives.

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9. Icebreaker Games

Don’t skip virtual workshop icebreakers. It’s much easier to withdraw in a virtual workshop than in-person workshop. Icebreakers at the beginning pay dividends when you need the group to be active later on:

• Use a welcome slide with questions for the group to respond to (either in the chat or verbally)
• Ask learners to share an image that represents what they’d like to learn from the workshop.
• Ask individuals to share the location they’re joining from and 1 fact about the location.

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10. Closing

Don’t skip the closing either. The close summarises key themes for the day and learners commit to actions. Some ideas that the group can respond to and share as a closing activity:

• My 1 ‘aha-moment’ from today.
• 1 thing I will do right away.
• 1 thing to stop + 1 thing to start + 1 thing to continue.
• 1 question I have that I will find an answer to.

These 10 activities add a touch of spice and excitement to virtual workshops. Happy workshopping.