In these complex, uncertain, and frankly scary times, facilitators are increasingly being asked to help teams think long-term, make sense of the uncertainty, and plan for the unknown. Whether you’re guiding a group through climate resilience strategies, preparing a nonprofit for demographic shifts, or helping a company imagine the impact of AI, future scenario planning can be a powerful tool for navigating future challenges.

This article is a practical introduction to how to run a scenario planning process. We’ll look at what futures thinking actually means (no crystal balls here), how scenario planning works, and why it’s so valuable for facilitators and teams. You’ll also find example use cases, other facilitation methods for working with futures, and a full workshop structure you can adapt to your needs.

For more methods and inspiration, download SessionLab’s Facilitating Futures playbook, created in collaboration with futurist Suzanne Whitby of Futures Fit. It’s packed with 15 practical techniques, facilitation tips, and real-world stories to support your work.

What is futures and foresight?

Futures thinking is a structured approach to imagining what might happen, why it could happen, and what we can do about it. It invites us to explore future conditions and the driving forces shaping tomorrow’s world. 

Foresight is the practice of using specific tools and methods to support that process, such as horizon scanning, market trend analysis, or scenario planning. While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, futures is the broader mindset, and foresight is the toolbox.

Futures work is about discussing possible, plausible futures: spotting early signals of change, considering critical uncertainties, and helping groups navigate complexity with clarity and imagination.

Whenever life becomes more hectic and uncertain, scenario planning becomes more popular.

Kees van der Heijden, author of The Sixth Sense – Accelerating Organizational Learning with Scenarios

What is scenario planning?

Scenario planning is a structured method for developing multiple scenarios. Scenarios, in this context, are plausible versions of the future, designed with the purpose of helping people, and teams, make better decisions in the present.

Instead of aiming for a single forecast, scenario planning helps teams explore a range of different future outcomes, generally based on uncertainties like regulation, interest rates, emerging technologies, climate impact, or cultural shifts. You can think of each scenario as a story, a narrative that reflects different variables and strategic possibilities.

This process is especially useful in strategic planning, innovation, risk management, and operational scenarios. The task of creating plausible narratives together, in teams or multidisciplinary groups, leads to deeper understanding among participants. As is often the case with facilitated workshops, the journey (process) is what really counts, more than the destination (outcome).

How facilitators can benefit from futures work

For a long time, I relied on just two tools when helping groups think about the future: backcasting and guided visualisation.

Guided visualisation is something I’ve used to open the door to imagination and hope. It is about guiding participants into a relaxed state and inviting them to time travel to a future world where things turned out ok (whatever that means for them).

After sharing what those imagined futures have in common, I’ve often used backcasting to encourage participants to define the practical steps to get there. These tools have helped me guide people in accessing both the practical and emotional layers of change.

I’ve used these techniques with everyone from university students to community leaders, mostly in the context of climate change and social justice work. I’ve been struck often by how powerful they can be, and how coherent our visions of the future often are.

The level of technology present in these future scenarios varied, but there was reliably more greenery. Cleaner air, quiet, and birdsong were frequent answers to my question What is the first thing you notice, what tells you that you are in a different world from today’s? These insights told the group something about what people truly value.

For years, these two tools were enough. But after joining the International Association of Facilitators’ SIG (Special Interest Group) on Futures, I’ve been amazed to learn just how many methodologies facilitators can use to help groups navigate rapidly changing environments.

In a world that’s changing rapidly, we need more than goals and plans. We need futures literacy: the capacity to think ahead, imagine alternatives, and act with intention. 

5 ways futures work supports facilitators and their groups

1. Brings clarity to uncertainty
   Futures methods help make sense of key drivers and emerging trends. You won’t predict the future, but you’ll be better equipped to face it.
   
2. Expands imagination and creativity
   We often plan based on what we already know. Futures work invites play, narrative, and curiosity.
   
3. Surfaces assumptions and values
   Scenario planning and speculative tools help people uncover what they believe, fear, or desire, helping to bring hidden perspectives into the open. Ultimately, this can lead to better decision making.
   
4. Supports resilience and readiness
   Exploring multiple scenarios allows teams to stress-test ideas, challenge blind spots, and prepare for unexpected events.
   
5. Strengthens group alignment
   A shared look at the future environment brings people together and supports more purposeful, values-driven strategic thinking.

One thing I notice is that often participants are rebuilding atrophied muscles of deciding what they want. We give up the power to design futures before we even know we’ve done it. Unlearning that habit, and asking hard questions often is frictionful but fruitful!

Ben Mosior, Leadership Development & Strategy Consultant, co-author of the Strategy Tactics Pip Deck

Real-world examples of future scenario planning in action

Facilitators are already using futures thinking in a wide range of contexts, from corporate strategy to environmental justice. Here are three examples from the Facilitating Futures playbook that show what this work can look like in practice.

Lighting the way: immersive futures for strategic change

Corporate foresight and participatory workshops

Suzanne Whitby, foresight facilitator and founder of Futures Fit, was invited to work with a European lighting company ready to move from reactive to proactive strategy. This is how she describes the reason her team was called in: “Their challenge: they were tired of being reactive. Their new generation of leaders were keen to embrace sustainability as a real strategic lever. They wanted to start shaping the future of their industry.”

The team co-created four future scenarios and guided every employee, from engineers to the C-suite, through participatory workshops. “Using the scenarios as provocations, teams explored how they might respond. Conversations were open, critical, and hopeful.”

Insights were harvested and turned into visual posters for all company sites. Leadership used this input to develop strategic pathways.

Real futures thinking isn’t just top-down. It lives in the everyday imagination of the whole organization.

Suzanne Whitby, founder of Futures Fit

Just energy transitions and collective sense-making

Multistakeholder facilitation in Brazil

Christel Scholten, managing director at Reos Partners Brazil, has used scenario processes for over a decade, focusing on justice, systems change, and inclusion.

In one case, her team facilitated a scenario project on Brazil’s just energy transition in 2040. It involved 30–45 participants over several in-person workshops, grounded in systems mapping and collective sense-making.

In Christel’s words: “We often facilitated a collective systems mapping exercise of the current state of the system… They would write these on hexagon sticky notes which we clustered on the wall. The next day these would be used as input to define the key uncertainties.”

Importantly, her team ensured inclusion of diverse perspectives:

Each scenarios process I facilitated involved Indigenous and Black people in the scenario team to integrate the diverse voices of the Brazilian population.

Christel Scholten, managing director at Reos Partners Brazil

Exploring the future of AI in facilitation

Workshop facilitation at a professional gathering

At the annual Facilita conference in Milan, Sara Tremi Proietti and Barbara Bellucci co-led a workshop asking how AI might reshape the future of facilitation.

Using the Futures Wheel method, they guided small groups through reflection, scenario building, and used live AI interaction via WhatsApp prompts they had pre-prepared for participants to use.

I was actually in one of those groups and really enjoyed how the structured approach guided our small group of five facilitators into sharing and discussing different visions of the future. There was room for utopia and dystopia, for airing hopes and fears as well as data-driven realism. Ultimately, those varied perspectives came together into a shortlist of possible directions, as well as initial ideas on how to future-proof our businesses.

Our goal was to guide participants into the future through small-group discussions and hands-on experimentation with AI… to explore potential blind spots in their thinking.

Sara Tremi Proietti, International Association of Facilitators, Italy chapter co-chair

Futures methods to try in your next workshop

You don’t need to be a foresight expert to guide meaningful futures conversations. With the right structure and a few adaptable methods, facilitators can help teams open up their thinking, explore change, and plan for what’s next.

Here are five versatile methods you can start using today, each linked to a different stage of a future scenario planning workshop.

To guide participants through a futures process, it helps to have a clear structure. The Facilitating Futures framework breaks a workshop into six distinct stages: Opening, Mapping, Anticipating, Envisioning, Embodying, and Acting.

This flow mirrors how many groups naturally explore complex issues. You begin by opening the space and shifting into a more expansive mindset. Then, you map the present to understand the forces already in motion. Anticipating helps participants explore what could happen next, while envisioning builds fuller pictures of different possible futures. Embodying brings these futures to life, not just as abstract ideas, but as something participants can feel, design, or express. Finally, in acting, the group returns to the present, identifying strategies and next steps with clarity and purpose.

It’s not a rigid sequence, but it’s a helpful arc for designing workshops that move from imagination to insight to action.

A note of caution: tools alone won’t make you a skilled facilitator of futures conversations. Futures thinking is a well-established discipline with roots in academia, and we strongly recommend getting to know its core concepts and ethics before jumping in. Sharing just a little of that background with your participants can go a long way too; it helps avoid the common traps of drifting into fantasy, fear, or vagueness that lead nowhere. 

Opening: Headlines from the Future

Headlines for the future is playful way to begin. Ask participants to imagine a future event or breakthrough, and then write a newspaper headline about it. This activity sparks creative thinking, surfaces hidden hopes or concerns, and sets a tone of exploration.

Use this early in your session to warm up the group and introduce the idea that multiple futures are possible. I’ve used it in workshops with local citizens to raise motivation around environmental conservation: will future headlines hail our good work, or condemn us for inaction?

Mapping: Future Trends

Once your group is thinking more broadly, it’s time to map the present. This method invites participants to brainstorm the trends shaping their industry or context across categories like technology, behaviour, business, or policy.

After identifying and prioritising trends, participants explore what opportunities or risks they might bring. This step creates a grounded foundation for imagining what could come next.

Anticipating: The Thing from the Future

This speculative game asks participants to imagine an object, service, or artefact from a future world. It’s simple, surprising, and works particularly well to stretch the imagination and loosen assumptions.

You can use this method to expand a group’s sense of possibility before moving into more structured scenario building.

Envisioning: Scenario Planning

The heart of many futures workshops, this method helps participants explore different plausible futures by creating a set of distinct scenarios. Typically, the group starts with two uncertainties (such as “policy: restrictive or supportive” and “tech adoption: fast or slow”) and maps them onto a 2×2 grid.

From there, small groups develop scenario narratives for each future quadrant. What’s happening in this future world? Who is affected? What does it mean for our strategy?

The scenario development process is an excellent tool to expand awareness and prepare for complexity.

Acting: Risks, Opportunities and Resilience

Virtually every futurist I’ve spoken to has offered some version of the following advice: never let a group leave a futures workshop without some action planning. Futures scenario design and all the other futures and foresight activities we’ve been looking it ultimately lead into making changes in the present. Therefore, it’s important to include an action-planning activity at the end, or risk leaving participants with a feeling of futility.

There are many action planning methods you might use, including Backcasting or, for a fun twist, Triz (a Liberating Structure in which you’ll be asking people to brainstorm actions they might take to obtain the opposite outcome to the one they desire).

If the group has identified a scenario they aspire to contribute to realizing, Risks, Opportunites and Resilience is a great method to apply.

In small groups, ask participants to discuss and record:

• Risks: What could go wrong? What might be disrupted, lost, or destabilised?
• Opportunities: What new possibilities might open up? Who could benefit?
• Resilience: How well prepared are we? What capabilities, resources, or relationships would help us respond or adapt?

This method works well at the end of a futures process, as a bridge into strategic planning. It supports balanced, practical conversations that go beyond excitement or fear, focusing instead on preparation and adaptability.

You can find these and many other methods in SessionLab’s Library. Just look for the keyword “Future”. 

Scenario planning: a closer look

Among the many tools in the futures facilitator’s toolkit, scenario planning stands out as one of the most structured and widely used. It has a long history, first formalised at the RAND Corporation in the 1950s and later popularised by Royal Dutch Shell in the 1970s, where it helped the company anticipate and respond to the 1973 oil crisis. Since then, it’s been used by governments, businesses, nonprofits, and communities to build strategic capacity in times of uncertainty.

Rather than trying to predict the future, scenario planning explores what might happen if key uncertainties unfold in different directions. The typical approach involves identifying two critical variables (such as “regulation: tight or loose” and “tech adoption: fast or slow”) and using them to create a 2×2 matrix. Each quadrant becomes a distinct scenario: a plausible world with its own risks, opportunities, and dynamics.

Scenario planning is especially valuable when working with finance teams, corporate strategists, or communities tackling future growth and uncertainty. It’s a method that connects historical data and expert knowledge with structured imagination.

This method invites groups to:

• Engage deeply with uncertainty
  
• Stretch their thinking beyond business-as-usual
  
• See challenges and opportunities in new ways
  
• Uncover shared values and assumptions
  
• Prepare for a range of futures, not just one forecast
  

Scenarios are useful when they meet four criteria: they must be relevant, illuminating current circumstances and concerns, and connected to current thinking; challenging, making important dynamics that are invisible visible and raising questions about current thinking; plausible, logical and fact-based; and clear, accessible, memorable, and distinct from one another.

Adam Kahane, from his book Trasformative Scenario Planning – Working Together to Change the Future.

Once participants have imagined these worlds, they reflect on what each scenario would require. What new capabilities would they need? What strategies would still make sense? Where do their current assumptions hold up—and where might they fail?

Scenario planning can stand alone or form the centrepiece of a longer workshop, as we’ll see below.

From methods to flow: how to design a futures workshop

I often point out that workshops aren’t just an assembly of random methods. The real value lies in the flow: how one activity sets up the next, and how the whole session builds toward reflection, insight, and action.

This is especially true when working with uncertainty. Futures methods are powerful, but only when they’re placed with intention. If you’re wondering how to weave multiple futures tools into a coherent session, and what that might look like, check out this
Futures Workshop Template.

The template guides a group through a complete futures conversation, moving from warm-up to mapping trends, building scenarios, and planning action. It includes methods including Postcards from the Future, Futures Triangle, Scenario Planning, and Backcasting, all timed and sequenced in a practical agenda you can adapt to your own context.

Designing a scenario planning exercise doesn’t need to be overwhelming. With a collaborative approach, clear purpose, and practical tools, you can guide groups toward alignment and actionable outcomes. Using SessionLab can help by providing a simple scaffolding for selecting and arranging methods that supports creativity as well as avoiding having to start from scratch. We’ve recently added many futures-focused tools to the SessionLab method library, so you’ll find plenty to work with, whether you’re running a strategic foresight session, a creative exploration, or something in between.

5 tips for facilitating futures workshops

Futures methods are great, but they don’t run themselves. How you guide the process makes all the difference. Working with uncertainty, multiple perspectives, and long time horizons can surface hope, discomfort, even grief. It can also unlock imagination and bring people into deeper alignment.

Here are a few principles and tips to help you facilitate futures workshops with care and clarity, based on practical experience shared in the Facilitating Futures playbook.

1. Do your research

Doing some research about the group you are going to be working with is due diligence and common sense. Don’t push a timid group of new staffers to embody a utopian future, theatricals and all, in front of their boss.

Conversely, quiet, focused writing on sticky notes might not be the thing for energetic NGO volunteers. Interviews with your clients and, ideally, a few participants, will inform your thinking and enable you to create the right program for that specific group.

2. Stress that this is about action, not prediction

The idea that futures thinking is akin to having a magic ball or doing some sort of astrology is where most of the resistance to this work stems from. Clarify that we work with the future to build capacity in the present, and keep it practical.

Use concrete prompts, sensory language, and examples. Encourage groups to describe what people see, feel, say, or do in a future scenario. This helps shift conversations from abstract ideas to something more embodied and relatable.

3. Leverage diversity of opinions

Challenge the group if their views are too hopeful or too bleak. Futures work is at its most valuable when it skirts speculative fiction yet stays close to possibilities and realities. Full-fledged utopias and dystopias might be useful thought experiments, but for influencing our groups and organizations, it’s more useful to remember that all plausible futures will always be a mix of good and bad. Encourage the group to look at different possible angles.

4. Give it space

Some people readily jump into using their imagination but that is not all people. Rushing into these activities is likely to make your futures flat, unimaginative and yield little that is of use. Ease the group into these activities. The opening activities will help with this, as will some good examples: think of those ahead of time.

Imagination is like a muscle, it needs to be used. While participants found it strange to imagine positive futures by the third month we were reaching over 100 years into the future and found lots to celebrate.
Sophia Cheng, founder of With Many Roots

5. Always include action planning

Even when the focus is long-term, always return to the present. What insights will shape today’s decisions? What small steps can move us toward a better future? The real power of futures work lies not in prediction, but in preparation.

Don’t leave the group hanging and wondering: “so what was that for?” If you don’t have time for a longer closing activity, at least host a round of “What is one thing you’ll do/change as a consequence of this exercise?”

Want to go deeper?

Here are some well-regarded resources on the history and practice of scenario planning:

• Book: Transformative Scenario Planning by Adam Kahane
  An inspiring introduction to how scenario planning can be used for large, whole-system work.
• Book: The Art of the Long View: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World by Peter Schwarz.
  A business-oriented classic on scenario planning and its strategic use.
• Website: Institute for the Future
  Workshops, training and lots of resources for deep dives into futures and foresight.
• Toolkit: Facilitating Futures
  
  Whether you’re running your first scenario planning workshop or expanding your future practice, having the right tools makes a difference. The Facilitating Futures playbook is designed to support you with practical methods, case studies, and real-world tips to use in any setting.
  
  Download your free copy and start shaping more thoughtful, courageous, and forward-looking conversations.

Combined in an opening or reflection activity, card decks feel like an invitation: to pause, to imagine, to engage with the work a little differently. Many card decks include inspiring illustrations, designed to awaken the imagination and introduce some wonder into your workday.

Here’s why facilitation card decks are such trusted tools:

• They help spark creativity when the blank page feels daunting.
• They’re quick to grab when you need a new idea, fast.
• They encourage hands-on engagement.
• They offer just enough structure, without being overly prescriptive.
• They can be playful or profound—or both.
• They’re a great way to learn and teach facilitation methods.

In this article, we’ve collected our favorite 10 card decks for facilitators, together with a few ideas for how to use them in your workshops.

Top tip: these also make excellent gifts for the facilitator in your life. Looking for the perfect birthday or holiday present for a workshop designer? Or for a great idea on how to thank a co-facilitator for the great work done? You’re in the right place. (Of course, that doesn’t mean you cannot gift them to yourself. Please do.)

Why use facilitation cards

At their core, facilitation card decks are collections of prompts, activities, methods, or visuals designed to support group work and collaboration. They might offer exercises, reflective questions, method ideas, or evocative images: anything that helps guide or enrich a process.

Facilitators generally use them in one of two ways:

1. For yourself

• As a design aid: think of them like a physical version of the SessionLab library and drag & drop agenda planner. You can lay out methods on a table, shuffle the order, explore what fits best.
• As a creative spark: draw a card when you’re stuck and let it guide your next move.
• As a learning tool: get familiar with new methods and build your toolkit.

As a craft, facilitation is made of many interconnected parts (tools, methods, mindset…) that compose an articulate system. I’ve often thought that cards lend themselves better than a (linear) manual to explaining what facilitation is and how it works, because of the possibilities of reorganizing and rearranging all the different parts. More like creating a model than like telling a story.

2. With participants

• As an interactive activity: let participants draw cards randomly, or choose ones they are drawn to, and share some thoughts.
• To support dialogue: use cards to surface insights, structure group work, or create shared understanding.
• To bring in beauty: well-designed cards are visually appealing, and just fun to use. Surprise and awe are solid pathways to making learning experiences more memorable.

I also like to leave a deck of illustrated cards (usually Dixit cards) on the table for anyone to look through or fidget with. In my experience, this can support focus and comfort, especially for those of us who are neurodivergent, or who find it easier to engage when there’s something to interact with beyond just the trainer.

Digital vs physical facilitation cards 

There’s a special magic to physical cards. A beautifully printed deck you can shuffle, hand around, or spread across a table brings joy in the room, and there is a benefit in having participants focus on a physical object while they talk. This is a similar principle to Lego Serious Play ® workshops, and in fact any workshop introducing physical artifacts: it helps us to “think with our hands”. 

Most of the card decks listed below are available for purchase, but if you are on a budget, many creators also offer print-your-own versions. I’d recommend bringing the files to a professional printing place to get them nicely printed and, most importantly, professionally cut!

Many decks are also available digitally. Some can be used directly in tools like Miro or MURAL (check out SessionLab’s own Workshops & Wizards on Miroverse). If you plan to integrate facilitation cards in an online workshop, it’s worth checking on the cards’ main website for any dedicated apps and web tools to use on the go. Whatever you do, make sure to test online tools before any virtual sessions! 

Now, onto our favorites. There are dozens of beautiful decks out there: this selection only includes cards we’ve used ourselves here at SessionLab (and, in one case, even designed).

1. Facilitator Cards 

Created by Meg Bolger and Sam Killermann of FacilitatingXYZ fame, this 60-card deck is like a Swiss Army knife for facilitators. Each card represents an activity or method, grouped by purpose (e.g., opening, exploring, closing).

You can design an entire session by laying out a sequence of cards, or pull one mid-workshop when you need to adapt. They’re great for in-the-moment pivots.

And they’re beautifully designed: simple, intuitive, and focused on what matters most. The white space on the front is erasable, allowing you to use it to jot down your own notes, reflections, observations or, perhaps, the timing you need for each activity. 

The same team also set up Virtual Facilitator Cards that include principles and activities for online facilitation. 

Best for: Session design
Available at: facilitator.cards

2. Workshop Tactics PIP deck

Yes, it’s pricey. But you’re essentially getting a facilitation masterclass in a box. Each card outlines a practical workshop tactic with clear steps, when to use it, and why it works.

It’s structured enough for beginners, yet expansive enough for pros. Great for those leading strategy, design, or innovation sessions, for team leads, and for anyone who wants to learn a lot about creating better workshops, in quick, digestible chunks. Like all other PIP decks, you can get a physical deck or an online version, which comes with a video class on how to use them, an associated Miro template, and more resources. 

Not sure if it’s worth it? Try a tester PDF, for free.

Best for: Deep diving into learning, alone or in a team
Available at: pipdecks.com

3. Workshops & Wizards

Okay, we had to include our own! Workshops & Wizards is a gamified card deck designed to help teams build facilitation and soft skills. Think Dungeons & Dragons meets team learning.

It’s especially useful for L&D teams, internal facilitators, and those who want to make facilitation skills training more engaging. SessionLab’s Head of Content, James Smart, created the Workshops & Wizard cards custom, as a support for our own internal training on facilitation skills (what can I say, we lean nerdish over here!). We enjoyed them so much we decided to follow-up with a public version. 

In this article, you’ll find all the information you need to start sharing some facilitation magic with your groups, including ideas for activities you might want to run. 

The Workshops & Wizards cards are currently available in digital format and print-to-play, but if there is enough interest, we’ll print some real-world decks as well, so let us know if that is something you’d like to see.

Register your interest in a physical copy of Workshops & Wizards using the link below. 

For online workshops, you can explore and play directly in this Miro template. Do let us know how it goes! 

Best for: Training in facilitation and soft skills
Available at: SessionLab, print-to-play

4. Liberating Structures Cards

Liberating Structures are often quoted as the most used methods in facilitation, and for good reason. These microstructures bring clarity, engagement, and inclusion into group processes. Each Liberating Structure is essentially a replicable, modular facilitation method, and they work well combined in “strings”.

These cards are a great way to learn more about Liberating Structures, keep a handy reminder of all the different possibilities, and make designing the right flow for your next workshop simple and fun.

A deck of Liberating Structures Design Cards has 57 cards: 

• A set of cards with the 33 Liberating Structures;
• 6 cards that explain how to use the deck;
• 8 extra cards providing extra guidance for some of the most commonly used structures (such as 1-2-4-all, Impromptu Networking, and Open Space Technology);
• 11 bonus cards with tips and variations;
• Plus, the deck comes with poster illustrations and three ready-to-use workshop templates.

Each card consists of three elements: space (how the space is arranged and what materials are needed), invitation (a question to ask for ideas or proposals), and the sequence of steps (the order of actions and time allocation). And yes, you can also find all the Liberating Structures in the SessionLab library.

Best for: Designing participatory sessions
Available at: TheLiberators.com

5. IDEO Method Cards

This deck from IDEO shares 51 design methods used in their human-centered design process. Each card is a mini-lesson in how to understand users, generate ideas, and prototype solutions.

Great for design thinking workshops, brainstorming ideas, user research planning, or adding a spark of curiosity to a team meeting. You can sort them by four color coded categories (Learn, Look, Ask, Try) and combine them to build your own process. 

Having said that, I personally love the IDEO cards for their architectural, urban-cool design, and have used just the illustration part in various workshops with such prompts as:

• Pick three cards that describe this project and tell us why.
• Choose a card that symbolizes what you are taking home from the workshop and share it in your small group.
• Pick three cards at random and combine them into a story.

Best for: Sparking creative thinking
Available at: IDEO

6. metaFox coaching cards

As there are a lot of different metaFox decks, and many different possibly ways of using them. I recommend starting out with a ready-made template, Peer Coaching with Pictures. As part of this starter package, you can download, for free, a print-to-play set, and see if the coaching cards are for you. The template will guide you step-by-step to invite participants to choose an image that reflects their current challenge or opportunity, then explore the story behind it. It’s ideal for beginners who want to hone their coaching skills!

These cards use metaphorical images to support coaching conversations and stimulate emotional intelligence. They are meant to stimulate reflection in peer learning, team coaching, or helping participants access their intuition. Simple and powerful.

metaFox coaching cards are also available as online icebreaker questions with a bespoke tool.

Best for: Peer coaching and reflection
Available at: metafox.eu

7. Dixit

Though originally a party game, Dixit cards are commonly used by facilitators for a reason: they’re rich in imagery, and completely language-independent.

Each card is a surreal, dreamlike illustration, ideal for opening up conversations and bringing imagination and wonder into the room. I often use them as icebreakers/connectors at the start of a workshop. When participants walk in, they find them all scattered prettily on a table (or if I have enough time for that, displayed in neat concentric circles!) as I ask them to select one, which questions such as:

• Which card represents your team right now?
• What does this project’s ideal future look like?
• Choose a card that sais something about how you are feeling right now.

Depending on how large the group is, the stories can be told in a full circle, or in small groups. This simple activity never fails to yield insight, surprises, exciting moments in which similar ideas or metaphors are shared (“yes we are like a boat on a storm! I picked the another image with water…”) and concepts to refer back to (“we’ll work on alignment on your vision next, like in the card Alan picked with the telescope..”) 

Great for multilingual groups, visual learners, or any time you want to lower the barrier to deep conversation. Facilitators reading this, go to the comments section and confess: how many Dixit card sets do you have? (I have 5, which is a few more than I need, and I usually use the Visions or the Anniversary sets.)

Best for: Storytelling and metaphors, working in languages other-than-English
Available at: Game stores everywhere

8. We! Connect Cards

You might have heard Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering, discuss the importance of what she calls magical questions.

A magical question is a question posed to a group that everybody in that group would be interested in answering, and everyone is interested in hearing each other’s answers.
Priya Parker

You can of course come up with your own magical questions, but the We! Connect Cards are a way to have a selection in your pocket at any time. Designed by Chad Littlefield, these 60 square cards offer prompts that range from light-hearted to thought-provoking. The different “levels” are easy to sort, with clearly color coded categories. They’re sturdy, practical, and perfect for warm ups at project kickoffs, retreats, or easing into a deeper workshop.

Besides the facilitation cards, this online shop is a treasure trove of useful gadgets for facilitation. I recently bought a pack of We! Connect sticker nametags to bring an extra boost of creativity to a large networking conference. Each sticker has space for attendees to write their name, as well as an interesting, no-nonsense conversation starter such as “I am trying to solve the challenge of..” and “I would love to know more about..”

Best for: Kickstarting authentic conversations
Available at: weand.me

9. GroupWorks Card Deck

A bit older, but still a gem. GroupWorks offers 91 cards representing patterns of excellent group process, from simple things like “Circle” to complex patterns like “Whole System in the Room”. 

The cards were created by more than fifty volunteers (the Group Pattern Language Project) from diverse organizational backgrounds who collaborated over three years to express the core wisdom at the heart of successful group sessions.

You can use them to reflect on a meeting, plan a workshop, or develop your own facilitation practice. They’re not tied to specific activities but help you think about how groups function best. I’ve had these since the beginning of my facilitation career and they’ve been a precious reminder to deepen my thinking and intention around how to best support group gatherings. 

Also available as a free PDF, for the virtual space as an iPhone app, as well as in Spanish, German and French translations. 

Best for: Understanding group process
Available at: groupworksdeck.org

10. AI Tinkerer’s Cards

This niche but timely deck helps teams explore Generative AI: what it is, how it works, and how to put it to use. Useful to open up that particular can of worms with your team and figure out how to leverage AI tools in a way that works for you. The cards were designed by Alexandre Eisenchteter, with input from the AI Tinkerer’s Club as training tools. Besides the deck itself, you’ll find resources, templates and activities all aimed to familiarize small teams with the potential of AI. 

We’ve used these cards at one of our recent SessionLab team retreats to share knowledge on how AI assistants work and discuss both how to best use AI tools to make our work more effective, and how to support facilitators through AI. Later in the year, we launched a revamped AI Assistant that can help speed up and improve design work, automatically translate your sessions, add relevant context, tweak text based on the intended audience and more. That is to say, these cards worked for us!

Best for: Training on AI with teams
Available at: AI Tinkerer’s Cards, print-to-play 

Bonus: Make your own cards

Turns out print-to-play is not the only low-cost way of getting some brand-new facilitation cards. You can also have participants create their very own, bespoke deck! Creating their own set of workshop flashcards is a brilliant way to encourage reflection, debrief a training session, and give everyone a gift to bring home. 

Want to make it happen?

Just prep some blank cards and provide:

• Markers and pens
• Magazines
• Scissors and glue
• Time

Invite your group to reflect and capture:

• Tools they’ve learned
• Insights from the session
• Ideas they want to try

Find more details in SessionLab’s Library of facilitation methods.

Which facilitation cards do you love?

Facilitators tend to geek out over cards (guilty as charged). If I am not entirely sure what activities to run at a certain event, I’ll certainly slip a pack of Dixit cards in my bag, just in case. On my library shelf, there are even more, including a couple of decks in Italian only (my own version of facilitation training cards that come with the book Facilitiamoci, and this fun set of group archetypes from a book called The Village). 

How about you? What decks do you love? Which ones do you reach for again and again? Drop your recommendations in the comments, or come share in our friendly facilitator community!

In this article we’ll look into all the ways SessionLab helps facilitators and trainers collaborate effectively while working on a workshop or event.

We’ll cover every stage of the process, from initial design all the way to delivery and share how you can streamline your process and creating engaging experiences with the help of SessionLab.

The first part of a facilitator’s job is often quite a solitary affair: me, at my desk, sometimes with some help from AI, working on an agenda to get to a sense of what a certain workshop or event will be like. If you want to learn more about how to use SessionLab’s features such as colour-coding, a methods library, time calculation and more, to go from an initial idea all the way to a complete agenda design, take a look at this article.

Once a session plan is ready, a different part of the work begins: the next steps are going to be all about collaboration, co-design, and information sharing, 

Numerous stakeholders must be brought in before the workshop begins. This includes, depending on the specific situation, co-facilitators, assistants, staff, clients, and participants. All these parties have different needs and requirements in terms of how to view and interact with the session plan.

Larger events and conferences are among the most technically challenging for facilitators to run. They usually require a lot of coordination among staff, with different types of plans and instructions being shared depending on the various roles involved. I’ll therefore be using a large (150 people) in-person networking event as an example. 

Here is what we will cover:

Designing a large event or conference using SessionLab

The quantity of information exchanged during the organization of a large-scale event can be quite daunting. In the next paragraphs, I’ll break it down step by step. Let’s start with the basic agenda for the event. 

In this example, I’ve been called in to design and facilitate a 150-people conference for professionals working in the same business field. People will be joining from all over the world: some will know one another, but most will not. Everyone will want to make the most of their time together.

Of course, it’s not enough to just put workshop participants in the same room to get a magical spark of connection. Carefully designed activities will help them meet, build professional relationships, learn together and, hopefully, even kick-start future projects.

The draft agenda I’ve designed includes various opportunities to meet and mingle, long breaks, and many different rounds of small-group work, giving people the chance to interact with as many participants as possible, without it getting too overwhelming.

Now that my basic plan is ready, as main facilitator for the event I have 3 key needs:

1. Intuitive ways to collaborate on the agenda with my co-facilitator and with clients;
2. Flexible options for sharing my plan differently with different stakeholders;
3. Easy-to-retrieve lists of materials and tasks.
   

Luckly, all of that (and a few more useful bits and bobs) has been thought out in the SessionLab Planner. Let’s see how.

Sharing the plan with my co-facilitator

Let’s say I’ve created a draft plan on my own and am now calling in a co-facilitator, James, to discuss and fine-tune it together. 

Note that if you are using the free or individual plans, getting a gig for a large event might be a good trigger to switch to the Pro plan.

The individual plan is designed for (unsurprisingly) individual use. On the individual plan, you can still enable people to view your session, but switching to the Pro plan might be a good call once you find yourself needing more advanced collaboration options, such as real-time editing of the same document from multiple accounts, and exchanging back-and-forth comments.

To learn more about the differences between plans and whether upgrading is for you, check out SessionLab’s pricing options.

Here is how SessionLab helps me stay on the same page (literally) with my co-facilitator:

1. Giving editing rights

I can easily add another person to the session with editing rights. This gives James the power to change the session directly. Co-facilitation takes a lot of mutual trust! Using different colours to identify who made what edits, or to draw attention to a certain point, is very helpful at this stage.

2. Commenting

I, James, and in fact anyone I give viewer or editor rights to the session can start an asynchronous conversation using comments. This is where I am most likely to ask a question, such as “Do you think 20 minutes is enough for this activity?”, for example.

3. Assigning people to a section

When sharing the stage, it is absolutely essential to know who will be doing what. Alternating taking the lead is helpful for everyone: it preserves my and James’ energy, and it’s easier to keep the attention high as well, as we have two different voices, paces, and styles.

When we are ready to decide who will do what, we’ll simply add the Assigned To column to our session plan and fill it in, so we can clearly, at a glance, envision who will be leading which section or activity.

Reviewing the plan with clients

Client meetings punctuate the various stages of the planning process. During these meetings, it’s common to:

• go through the entire agenda, from high-level to details;
• decide the order of speakers;
• fine-tune the questions that will frame conversations;
• agree on matters of logistics, such as the timing of lunch breaks;
• and more.

Here are five actions I’ll commonly take, using SessionLab to support collaboration with clients and organizers:

1. Using comments to solve open questions

A client can be an individual, but is more often a small team of people deeply involved in the event’s organization, such as a project manager, a communication officer, someone looking at the logistics side, and more. Typically, I’ll introduce the plan during a call, and give everybody involved viewing rights.

Giving everyone the right to edit directly could get too confusing, but comments are a great way to have asynchronous conversations, draw people in by mentioning them, and keep track of who said what about which part of the agenda. 

As session owner, I receive an email alert anytime new comments are added, helping me keep track of what is going on. There is usually a point in time when comments multiply, then die down as issues are resolved, one by one. 

2. Getting some help from AI

In my experience, what clients most need as we fine-tune the plan is clarity. SessionLab’s AI Assistant helps by reformulating, simplifying, or translating in another language (or in a different style or jargon) explanations for a certain activity I might have hastily written. 

When aligning with my co-facilitator, for example, there is no need to explain what Impromptu Networking means. We both know and practice this method. With the AI Assistant, I can add some explanations and context for my client in one click. 

3. Directing attention by color-coding text

SessionLab has a simple text editor that allows you to do all the obvious things, such as bold or underline text. I like to use different colours to draw attention to things: for example, red is for issues or questions that need to be solved as soon as possible.

Colors assigned to the Category bar are also useful to help clients orient themselves in the session. In this case, I’ve coded them for different types of activities, but they would also be adapted, for example, to show at a glance how the different sections relate to learning objectives. 

4. Adapting the session view to the audience

Before going through the agenda with clients, I find it helpful to ask myself what it is that they most need to know at a certain point in time. It’s really easy to get bogged down by details. To counteract this, hide all columns except for the Time, Title and Description, or start meetings and run-throughs by showing the simple Overview, which shows the entire session flow at a glance. 

5. Exporting plans in PDF & Word

If at any time someone needs a downloaded version of the plan, even if it’s not definitive (e.g. to print out and bring to a visit at the caterers’), it can be done, in PDF or Word format. It’s easy to customize the columns to that only relevant information is printed out. The style of these printouts really helps clients understand the flow, read through it quickly, and looks professional to boot!

Preparing materials lists for smooth logistics

Speaking of print-outs, let’s talk about materials and logistics. As the date of the conference gets closer, another important task for the facilitation team is to prepare detailed lists of materials we’ll need. This includes posters, printouts, participant kits and, of course, markers, papers, and sticky notes. 

To do this, I’ll just add the Materials column to the plan. All columns are flexible, meaning it’s possible to add them or hide them depending on the need of the moment.

I think that effective collaboration with the people who are working behind the scene, getting everything ready, is key to a successful workshop. Because of this, it’s important to fill out the Materials column carefully and share it with the logistics team. The rest of the time, it can stay hidden. If I am procuring materials myself, I’ll probably also print a version, on paper or PDF, to have handy when I go to the stationery shop or make an online order.

Sometimes, materials are not physical items but digital ones. Slidedecks come to mind as a common use case: in this networking event, for example, the keynote speaker has sent her slides over a few days in advance. By adding them as attachments to the relevant block, I can make sure nothing gets lost and everything is easy to retrieve, being all in the same place.

Another SessionLab feature that really helps with logistics are To-Do notes. I personally am a great fan of the feeling of ticking through a to-do list, and add them in various places of my plan to check we are on track with preparations. 

A brightly colored note at the start of each day, for example, is a good place to detail requirements for how the room should be set up, making communications with conference room staff a breeze.

Save time when briefing facilitation assistants and speakers

In a large event such as this one, it’s common to bring in some extra help. In this case, the client has assigned a few facilitation assistants who will sit at each table to support the conversation and take notes. These are often, including for this conference, junior staff, and/or folk whose main job is not facilitation, and who are not deeply involved in the planning process from the start. 

To quickly get them up to speed and give them all the information they need to successfully fulfill their role, I usually add an extra column, such as the Instructions column. To be extra clear, I can rename it Instructions For Assistants. This is where I add details on needs and expectations from supporting staff.

Last but not least, speakers will also need to get a sense of the plan for the day. In many cases, these are busy people with many engagements who are not interested in knowing all the ins and outs of the plan. What do speakers need to know to perform their role successfully? Probably all they need is a general sense of the plan for the day, what time they will start and end, and what happens just before and after. 

Sending them a QR code with a general overview of the session is probably the best option here.

Exporting session plans and sharing with workshop participants

Plans change all the time. Because of this, I much prefer to share links to the SessionLab Planner rather than download a plan that might soon be changed. Needs related to logistics, such as last-minute changes from the caterer, can impact timing and quickly render a printed plan not only obsolete, but likely to provoke chains of misunderstandings or errors.

Having said that, there can still be various reasons to download session plans and send them in PDF or Word format. Recently I worked for a EU agency where this was a requirement: any major change to the plan had to be recorded in their system by sending an email with an updated, Word, version. Whatever my qualms about this (I am very wary of the “Version 4_May_FINAL-FINAL” effect, if you know what I mean), it’s something as a contractor I had to adhere to. Fortunately, it’s very easy to download a new version from SessionLab any time that is needed.

The Overview button in SessionLab is a handy way of sharing updated information with participants. Using a link or QR code, it allows me to send participants a brief, legible overview of the session, and it’s synched with the session plan, so it will always reflect the latest changes!

Pro tip: write catchy, participant-friendly titles from the start. The Online Agenda automatically displays an overview with only the Time and Title and Description columns (plus the color-coded Category). If you are going to share it with participants, make sure those titles are legible to a general audience. Crafting attractive titles and avoiding jargon will help with setting expectations and getting everyone excited for the event!

Getting ready to deliver

So here we finally are. It’s the day of the event. Participants have received the program, my co-facilitator and I have had a pre-workshop chat (if you’d like to learn more about those, I highly recommend getting your free copy of the Cofacilitation Playbook by Romy Alexandra and Maria Niederwieser). Assistants and staff are briefed, it’s time to get this conference started!

What are my last-minute checks and rituals?

• Room arrangements. It’s a cliche to say that the facilitator will show up and start moving chairs around, but it’s often true for me! In this case, we are working in a professional conference venue and moving chairs will not be required, but I’ll still take a look if any posters need to be hung up. Are materials readily available where we need them? 
• Connecting with my co-facilitator and team. In the rush and moderate chaos of participants arriving, it’s still important to find a moment, even if it’s only 5 minutes over coffee, to connect with the team on a personal level. I’ll ask for a quick round of how everyone is feeling, check if there are any last-minute communications, perhaps set an intention for the day.
• Tech checks. Whether working online or in real life, showing up early to check the technology is always important. And because there is so much going on at large events, I’ve made myself a to-do list of what to check on the morning of the event.

Timing is of utmost importance for this type of large event. In order to keep track of it myself, I’ll generally wait until the last possible minute to download and print a PDF version. Yes, I try to save paper, but I also want to be prepared in case something goes wrong with the tech. I personally am a bit old-school and take notes on the plan as we go along. I’ll often also have a simplified version of the program up on posters in the room, so everyone (me included) can quickly see where we are and what happens next. 

More technically proficient people will certainly prefer viewing the session plan on a tablet and use the Time Tracker feature to keep track of time as the session proceeds, instead of my paltry pencilled-in notes.  The Time Tracker function is a great way to quickly communicate changes to the session made on the fly. The session timing automatically updates, so as long as everyone involved in running the session keeps the SessionLab agenda open on their devices, they can refer to it as a single source of truth for the plan, as it evolves.

In closing

As we’ve seen throughout the article, all these collaboration features in SessionLab’s Planner were specifically designed with facilitation and training needs in mind. To me, using these collaborative features means:

• Balancing control and collaboration: my co-facilitator and I retain editing rights, and can visualize the entire situation at a glance, while at the same time sharing information openly and enabling various stakeholders to comment, thereby encouraging a collegial, transparent approach to work.
• Keeping it all together. Information is not scattered in a bunch of different email threads but is compactly kept on the same page, easy to access at any time.
• Ultimately, by sharing information this way, everyone involved in planning, designing and bringing the session to life is set up for success.

Extra bonus: all this information is saved for me to refer to next time. It will be easy to duplicate, edit, copy and paste bits of this massive work, to facilitate creating the next great event. By turning the session into a template, I can make it available to the rest of my team in our shared workspace.

I hope I’ve managed to convey how useful these tools are for any professional facilitator, trainer, event and workshop designer. Are you ready to give them a try? Sign up (for free) from this link.

SessionLab is my facilitation back office: it’s the virtual desk where I do all the preparation work for each workshop, session, and event. It allows me to keep my notes in one place, design efficiently, and easily collaborate with clients, co-facilitators, and other people with a stake in the success of my next workshop. Let’s see how.

Facilitation is often compared to an iceberg: what you see above the surface are those great learning experiences: engaging workshops with lots of markers, sticky notes and activities. But a lot more happens, particularly before the session, that meets the eye. A lot of thinking and back-and-forth exchanges led to participants having that engaging experience they’ll remember. 

In this article, we’ll be looking step-by-step at what I do to organize a workshop agenda using SessionLab. Besides showing the tool, my aim is to share tips and shine some light on the “black box” of what happens at my desk between the initial “let’s do this workshop” idea and actual delivery. 

This might help you if you are a newcomer to facilitation, if you are curious to know how the Session Planner works and, of course, if you are an expert user and facilitator looking for insider tips and some new ideas.

Ready to go? Here is what we’ll cover!

From blank canvas to initial design

The work that goes into taking a session from a blank canvas to an early design is usually quite a solitary stage: I probably have a bit of input from the client, but most of the discussing and collaborating comes later, once we have a basic draft to work from. This is really where I get to put my mark on the session by advising what type of framework to use, and recommending specific activities that will form the core of the work.

What I need at this point is a combination of:

• structure: to make sure I work efficiently, I need a structured approach to organizing my thoughts and defining a timeline;
• flexibility: this early in the process there is not much about the session that is fixed. I need to be able to play around with ideas until things are better defined (a low-tech way of doing this is with sticky notes on a sheet of large paper);
• inspiration: to keep my sessions fresh and creative, I need space for new ideas, and ways to explore different types of activities to suit the session requirements.

In the next few paragraphs I’ll show you how I go from a vague idea to a completed outline for a session, keeping flexibility, structure and inspiration in mind.

Starting the design process from a blank session

What are we usually starting with when designing a new workshop or session? In my experience, I often begin with very little information. I work as a freelancer, so the very start of a new job might be an email or call with a potential client: at this stage, what’s important for me is to clarify what information about the workshop is known, and what is still to be uncovered. 

Known constraints might include things like the venue, date, or participants in the workshop. There might be a title, or there might just be a vague need that needs to be drawn out in later meetings and conversations.

In the example I’ll be using throughout this article, a client has asked me for a one-day workshop to get their team aligned on their values. I know the group consists of about 25 people, and I understood from an early conversation with their CEO that they don’t want the workshop to aim for decision-making. They want great conversations and insights, and enough material for their management team to then make a solid, well-informed decision.

In our initial conversation, it was clear that the whole management team is keen to have the workshop to be dynamic and experiential. At the end, they’d like to have a shortlist of possible values to pick from, as well as have the whole team interested, engaged, and clear on why this process is important for the company.

In terms of my back office, what is important to me at this stage is that I have a place to capture such information. If there is a lot of background information, such as lengthy project briefs in PDF format, I’ll create a dedicated Google Drive folder to dump all the documents in.

In this case, though, the information is simple enough that it can be summarized in a couple of notes. I write those down on a couple of notes: experience has taught me this will come in handy later. Here are a couple of reasons why:

• When working on my own: I have a deplorable tendency to fill workshops with too many activities, and having basic information clearly noted at the top of my session helps me make better decisions about what to keep and what to ditch.
• In later meetings with my clients: being able to quickly refer back to the original brief can be helpful for clarity, simplicity, and coherence. “I see we are uncertain about how exactly to frame the question for this activity.” I might say, “There are a lot of different ways this could go. But if we look back at where we started, we were looking to align on company values, right? So how about we ask what values are already present, and what values are missing?” 

Starting from scratch, I’ll add a short description of the session, a title, and a date. At this early stage of design, I make use of the Notes function a lot.

In this example, I’ve added a note for myself with an initial to-do list, and a second one with information on what is known about potential workshop participants, needs, and stated workshop goals. I use yellow for notes to myself and then add red ones for messages I’ll need my co-facilitators to pay extra attention to (more on this later). 

Anchoring the session: adding a start and end time (and breaks)

The next thing I’ll do when organizing my workshop in SessionLab is give it clear boundaries in time. I make sure the starting time is correct, then immediately go to the ending time and set that as well. The default setting for a block (the individual bits a session is made of) is to last 10 minutes, but I set the very last one to zero minutes, lock the time, and call it “End of session”. This helps me see how much time is actually allocated to the workshop. 

In this case, it looks like I have about 8 hours to work with. But is that really true? Of course not: people need to eat! Therefore, the next thing I do is factor in lunch breaks, plus some other breaks scattered during the day.

For this teams values workshop, I’ve added an hour for a lunch break and two 15-minute coffee breaks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I know I’ll probably change the exact timing of those later, but at first, I am looking to find out how much time I can count on for my content and activities. 

The color-coding is quite helpful here: breaks are by default bright yellow, which I appreciate for extra visibility. The workshop now starts to reveal itself as a series of four modules, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, each somewhere between one hour and two hours long. Again, I’ll be settling on the exact timing later, but having some boundaries helps me start thinking about the next part: finding a framework or storyline for my session. 

Creating the framework for a successful workshop

The basic scaffolding for the day is done, and now comes the fun, creative part most facilitators relish: creating a storyline, a narrative framework for the session, and populating it with activities. 

The best workshops and training courses are not a random collection of disjointed parts: they create a flow. In the space of a day, I aim to guide the group from confusion, or just not-knowing, to moments of insight, all the way to action planning; from ideating to choosing a way to move forward. At this stage of the planning process, I am thinking in terms of which framework will best help me create a flow for the group.

When designing training courses, I usually go for Kolb’s experiential learning cycle (which you can learn more about in this template), but in this case I’ll be designing a facilitated session, not a training course. As the facilitator, I’ll be accompanying the group through content they will provide themselves.

The stated objective of this workshop is to go from ideation to having a shortlist of values for management to pick from. It thereby makes a lot of sense to apply the “diamond of facilitation”. There will be activities for divergence (ideation, brainstorming), emergence (discussion, deeper understanding) and convergence (choosing, selecting).

To clearly show this distinction in my session, I could use colour-coding; when the session is complex and, in particular, for training courses that include many different learning objectives, I’ll often do that. In this case, I prefer to create “groups” which I will then populate with activities.

As you can see in the screenshot, I’ve created different groups for each section of the framewor. I’ll populate them later, and probably change the titles at well, but this helps structure my thinking and keep the flow consistent.

I notice that the lunch break corresponds to the “emergence” stage of work, which I’m glad to see, because facilitating the emergent stage is often best done by adding some unstructured space and time for ideas to be freely discussed. This gives me an idea to add a playful activity over lunch, something I often do by putting on the lunch tables some bowls full of generative questions, related to the topic at hand but also bringing more personal or emotional aspects into the conversations.

I recently facilitated a networking workshop for 80 researchers involved in forestry activity in the EU context, I filled bowls with questions such as “what was a forest or tree you’d visit as a child?” and “have you ever found yourself witness to a forest fire? How was it?”. I left the bowls on the lunch tables with a small card instructing people to simply “Pick a card; Share your answers”. Not everyone did this activity (I am against “enforced fun” during breaks), but among those who did, some came back to me to tell me it led to deep and touching conversation. 

Picking facilitation methods using SessionLab’s library

I now have an outline for the team values workshop, but it’s very empty! Time to consider what activities I’ll want to propose. I generally start with one or two activities that will form the core of the experience, around which I’ll then plan the rest of the session. Typically, I first think about what those could be, then go look for them in SessionLab’s library. This library of methods is seamlessly integrated into the Session Planner: by clicking on the book icon, I can access both the public library of over 1400 methods, and the private library of methods I’ve used before. 

The workshop I’m designing here is about defining team values. I’ve recently held an exercise about our team’s values for the SessionLab team and would like to repurpose it.

I find it in the library and drag-and-drop it to the emergence phase. It’s a participatory activity, so I also color-code it in green as “exercise”. This will help me later to check that I have a nice mix of exercises and group discussions for the workshop.

What I am looking for in the completed workshop structure is to make sure there is going to be space for active participation and to co-create meaning. With color-coding, I can see at a glance if the entire workshop has enough variety, keeping energy levels high, and combining any presentations with hands-on activities. If you’d like to learn more tips and tricks about how to create engaging training activities, you can read an article about it here.

In my experience, the activities I pick for sessions fall into four broad categories:

1) Activities I’ve created myself and am re-purposing, like the example above. I love the creative part of facilitation, so there will likely be for any given workshop at least one activity that is my own concoction. For this, I go to my private library in SessionLab. This forms my personal knowledge base, growing in time to contain all the tools I use most. If I were working as part of a team, company or agency, I could see all my team’s methods here.

2) Well-known, established activities. My go-to favorites are 1-2-4-all from Liberating Structures, and the World Café (which is also a Liberating Structure, although I’ve learnt it from the World Café community and Juanita Brown and David Isaacs’ book). These exist in the SessionLab public library, so I can drag-and-drop them from there. The actual work to be done on these activities will be about crafting engaging questions that fit the target audience.

3) New activities I’ll create for this specific group. If I have some time, I try to add many details and information to these in SessionLab, so I can then refer back to them as library cards and even, if I think they are good enough, contribute to building a collective knowledge base by adding them to the public library. If you’d like to contribute, it’s easy to do: read how to in this article.

4) Energizers, icebreakers, check-in questions, debrief questions, opening and closing group activities that frame or complete the workshop design. These are usually quicker things, taking 10 to 15 minutes maximum. When designing a small-group workshop like this one, I usually just put a placeholder block for “energizer” in my draft schedule. I will then pick one off the top of my head in the moment, depending on the mood of the group.

In other cases, I might be working with a client who wants a clearer sense of what we will do in advance, or maybe with a larger event or conference where, typically, things need to be tightly scheduled. If that is the case, I’ll pick something from collections like these icebreaker activities or these ideas for check-in questions.

Some of these activities will form the opening and closing sections of my workshop, which I like to delineate quite early so I can make sure to protect time for them. An introduction part is needed to orient people, give them information on the workshop and start creating connections (with me, with the topic of the workshop, and with one another) before we jump into the main content and activity.

The closing part is essential in order to consolidate learning, set action points, collect participant feedback, and end the experience on a positive note, rather than risk rushing through the end. I like to create a dedicated color category for these activities, in this case pink, that I call intro/outro. 

By adding the activities I think best fit this session to my plan, I now have a high-level draft. A lot of details are still missing at this stage, and the timing is tentative, with plenty of “TBD – To Be Discussed” notations. But it’s good enough for me to go into an initial meeting with. 

A few things have crystallized in my mind: I know I want to do the “values tour” activity towards the end. It’s a memorable activity that gets people moving and engaged in a multi-sensory way, and by the end of the workshop, we should have a short enough list of company values to work with. I also know there should be a long phase of divergence, lasting most of the morning, and I have tentative ideas of how to make it happen. 

How to save time (and avoid mistakes) with automatic time adjustments

My favorite feature in SessionLab is automated time adjustment.

If you’ve ever tried to plan a workshop, you know there is a lot of fine-tuning and fidgeting with the timeline.

Upon second thought, that activity will take 45 minutes, not 30. Information comes in from the catering company that the lunch needs to be moved by half an hour. A local official decides to come in and give a welcome introduction, adding 5 minutes to the first section. In SessionLab you can just drag-and-drop activities, or change the timing, and it will get re-adjusted by what to me (not a programmer!) seems like magic.

For example, in the values workshop I am working on, I’ll probably keep the emergence phase quite short and move to an activity that is more about converging. As we’ve seen, I’m hoping spontaneous conversations over lunch will be enough to give people time to air their thoughts. This means the break is now much too close to lunch. I’ll need to move it to after another exercise. 

Before discovering SessionLab, I was organizing workshops in generic text tools like GoogleDocs, or in Microsoft Excel. While these can work for very simple plans, they are certainly not designed with the interests of a workshop leader in mind!

Adjusting timings was always a particular headache, and I can remember various instances where I made timing mistakes that resulted in last-minute panic scambles to re-adjust timings and activities. I much prefer to dedicate my attention to shaping a collaborative environment and delivering impactful workshops than to triple-checking that I’ve counted minutes correctly!

Parking activity ideas for future use

The parking lot is another feature I use quite a lot in these early stages of design. It’s a place where to “park” any activity, method, or other block that I don’t currently need but might find a place for in the future.

If I’ve filled my potential agenda with too many activities, I might decide to set one aside in this space. It’s also a place to list possible energizers and games that I’ve found in the library and might want to use, I’m just not sure about it yet. 

Completing the initial design for my next workshop

So far, my work has been a solitary one, working from memory, past notes and the library of methods. In recent times, I’ve started opening the AI assistant tab when I feel stuck: I find it helps me explore ideas and reenergize my thinking.

I do find this helpful to get unblocked if I am stuck, although personally, I can easily fall into a rabbit-hole of curiosity for more and more ideas, so I have to be careful both with ideating with AI and with perusing the Library!

Let’s say I’ve managed to not get too lost: the rest of my work now is about refining timings and fine-tuning the order of my activities. It’s usually a good idea to leave the desk for a while at some point, maybe go for a walk, and return to workshop planning again later, or the next day, with fresh eyes. 

If you want to take a look at what the completed session for a day of teamwork on company values turned out to be like, check out this completed template. It gives time for workshop participants to discuss their existing situation, brainstorm possible values that fit their current company and reflect their aspirations for the future. They then have the opportunity to choose a set of potential values and take part in an experiential activity to clarify what they mean to them.

This particular workshop will happen in person. Based on what I know about the target audience, I am not planning on using digital tools for workshop delivery. If it were an online, virtual workshop, I’d add a column for links and a checklist of things I need to do on external tools. This might include, for example, preparing a Zoom link or a Mentimeter interactive questionnaire, or whiteboard collaboration tools like Mural and Miro.

What happens next: how to gather feedback from clients and prepare for delivery

As you’ve seen above, it’s been quite a smooth (and fun) process to go from a blank canvas to a detailed session plan. My work is not over, though!

In the next phases of workshop preparation work, collaboration becomes the focus. I’ll be sharing the plan with clients and co-facilitators, in order to get the client’s buy in and make sure we are all on the same page. SessionLab helps with this by giving me various options to show the plan to other stakeholders, and I can use comments for real time collaboration.

As workshop planning progresses, I’ll be adding columns and notes that help me make sure I have the right tools to sort out practicalities and technical aspects, so me and my co-facilitator can make sure to stay aligned and arrive on the day of the workshop fully prepared. 

To learn more about how I use SessionLab to collaborate with stakeholders and prepare for delivery, read the second part of this article here. In it, I discuss different ways of sharing information and keeping everyone aligned and on the same page, using a large (150+ people) networking conference as an example.

As with any professional software, I’m sure everyone uses it their own way. If you use SessionLab differently or have something else to add, do pop extra advice and any questions in the comments.

It’s my hope this has given you useful tips and, perhaps, some new ideas on how to approach your next facilitation challenge. If that is the case, give the Planner a try, for free, from here. And drop a note in the comments to let me know how it’s going!

We’ve all sat through sessions that feel like (and in fact, are) a slow march through a PowerPoint deck. The information might be useful, but it is not memorable. In an era of distractions and short attention spans, what can help us design training that actually sticks? 

In this article, we will look at 8 essential tips to make in-person or virtual training more engaging, with plenty of real-life stories and examples from my own experience training newbies in facilitation and group dynamics.

Think back at any training course you’ve taken part in that you’d say was a success, in whole or in part. What made it such? It may have been particularly relevant to your needs in life and work at the time. Perhaps you got a lot of energy from sharing with other participants. Real-life applications may have helped you get a feel of efficacy. And there was probably some fun involved, as well as moments of insight and reflection.

Let’s talk about that “fun” aspect for a moment. Yes, a good training is often fun, but this should not be limited to bells and whistles, or games and quizzes. Training engagement is not just about keeping people entertained. Especially when training professionals, effective employee training is about creating meaningful learning experiences: ones that lead to action, behavior change, and real-world application.

Here is what we will explore in this article:

Why engagement matters in training

When participants are actively engaged, the impact of training increases significantly. I’ve recently run a quick pre-training survey with a cohort of 30 professionals working for a development agency; one of the questions I asked was about previous training experiences they’d had. Which were good, and effective, in their view? What made the bad ones bad?

Their answers are probably unsurprising, yet always worth repeating. Content overload, and hour-long PowerPoint presentations, make for terrible learning experiences. The subject matter is soon forgotten, and all that’s remembered is the headache. Engaging with other participants, a balanced mix of content and practice, and practical applications were the top answers as to what makes a training good.

Here are three key benefits of truly engaging training:

• Better knowledge retention and memory. When adult learners are involved in the learning process, they’re far more likely to remember and apply what they’ve learned.
• Higher likelihood of application. The more people connect with and engage in the training, the more they’ll take away lessons that translate into action.
• Increased motivation. Engagement fuels curiosity, connection, and enthusiasm: making learning an active rather than passive experience.

So how do we go beyond surface-level engagement and create training sessions that truly connect with learners?

Interaction vs. engagement: what’s the difference?

It’s easy to assume that more interaction = more engagement. But that’s not always true. Online training expert and author of The Quest newsletter Gwyn Wansbrough recently illuminated the difference. 

The problem is that interactive tools alone aren’t enough.

⚡️Interaction invites participation

Think of interaction as the way participants interface with your session. Polls, chats, and word clouds make it easier for people to contribute ideas and experiences. And that gives you and your group valuable “raw material” to work with.

💡 Engagement makes it meaningful

Engagement is about the depth and quality of the experience. How your participants connect with you, the content, and each other. It’s what transforms that raw material into lasting insights.

Gwyn Wansbrough, author of The Quest newsletter

Interaction can be thought of as the way participants interface with your session. Engagement is about depth. It’s what transforms interaction into lasting insights.

• It’s about the social interaction: how participants connect with the content, with each other, and with you as the trainer.
• It’s what makes learning feel personal, relevant, and applicable.

How do we turn interaction into engagement? 

Let’s take a classic example. At the start of a workshop, a trainer might ask participants a simple question, such as “In one word, what do you expect from this training?”. This is a fairly standard way to ask people to check in and start interacting. It’s easy to set up (I usually use Mentimeter) and responses are quick to collect.

One click later, you are displaying a wordcloud of responses on a shared (online) or projected (IRL, that is, in real life) screen. This is a good example of interaction. How can we turn it into engagement? 

It just takes one extra step, a step steeped in meaning. Instead of simply collecting word cloud responses, take a moment to narrate what you see, draw connections between ideas, and invite a few people to elaborate and contribute. That small shift turns a basic interaction into a deeper engagement moment.

While planning your training, consider the importance of engagement throughout. How can you turn each moment of interaction into something deeper? Often it’s about asking a follow-up question, or inviting a few voices to reflect out loud on what happened so far.

8 practical tips to make your training more engaging

There is no single formula for engagement, but there are strategies that consistently make learning more dynamic, memorable, and impactful.

In the next paragraphs we’ll go through 8 tips for deepening engagement in training experiences, whether you are running training courses online or in person, in a one-off workshop or a longer online learning course.

To each step, I’ve added examples and stories from recent trainings I’ve held to upskill students and professionals in facilitation skills. My hope is that these personal stories might help make these tips practical and bring them to life for you. If you want to read more about how I work with beginners to upskill them in facilitation, here is the full story!

1. Set (and communicate) clear learning objectives. 

Start with the end in mind. What should participants be able to do, know, or explain by the end of the session? You probably have based your training design on some clear objectives, but now it’s a matter of framing and communicating them to participants. What are some effective ways of doing this? 

Every year, I train a new group of international students in facilitation and group dynamics. A challenge I face at the onset is that they find this mysterious topic, facilitation, in their syllabus, but in most cases they have never heard of it before. While some may have work experience, most are in the middle of their undergraduate degrees. Although I am confident they will need collaboration and facilitation skills in their future jobs, they do not know that yet. How can I frame the training program in such a way as to make the learning objectives clear for them?

Personally, I often begin with an active listening activity. I pair students up and ask them to take turns completing open sentences such as:

• When I have worked on projects together with other people I’ve enjoyed it because…
• When I have worked on projects together with other people it’s been very hard because…
• I think working with other people is…

Discussing learning objectives in this way shifts training from being something that is delivered to something that invites active exploration. Adult learners need clear objectives that can connect the activities at hand with their overall professional development. Other engaging ways of sharing learning objectives include:

• Writing them up in a poster and opening a discussion: what do these learning objectives mean to you?
• Asking participants to journal, or draw, their intentions for the session;
• Collecting sticky notes that answer the question “how do you think you might apply learnings on this session’s topic to your daily work?”

Even in virtual training or self-paced online learning, this step can be vital in ensuring participants truly enrol in their own learning journey. I usually ask participants to reflect on their personal goals before diving into any online courses in full.

2. Start with a check-in

At the beginning of a training session, I used to jump straight into the agenda. After all, time is limited, and there’s always a lot to cover. But over the years, I’ve realized that taking even a few minutes for a check-in makes a huge difference in how engaged people are throughout the session.

These days, I keep it simple: I ask participants to share how they’re doing. Not a clever icebreaker, not a carefully crafted question: just a straightforward invitation to say a few words about their current state.

While this might seem like a small thing, it gives me valuable information. If someone says, “I’m exhausted; it’s been a long week,” or “I’m feeling a little lost on this topic,” that tells me how I might need to adjust my approach. If the energy in the room is low, I know I might need to incorporate more movement or discussion early on. If people come in feeling overwhelmed, I can acknowledge that and create space for focus rather than adding more cognitive overload.

Beyond giving me insight into the group, a check-in also serves another important function: it gets people speaking early. The earlier someone speaks in a session, the more likely they are to contribute again later. When people have the opportunity to express themselves in the first few minutes, it reduces the social barrier to speaking up again. I usually invite a round if the group is small, and use the chat function or a Mentimeter poll if we are working online or the group is too large for a full tour de table.

A check-in doesn’t have to take long, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s simply an opportunity to meet learners where they are and invite them into the space as active participants. When working with the same group repeatedly, you’ll need a reservoir of different check-in questions. For some inspiration, here is a list of 221 to get inspired by! 

3. Connect new knowledge to existing knowledge

People learn best when they relate new ideas to what they already know. Training that helps learners build bridges between past experiences and new concepts leads to deeper understanding.

One way to do this is to begin a topic by asking participants what they already know about it. This approach helps surface prior knowledge and makes learning feel more relevant and connected.

For example, when I introduce a session on facilitation or group dynamics, I often start by asking participants to describe their past experiences working in groups: what worked well, what was challenging, and what made those experiences either productive or frustrating. As they share, I take mental notes (or sometimes jot key words down on a poster), paying attention to the language and examples they use. If they talk about “group vibe” rather than “dynamics,” for example, I’ll try to reflect that back in my explanations instead of relying on my usual jargon and terminology.

4. Structure your session logically

Training should feel like a logical progression, not a collection of unrelated activities. A well-structured session guides learners through a sequence of ideas, ensuring that each part builds upon the last. When learning feels disjointed or rushed, engagement drops. On the other hand, a well-planned structure creates a flow, making it easier for participants to absorb and apply new knowledge.

One reliable approach is Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, a model that highlights how people learn best through a continuous process of experience, reflection, conceptualization, and active experimentation. According to Kolb:

• Start each module of your training with a concrete experience. This can be a game or activity, something tangible or relatable that connects them to the topic.
• Next, invite participants to engage in reflective observation, analyzing and making sense of that experience. “What did you notice? What happened? How did it feel? Why do you think things went as they did?”
• Next comes abstract conceptualization, where new ideas, frameworks, or theories are introduced. This is the part most closely associated with the idea of a “training”, where you as trainer will provide theories and mental models to make sense of the experience.
• Finally, learners move into active experimentation, applying what they’ve learned in a practical exercise. If there is not enough time for case studies or role play, asking people to make their own action plans and reflect on how they might apply learning in real life is a valid way to complete this step.

As facilitators or trainers with a slant towards facilitation, we might fall into the trap of leading a great activity without connecting it to the flow of the day or (cardinal sin!) without giving time for reflective observation, that is, a debrief. 

I generally structure a lot of reflection time around each activity, both for the whole group and with journaling time for each participant to reflect individually on their learning. 

To start designing a training session founded upon the structure of Kolb’s learning cycle, look no further than this training session template. In it you will find different sections for each part of the cycle, and you can easily duplicate it in SessionLab’s planner to customize it to your needs.

5. Keep it practical. Use real-world examples and case studies

Theory is important, but practical application is what makes learning stick. Providing concrete examples, case studies, and real-world scenarios helps participants see how they can apply what they’re learning in their own contexts. The more relevant and actionable the content, the better.

One way I ensure practicality in my sessions is by designing activities that serve a dual purpose: allowing participants to both practice facilitation tools and engage with real-world challenges at the same time. For example, I often include a World Café exercise where participants generate discussion topics based on real situations they have encountered in their work. The topics are not pre-selected: they emerge from the group’s experiences, making the conversation immediately relevant.

This approach achieves two things at once: first, it allows participants to practice the World Café method itself, experiencing what it’s like to facilitate and take part in the process. Second, it provides a structured way for them to discuss and problem-solve around real-life challenges. Rather than practicing facilitation with hypothetical examples, they apply it to topics that matter to them right now. This is a key strategy for making training more engaging. 

6. Switch modes to keep energy high and cater to different learning styles

Avoiding long stretches of passive listening is essential for keeping participants engaged. By varying training methods you create opportunities for different kinds of learners to connect with the material. A good mix of listening, speaking, writing, and movement helps reinforce learning, prevent fatigue, and sustain energy throughout the session.

One way I remind myself to do this is by recognizing my own biases as a trainer. Left to my own devices, I tend to create training courses that are engaging for people who think like me. I learn best through dialogue and discussion, so I naturally design sessions filled with conversations and verbal exchanges.

But I know that if I don’t make a conscious effort, I risk leaving out those who process information differently, including those who need quiet reflection, movement, or visual expression to fully engage with the content. Thinking about those people who may need training materials on paper or in a visual style can help ensure no learner is left behind.

For that reason, I intentionally incorporate moments of silent journaling, energetic movement-based activities, and even drawing, which is far from my own comfort zone. And yet, these are often the moments that surprise and delight me the most.

Recently, in a facilitation training, I asked participants to draw their own metaphors for the role of a facilitator. One participant sketched a can of WD-40 lubricant, explaining that a facilitator helps things move smoothly, reduces friction, and gets teams unstuck. I could never have come up with such a metaphor myself, but it perfectly captured an essential aspect of facilitation.

If you are looking for a few ideas of activities and games you might want to include in your next training session to shift the energy or making your training fun, here is a collection of 24 of our favorite engaging training games.

7. Incorporate regular breaks

Giving participants time to pause and process information is one of the simplest and most effective ways to keep engagement high. Even a quick two-minute stretch, a short walk, or a moment of silence can reset focus and improve retention.

When I plan a training session, one of the first things I do in SessionLab’s planner is add a start time, an end time, and some bright-yellow blocks for structured breaks. If I don’t plan for them upfront, it’s too easy to push through and assume energy levels will hold. But they won’t: without breaks, even the most interactive session starts to feel exhausting.

A simple trick I’ve learned is to start with shorter breaks and make them longer as the day goes on. The first break might be just five minutes: a quick reset. By mid-afternoon, when energy naturally dips, a longer break helps keep engagement up rather than letting fatigue set in.

Research into participatory activities suggests that a 15-minute break every 90 minutes is ideal for maintaining focus and energy levels. This aligns with research on biological rhythms, particularly something called the ultradian rhythm, which describes the body’s natural cycles of activity and rest. After about 90 minutes of sustained effort, cognitive performance starts to decline, making structured breaks not just beneficial but biologically necessary.

Breaks also create space for informal discussion and reflection. Some of the best insights don’t happen during training activities, but over coffee, when participants have time to process what they’ve learned. I often notice that after a break, someone who had been quiet in the first half of a session will suddenly speak up with a new idea or connection they’ve made.

And a small but effective trick: take a group picture at the end of a break. It’s a lighthearted way to bring people back together, and it subtly signals that the session is resuming. When the group sees others gathering, they naturally follow suit, making transitions smoother.

8. The best trainers listen to the group and adapt

No matter how well you design a training session, real engagement happens when participants feel that the session is for them: that it reflects their needs, interests, and learning styles. And the only way to do that effectively? Ask, listen, and adapt.

I aim to collect feedback mid-session, not just at the end, usually right before lunch. I ask three simple questions:

• What’s going well that you’d like more of?
• What’s not working as well, and what could we adjust?
• Any other suggestions or ideas for me?

This quick check-in allows me to course-correct in real time. If participants are deeply engaged in discussions, I might create more space for reflection and dialogue. If they’re feeling restless, I might introduce a movement-based activity or switch things up with a game.

This flexibility is possible because I design training with clear learning objectives, but without rigid adherence to every planned activity. The goal is to ensure that learning happens in a way that resonates with the group, not to complete a “perfect” checklist of activities. Over the past few years, I’ve seen just how much variation there can be between groups, even when delivering the same core training:

• One group thrived on deep discussions and critical reflection.
• Another preferred gamified activities: the more interactive and playful, the better.
• A third, just this year, engaged most when given time for individual journaling and quiet processing.

There’s no way to predict these preferences in advance. As a trainer, you can come in with your best guesses, but ultimately, the group will tell you what works for them: if you ask.

And while adapting mid-session improves engagement in the moment, gathering feedback at the end of a session helps refine the training for next time. It’s where I collect ideas I might not have thought of, discover which methods landed best, and notice what could be streamlined or improved.

Pro tip: I keep some notes on what worked best and what I’d like to change in a note at the end of my session plan in SessionLab, so that next time I open it to copy and create a new session, my precious feedback is right there.

How to make online, self-paced training courses more engaging too!

While the eight tips previously discussed are tailored for live training environments, whether online or in-person, many can be adapted to improve self-paced courses as well. Online, self-paced courses and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have many benefits for learners: with no set dates or times, they are accessible to people from any timezone, and especially well-suited for those balancing family responsibilities or demanding work schedules. While there are natural limitations to the level of interactivity in a fully asynchronous format, that doesn’t mean course designers are out of options; it’s totally possible to be creative in this format as well.

Here are six practical ideas for making self-paced courses more engaging. Do you have more? Add them in the comments or join discussions in our friendly community.

• Invite participants to keep a learning journal. Self-reflection is a powerful part of the learning process. From the very beginning of the course, prompt participants with reflection questions and encourage them to keep a personal journal of their thoughts, reactions, and takeaways. Start by inviting learners to articulate why they joined the course and what they hope to gain. As the course progresses, use reflective prompts to deepen learning, reinforce key ideas, and help participants make personal connections to the material.
• Incorporate videos. Videos are a staple of online learning, because they work to bring learning to life. It’s important to keep them short, purposeful, and human. Rather than long, lecture-style recordings, consider using brief explainer videos, animated walkthroughs, or informal selfie-style clips from instructors. These can break up the reading load and help maintain a sense of personal connection in an otherwise solo learning journey.
• Pepper the course with quizzes (and make them fun!). Quizzes don’t have to feel like school tests. Use them as opportunities for learners to check their understanding and reinforce key concepts in a light, interactive way. Include playful elements like badges, instant feedback, or a “did you know?” fact alongside correct answers. This not only aids retention but also builds confidence and keeps energy levels up.
• Design exercises with real-world scenarios. Help learners bridge theory and practice by including activities based on real-life challenges they might face. Whether it’s a case study, a role-play prompt, or a problem-solving exercise, context-rich scenarios give learners a chance to apply knowledge meaningfully, making the course content feel more relevant and memorable.
• Provide opportunities for peer interaction, even asynchronously. Self-paced doesn’t have to mean isolated. Consider building in optional discussion forums, reflection boards, or shared project spaces where participants can exchange ideas, ask questions, or share insights. Even if learners aren’t online at the same time, knowing there’s a space to connect with others can increase motivation and create a more communal learning experience.
• Use progress tracking and gentle nudges. A visible sense of progress can be motivating in itself. Use progress bars, milestone markers, or completion checklists to help learners track how far they’ve come. Combine these with automated nudges—friendly reminders, encouragement messages, or timely prompts to resume the course. Aim to make participants supported without feeling pressured (remember the death of Duo?)

With thoughtful design choices, even asynchronous courses can become memorable, engaging learning experiences. The key is to think beyond content delivery and consider how you can support motivation, connection, and reflection throughout the learners’ journey.

How SessionLab can help make your training more engaging

As we’ve seen in these 8 tips, engaging training isn’t just about great facilitation in the moment: it also comes down to careful planning and clever structuring. That’s where SessionLab can help. Whether you’re designing a short workshop or a multi-day training, SessionLab provides the tools to make planning easier, more flexible, and—most importantly—more engaging for participants.

1. Structure your session with variety, at a glance

One of the keys to engagement is switching modes throughout a session to keep energy high and cater to different learning styles. SessionLab’s color-coded blocks make it easy to visualize the flow of activities, ensuring that you’re not relying too heavily on one type of learning method. You can quickly see if you have too much presentation time, too few interactive elements, or if reflective exercises are missing, and adjust accordingly.

And of course, SessionLab helps keep track of timing and breaks. With an intuitive planner that adjusts in real-time, you can make sure that breaks are well-placed and that activities don’t run over, helping maintain the right balance of focus and rest.

2. Enrich your session with a library of activities

Even the best training plans need a fresh spark of inspiration from time to time. With SessionLab’s facilitation library of over 1400 methods, you can always find an energizer, a game, or an interactive activity to enhance your session. To start exploring, check out this collection of active learning activities and strategies.

3. Start with a high-quality training agenda

Rather than building from scratch, why not start with a proven training agenda? SessionLab offers a range of training templates, including this Essential Training Session Plan, a structured yet flexible starting point for designing a high-impact session based on Kolb’s learning cycle.

4. Learn and connect with a community of trainers

Trainers, facilitators, and educators also need a space to learn, experiment, and grow. On the SessionLab blog, you’ll find a wealth of articles on facilitation, training, and learning design, offering both practical strategies and deeper insights into how to make training more engaging.

And if you’re looking for new ideas or want to share your experiences, join our community of trainers and facilitators! Learning from others is one of the best ways to keep improving your own sessions.

And if you’ve applied any of the tips from this article to make your training sessions more engaging, I’d love to hear from you: drop a note in the comments!

Demonstrating the qualities of a good trainer can transform workshops and training courses into experiences. This helps learning retention, making it much more likely that new learnings will be applied in practice.

In professional development and instructor-led workplace training, a good trainer can make the difference between delivering a boring and ineffective course that leaves participants disinterested and disengaged, and a successful learning experience. 

Some of the qualities typically listed as essential for great trainers include the ability to listen and adapt to the audience, to use learning materials creatively, to capture attention, and design training sessions in ways consistent with the science of adult learning (aka andragogy).

Trainers must be content matter experts, knowing their material inside out, but also have some of the skills of good facilitators, accompanying the group in a learning journey.

Good trainers aren’t necessarily charismatic extroverts, but they all have their own, signature ways of holding attention and communicating effectively with learners. 

Think back to a memorable training experience. Maybe it was a teacher from your school years: what made them stand out?

My thoughts go to a substitute teacher in high school who gave us a creative writing workshop using games and colors. Thinking of professional training, I have great memories of a session where trainers taught us using online games, creativity and breakout rooms. In both cases, creativity and playfulness made learning stick.

In this article, we’ll explore what makes a great trainer, from mindset to key skills like curiosity and creativity, plus tips on how to develop them.

This is what we will cover:

5 qualities of a good trainer

Whatever your life experiences, you probably have something in your background that can help you become an effective trainer. Whether it’s coaching sports or being a parent, everyone has had some form of experience with how rewarding—and how hard—it is to share knowledge and skills with others.

So before we look into five of the qualities of a good trainer, take a moment to think about your life and what you already know. This could become the core of your unique training style!

We each carry a unique backpack of experiences that shape how we connect with and guide others.

Jenny Theolin – Head of Learning at Abracademy

Participants in my own training courses have often told me that what they most enjoy in my style is a friendly, informal approach that makes them feel welcome. I think I can trace that back to my dad’s side of the family: restaurant owners who are experts in creating spaces where everyone feels at ease. On the other side of the family, my mom’s is a clan of polyglots and diplomats, which is probably where I picked up a penchant for mediation and active listening!

How about you? What early experiences or later jobs have shaped your training style and signature? How could you leverage them to make your courses unique, and what other aspects may you be missing?

Let’s go through five of the most commonly mentioned qualities and skills that make great trainers. Which do you see yourself in? Which could you cultivate some more?

1. A good trainer is always curious

Working in the field of learning and being a lifelong learner go hand in hand. Personally, some of my favorite moments from training sessions are when participants surprise me with a piece of knowledge or an unexpected connection I could never have come up with myself!

Some of the ways curiosity can help improve a training experience include:

• Curiosity makes it easier to put oneself into a beginner’s shoes, delivering information with clarity so that each new piece of learning builds upon the rest.
• A curious trainer is first and foremost curious about their participants. What brings them here? How can I best help them? This mindset, combined with active listening, counteracts the risk of rote, repetitive, or stale delivery.
  
  In many ways, this kind of curious engagement is what separates active learning from more passive forms of training. A successful trainer will often deploy training games that encourage curiosity from everyone in the room in order to help training stick,
• Whatever you are training about, curiosity will help you stay abreast of changes in the field, keeping you open to new things to learn and teach, and new ways to train.

2. Creativity is essential to great training

Innovation and surprise are key to keeping training sessions engaging and memorable. A great trainer finds ways to present their material in unexpected, interactive ways that make learning stick.

Some ways creativity enhances training:

• It helps break up long or complex topics into digestible, engaging formats.
• It encourages participants to actively engage through storytelling, exercises, and real-world examples. A sense of humor definitely helps!
• It allows trainers to adapt on the fly when something isn’t working—switching up activities, adjusting approaches, or responding to group energy.

You can start surprising and involving participants long before the training starts, for example by sending videos, welcome kits or giving thought and care as to how to make those pre-course questionnaires interesting to fill.

How you arrange the room and the objects inside it is a key element of creativity and surprise. What can you do to make the training environment more welcoming and congruent to your training objectives?

One of my favorite memories of working as a trainer is when I was invited to host a session to discuss post-earthquake community support, for first response trainees. When the trainees arrived in the room for the first time, I had re-arranged it to look like, well, perfect caos. Everything was jumbled around, tables were overturned, all my supplies were on the floor. Participants’ immediate responses (some were completely confused, some looked at me, the authority in charge, for solutions, others just gamely started to pick up and reorganize everything) gave us plenty of material to start the session with!

Are you interested in shaking your next training up with an unusual room setup? If so, you might want to take a look at our in-depth guide about how different seating arrangements influence engagement.

3. A good trainer is respectful and responsible

A great trainer recognizes that learning happens best in an environment where participants feel valued and respected. Being responsible means being mindful of different learning needs, managing time effectively, and ensuring that training remains a supportive space.

What does this look like in practice?

• Respecting different learning styles, backgrounds, and perspectives in the room.
• Being responsible with time: balancing structure with flexibility while ensuring that key learning goals are met.
• Handling challenges gracefully, whether it’s a difficult participant, a tough question, or an unexpected technical issue.

Another way of embodying the important qualities of respect and responsibility has to do with respecting the value of the content itself. This includes ensuring that information is accurate, properly attributed, and presented with integrity.

A responsible trainer credits sources, acknowledges the work of others, knows how to answer questions both confidently and honestly, and models good practice in knowledge sharing.

A trainer is a subject matter expert in the topic they are sharing.
They are humble with the group in that they don’t put themselves in the spotlight, they have the light on the learners. They encourage the learners who are adults to own the learning for themselves, they encourage the learners to do their own learning and they do not disable the adults in the room by minimising their responses, removing space for thought and reflection.

Kirsty Lewis – Founder of the School of Facilitation

4. Good trainers come well prepared

Great training doesn’t happen by accident. The best trainers take the time to design thoughtful sessions, anticipate challenges, and have a plan.

You’ve certainly heard it said that great facilitators and trainers adapt on the fly, and that is true: but you need to have a course set before you can course-correct!

Preparation involves:

• Having a clear structure and flow for the session.
• Designing engaging activities and making sure materials are ready.
• Building in flexibility, making it easier to self correct based on participant needs (and sometimes, on organizational needs, such as changes in the timing of lunch breaks!)

When I am working on a new training, I generally start by setting out a general outline of time, including breaks. Then I set aside a nice big block of time for opening activities, such as introductions and icebreakers. Next, I add a section at the very end for closing and feedback. From here, I go into picking some main, core activities or lectures that will form the main body of the workshop. In most cases, I’ll use a pre-existing model or flow (such as these examples of instructional learning models) to scaffold my thinking.

Planning workshops and sessions is really one of my favorite subjects. You can read more ideas on what makes a great training plan in this article, full of practical tips and how-tos for beginner and expert trainers alike.

SessionLab’s planner was designed for facilitation and instructor-led training: it can help you speed up the design process and keep track of everything you need. You can add a tab for lists of resources, or draw in your colleagues to collaborate on the plan. It also keeps all your previous sessions in memory, helping streamline work by allowing you to easily reuse session plans, start from ready-made templates, and iterate on what works best.

A good trainer is coherent, empathetic and flexible. Coherence is curating their body of topic understanding into the most informative sequence of ideas that teach the material the most effective way.

To that end a good trainer is less concerned with whether their learners will like the training, and more concerned with unearthing the most reputable path to competence. Then acknowledge in advance the unpleasant aspects of that path and invite the learner to choose.

Trainers need to not only know their topic, but also know adult learning, and know the skill acquisition literature to do this consistently well.

Empathy is the capacity to put themselves in the seat of the learner to acquaint themselves with the frustrations of the experience of learning. Be alert to confusion, boredom, disagreement, frustration, disinterest and recognise them as valid and familiar emotional experiences for learners.

Finally, flexibility is the capacity to have more than one way to teach the material. If the globe breaks in the projector can you revert to a whiteboard and get the learning done?

Marcus Crow – Co-founder at 10.000 hours

5. A good trainer knows how to hold attention

A great trainer understands that attention isn’t something you demand: it’s something you earn. This doesn’t mean you need to be a charismatic extrovert or the loudest voice in the room. Quiet confidence, presence, and a deep connection with your material can be just as powerful as a high-energy delivery style.

Some ways trainers hold attention:

• Varied delivery: a mix of storytelling, interactive discussions, and structured moments of reflection.
• Reading the room: picking up on energy levels and adjusting the pace or approach accordingly.
• Engagement over performance: it’s not about being the star of the show, but about keeping participants actively involved.

I’d also add relatability. Some of the best trainers I’ve learned with are ones who show me that they relate to what I’m going through as a learner— this can be through stories focused on empathy and similar experiences, or examples of how content is applied to my context/work.

Caitlin Smith – Director of Human Resources at L’Arche Greater Washington

At its core, an effective trainer doesn’t just talk, they create an environment where people want to listen, learn, and engage.

To make sure you hold participants’ attention, communication skills are essential. Even the most engaging exercises or discussions will fall flat if instructions are vague or confusing. A good trainer knows how to break down complex ideas, explain them in simple terms, and provide clear instructions that set participants up for success.

But what if you’re looking to improve your training delivery? The good news is that great trainers aren’t just born: they’re made. In the next section, we’ll explore practical ways to become a more effective trainer, no matter where you’re starting from.

If, for example, you find the public speaking aspect of being a professional trainer challenging, you might consider taking some public speaking courses, where you’ll learn more about pacing, timing and body language. In the section below we’ll look at some ways you might consider for your self improvement and professional development.

What makes a good training? 

How do we know if a training session or course has been truly successful? And what role do trainer skills and qualities play in making that happen?

An effective training session isn’t just about delivering content: it’s about making sure people walk away with knowledge, confidence, and the ability to apply what they’ve learned. I like to think of it in three key dimensions: the head, the heart, and the hands.

The head. Have participants learned something new? Can they confidently explain and articulate their new knowledge? Content delivery is often the primary focus of training, but it’s only part of the equation. As the trainer in the room, the expectation is that you know your content inside out and are an expert in the topic.

The heart. How do participants feel about the experience? Even if the training was challenging, do they leave feeling accomplished, engaged, and confident in their new skills? Do they walk away energized and inspired?

The hands. Have participants had a chance to put their new abilities into practice through discussions, case studies, or role plays? Are they ready to apply what they’ve learned, or is it still a blur of theory and concepts?

Great trainers design sessions that engage all three, because learning isn’t just about knowing, it’s about feeling and doing, too. Content matter expertise is fundamental, but it only really works when paired with interpersonal skills and a deep understanding of the learning process. When training meets the head, heart, and hands, it sticks.

How to improve your training skills

Great trainers they develop their skills over time through experience, reflection, and intentional learning. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your approach, here are some key ways to grow as a trainer and improving your training skills.

Take part in other people’s training sessions

One of the best ways to improve as a trainer is to experience training from a participant’s perspective. Pay attention to what works, what keeps you engaged, and what makes learning stick. Are there techniques or activities that resonate with you? How does the trainer handle questions, energy levels, or engagement?

Taking part in a variety of training styles (workshops, online courses, or even informal learning sessions) can expose you to new approaches and help you refine your own. Training conferences and events are often organized in “unconference” or skill-sharing styles and can be great places to pick up new tools, techniques and inspiration. 

If you’re an experienced trainer, it’s important to constantly challenge yourself to try something new. Taking part in other people’s training can easily lead into experimenting with a fresh technique, or delivering a session in a different format next time.

For me, a great trainer is also aware of their own limitations so as to be capable to work with the collective wisdom in the room and address the power dynamic.

A trainer who is humble and self-aware knows the role of a trainer is transferable from moment to moment from person to person. The participants might be able to contribute something from a fresh or different perspective; by enabling this, the group may gain new insights on the topic, and the trainer also learns something new.

Sara Huang – Chief Architect of Engaging Conversations at Bureau Tw!st

Collect and integrate feedback

Feedback is essential for growth. No matter how rushed the end of a session might feel (and ideally, it shouldn’t be rushed!), always include a way to collect feedback from participants.

There are many ways you can collect feedback. I like to have a poster up at the exit of the training room with three spaces: what did you like best? What would you change? Any other ideas or messages for me? I invite people to take a few minutes at the end of the training to write their reflections on sticky notes or, if we are working virtually, I do the same thing in Mentimeter. 

In SessionLab’s library you can find dozens of methods for collecting feedback that real trainers actually use. One-breath feedback, for example, is a good way to make sure you get a sense of how the training went, even when you are short on time.

If you have a bit more time, you could also prepare a canvas like this one for the Starfish retrospective and collect information on specific aspects of your training work.

If possible, I recommend you combine live, in-the-moment feedback, with a more structured questionnaire offered some time after the event is over, to get a more balanced perspective.

It is also important to take time after each training to integrate that feedback and learn from it. Block some time in your diary to reflect and log ideas of what you might want to change next time. Not everything participants say will be constructive feedback, and some might only apply to the specific case, but you will probably notice some recurring themes coming up.

In my case, for example “Too much content, too little time” kept coming up over and over until I made it a practice to limit myself and stop cramming too many activities and topics in the same session. I now write my learning objectives at the very top of each agenda page and make sure all the practical exercises I include remain focused on the actual training needs. Training is a life of continuous learning! Keep a training journal to log your progress, track recurring themes, and note what you want to adjust next time.

Since I am often asked to repeat the same training program year after year, I’ve been making it a practice to add a note to my agenda in SessionLab after the training is over with ideas on what I might want to change next year. That way, when months later I duplicate or re-open the session, I have my notes handy.

Attend a Train-the-Trainer program

Even if you have years of experience, there’s always something to gain from structured learning. Train-the-Trainer programs provide insights into adult learning principles, facilitation techniques, and the psychology of engagement. They also allow you to practice in a supportive environment and get feedback from fellow trainers.

Training programs are also a great place to really delve into the nerdy details of training. They are spaces to discuss the ins and outs of time management, or do some collaborative problem-solving about what has been working less well in your training delivery.

Just the other day, in one such training, I got into an intricate conversation with participants about the best ways to divide people into smaller groups. When is it better to let people self-select their teammates for an exercise? When is it best for the trainer to do so? When should we assign people to small groups in advance, based on participant lists, and when is it best to do it on the spot?

This kind of in-depth discussion over the fine details can really improve your training game and I cannot think of a better place to do it that Train-the-Trainer program (other than, perhaps, Reddit). 

Work with another trainer

If you have the opportunity to co-train, take it! Partnering with another trainer allows you to:

• Complement each other’s core qualities and weaknesses.
• Observe and learn from someone else’s approach in real time.
• Share responsibilities and manage group dynamics more effectively.

Having another trainer in the room can also help keep sessions dynamic, allowing you to switch roles, provide different perspectives, and adapt on the fly. It’s a luxury, but if you can make it happen, it’s one of the best ways to grow.

Practice, practice, practice

Like any skill, training improves with practice. Practice is extremely important! The more you test and refine your delivery, the more comfortable and effective you’ll become.

• Record yourself trying out material. Not just during a live session, but even when practicing alone. Run through explanations, introductions, or activity instructions as if you were delivering them to a group. Listening back can reveal unclear phrasing, filler words, or sections that need better pacing.
• Try using AI-powered tools to analyze the tone, clarity, and structure of your presentations: this might help you identify blind spots in your delivery.
• Practice in front of a colleague or friend to get real-time feedback before delivering to a full group.

Even a few short practice runs can make a big difference in how smoothly your training flows when it counts.

If you’re a beginner, lean on pre-existing structures and templates to guide you. In SessionLab’s template collection, you’ll find plenty of ready-made training sessions you can adapt to your own needs.

How SessionLab’s resources can help you design effective training experiences

Here at SessionLab we are passionate about improving learning and training design. In our blog, library and newsletter you’ll find plenty of support to improve your training game. As a trainer, you are probably extremely knowledgeable about the content, but might need some new ideas and inspiration when it comes to how to deliver it. Does that sound like you?

Here are three places you can go next to find more support in designing and delivering excellent learning experiences.

1. Download our Training Design Handbook. You’ll find a proven process and practical tips from learning design all the way to collecting feedback.
2. Find the perfect template to base your next session upon. In our template collection you will find ready-made guidance to, among others, a basic training session modeled around Kolb’s experiential learning cycle and a template for an online learning experience designed by experiential learning expert Romy Alexandra.
3. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive tips and ideas for learning activities, carefully selected among the thousands of training methods in SessionLab’s library.

Ultimately, becoming a great trainer is about staying curious, experimenting with new approaches, and always keeping the learner’s experience at the heart of what you do.

Whether you’re just starting out or refining your craft, the best trainers are those who embrace lifelong learning themselves. So, what’s one small change you’ll make in your next training session? Join our friendly Community to keep the conversation going!

But why are workshop rules so essential? They create a framework for how groups work together, increasing clarity, preventing misunderstandings, and keeping discussions focused. Whether you’re leading a brainstorming session, a team alignment meeting, or a training workshop, ground rules set the stage for meaningful collaboration.

In this article, we’ll explore what workshop rules are, why they matter, and how to use them effectively. You’ll find plenty of examples, practical methods for co-creating them with participants, and tips for handling common challenges. Read on to learn everything you need to confidently guide a group in establishing how to work together for productive and engaging workshops!

What are workshop ground rules?

Ground rules are agreements established at the start of a meeting, session, or workshop to guide participant behavior and contributions. These rules often cover etiquette, such as whether smartphones should be silenced or turned off, and encourage active participation from everyone involved.

Ground rules can be set by a facilitator or co-created by the group, making them adaptable to the session’s needs. Essentially, ground rules serve as the do’s and don’ts that help create a productive and respectful workshop environment. 

You might have heard ground rules referred to by other names. Some leaders and facilitators prefer terms such as ‘group agreements’. While essentially referring to the same thing, ‘group agreement’ is a softer terminology that empathizes the collective nature of the agreements reached, and the fact that they exist as a guideline rather than as norms that might be enforced with a penalty! 

In groups that work together more continuously, I have also seen the term ‘group contract’ used. Referring to a group contract, or to ‘group norms’ often indicates that the rules established will be used throughout a group’s work and life, rather than for a single workshop, session or event. 

Whatever you choose to call your agreements, they represent a solid foundation for groupwork, and are especially important in the collaborative, participatory atmosphere of a workshop. This is why most expert facilitators will dedicate some time at the start of any workshop to defining, discussing and approving them. Below we will see some practical tools and methods for doing this with the support of the entire group.

10 (real-world) examples of ground rules for workshops 

Every year, I run introductory workshops to facilitation and group dynamics to first-year students in a peace and conflict transformation program. Every year, we start by creating ground rules. 

In this particular case, it makes sense for us to spend a fair amount of time, generally around 45 minutes, just to establish how we will work together. This is because:

• Participants are learning by doing: by co-creating ground rules they are having their first experience of facilitation in action;
• The extremely multicultural nature of this group, and the language barrier, means that nothing can be taken for granted and many nuances (e.g. “what does ‘punctuality’ mean to you?”) must be explored before we can have a meaningful agreement;
• Ground rules therefore become an opportunity to investigate and understand the nature of the group better. Although they are only ‘offical’ during my workshops, they inform how the group will work together going forward and, ultimately, for two entire years. 

While every group is unique, these are some examples, in no particular order, of the typical ground rules my students come up with:

Punctuality

What does punctuality mean for this group? This varies vastly among different groups, cultures, and situations. Avoid miscommunication by clarifying the specific, particular meaning of ‘punctuality’ we will be using for the duration of this workshop clear.

For me, this often means: we will start and end on time. If you join later, you don’t need to provide justification, just join quietly. I’ve recently seen a great picture of a training room where a large poster on the door says “You are late! You can only come in with sweets for everyone or a big smile”. 

Maintain confidentiality

Depending on the nature of the workshop, it might be a good idea to establish a rule around confidentiality. If we are discussing team dynamics in the office, for example, we might be ok with sharing with people present, but not with others. It is common to have a ground rule around confidentiality expressed in terms such as “It’s ok to share stories from the workshop, but only in anonymized form”. 

Phones should be silent

I deeply enjoy the conversations we have with students around rules related to cell phones, as they are often revelatory and surprising. By openly discussing phone use, I’ll often find out that participants tend to multitask, but don’t like to do it; a rule discouraging multitasking can help them self-regulate. At the same time, I have found that cell phones are support for, among others, speakers of other languages who use them to translate or look up definitions and information in real-time. What we usually land on is an agreement to keep phones silent. 

Active participation 

Participation in a workshop means more than just showing up; it involves actively contributing ideas, asking questions, and listening attentively. This rule encourages everyone to bring their best energy to the session and be present both mentally and physically.

All questions are welcome

By making it clear that all questions are valid, this great rule creates a safe and supportive atmosphere where participants feel comfortable seeking clarification or exploring new ideas without fear of being dismissed or judged.

The space we are in is everyone’s responsibility

This is about taking care of the space around us. When things get hectic in workshops, people can easily forget to pick up after themselves, resulting in strewn coffee cups and sticky notes everywhere. Including a ground rule about taking care of the space is a useful reminder to pay attention to how our work impacts the environment we are in.

Use clear language and avoid jargon 

Workshops often include people from diverse backgrounds or roles. Using simple, clear language helps avoid misunderstandings. Avoiding technical terms or remembering to always explain industry-specific jargon ensures inclusivity and keeps communication accessible. Sometimes we will add a dedicated hand gesture participants should make when anyone (facilitator included) is speaking too quickly or using mysterious words. 

Hand signs, by the way, can be a very useful addition to ground rules. This can include gestures to ask for a break, make a direct point, express enthusiasm and more. 

Be supportive

Lift each other up and respect different perspectives. A supportive ground rule reminds participants to approach conversations with kindness, patience, and understanding. By creating a culture of encouragement, the group can collaborate more effectively and build trust.

Be open and curious

Approach the workshop with a willingness to learn. This ground rule encourages participants to set aside preconceived notions and embrace new ideas or viewpoints. Being open and curious helps foster innovation and productive dialogue. Critical comments can be reframed as questions that help the whole group progress. 

Use “I” statements

Speak from your own experience to avoid assumptions. This ground rule helps participants have more constructive discussions by taking ownership of their opinions and feelings. Phrasing comments as “I think” or “I feel” rather than “you should” or “people tend to” reduces defensiveness and promotes constructive conversation.

Ground rules for brainstorming and ideation

Brainstorming and innovation workshops thrive on creativity, open-mindedness, and the willingness to explore new possibilities. Establishing clear ground rules ensures that participants feel empowered to contribute without fear of judgment or rejection, creating an atmosphere where fresh ideas can emerge. These rules are particularly important in brainstorming sessions, where the goal is to generate as many ideas as possible, no matter how unconventional they may seem at first glance.

Ground rules for these sessions should emphasize creative freedom, and a commitment to collaboration. By setting expectations around behaviors like suspending judgment and encouraging bold thinking, facilitators can help participants move beyond their comfort zones and into the realm of innovation. 

Below are five examples of ground rules tailored to brainstorming and innovation workshops.

No bad ideas

Encourage participants to share every idea, no matter how incomplete or unconventional it may seem. This rule reinforces the notion that creativity often emerges from unexpected places and that even “bad” ideas can spark meaningful conversations or inspire others. By setting aside the fear of being wrong, participants are more likely to contribute freely.

Blue sky ideas

Think big ideas, go beyond the constraints of what’s currently possible. Blue sky ideas are about imagining what could be, without worrying about limitations like budget, time, or resources. This ground rule invites participants to dream without restriction, often leading to innovative solutions that can later be refined or adapted.

Postpone judgment 

Encourage the group to suspend criticism or evaluation during the ideation phase. To get the most out of a brainstorming session flow, it should be fine whether participants are coming up with feasible ideas or unlikely solutions. This ground rule is critical in maintaining the flow of creative energy, as premature judgment can stifle the process.

Participants should be reminded that evaluation will come later, during the refinement stage, at which point it makes sense to consider practical constraints and exclude some ideas. It just should not be done when ideas are first shared. This is not about not using our critical thinking and judgment at all: it’s about being clear about when to encourage wild creativity and defer judgment to a later point. 

“Yes, and..”

Build on each other’s creative ideas. Inspire collaboration by encouraging participants to use one another’s ideas as a springboard for new thoughts. This rule fosters a sense of teamwork and amplifies creativity by combining perspectives. For example, someone’s initial idea might evolve into a breakthrough when others add their insights.

Use of AI for ideation

In the brave new world of generative AI being at most people’s fingertips, ideation and brainstorming workshops in particular will benefit from establishing an agreed-upon guardrail for AI use. It’s super-easy to flood the workshop with AI-generated ideas, and then ask for even more ideas, which can be overwhelming, confusing and counterproductive. 

Discuss with participants how to put AI to good use for example by turning drafts into more tangible ideas, critiquing and judging ideas, or adding a small batch of new ideas at a time, which participants can use a springboard for their own thinking. For more on how to use AI in brainstorming, check out resources from the AI Tinkerer’s Club!

Adapting ground rules for workshop types

As should be clear by now, there is no unique and universally valid set of ground rules that will work for any group or workshop type. You can start with a standard set of generic principles, such as “active participation” and “respect”, and see where the conversation with your participants leads. 

When facilitating a conversation around such agreements, you should also give some thought to having lists of rules to specific workshop types. We have seen above a list of ideas that help participants get into the right frame of mind for an ideation or brainstorming session, for example.

To adapt a starting list of ground rules to the specific workshop type, ask yourself, and the group: what do we want to achieve in this session, specifically? What sorts of guidelines or mindset would help us get there?  

If you are working on strategy or decision making, you might want to encourage the group to explore rules that help clarify, direct and focus thinking, such as having a parking lot. 

A parking lot refers to having a space, usually a poster or a section of a shared whiteboard, where to park off topic ideas, questions or comments that fall outside of the focus of a specific time or activity. Ideas and notes in a parking lot are usually addressed at a later time, perhaps towards the end of the workshop. This allows participants to free mindspace and restore focus when conversations are getting off-track. 

So far we have seen various reasons in support of having a strong container for your workshop, co-creating ground rules with participants to land on a list that reflect the group’s intentions and aspirations and enables everyone to participate at their best. 

But are ground rules always a good idea? As with most things in facilitation, the answer is “it depends”. There is quite a spirited discussion among professional facilitators as to how and why caution should be taken in considering them an all-purpose tool. Can ground rules actually hurt, or hinder, your group? 

Suppose the main purpose of your workshop has to do with personal development, authenticity and self-expression. In that case, you should approach the idea of regulating behavior with much more caution. 

I have worked alongside practitioners of restorative justice, for example, for whom it was very important not to censor behaviors that might be generally viewed as “loud” or “overly emotional”.

A rule such as “Do not interrupt” can enforce a certain communication style over another and end up being accidentally repressive. Reasons for choosing such rules must make sense for the specific situation, at a specific time. And in some cases, you may not want ground rules at all, but rather accompany the group to solve clashes and disagreements as they appear, allowing for a more emergent approach to group regulation. 

Workshop rules and culture creation: aligning group agreements, goals and values

As you can tell, ground rules can be a mixture of elements such as:

• Etiquette. How will we behave in practice? Examples of this include discussions on punctuality and timing, or on use of phones and laptops;
• Communication styles. How do we speak with one another? This includes things like using ‘I’ statements or avoiding jargon;
• Behavioral agreements. Who do we want to be? These are harder to define as proper ‘rules’ as it’s hard to tell whether they have been adhered to, but are more akin to intentions, values and aspirations. We know we might fail at being constantly supportive, open and curious, but we agree to try.

The latter type of ground rule offers every group an opportunity to shape their group culture not only in terms of the present (how things currently are) but of an ideal future (how do we want to be).

Group agreements can, in fact, be viewed as a practical, concrete application of team values. What does it mean for us to be kind, or to have a growth mindset, or to be present? How do we manifest these ideals into practical behaviors?

Many groups I have worked with in the nonprofit space have a ground rule meant to encourage presence and focus attention: if at any point anyone feels their attention wavering, they can ring a bell to ask for two minutes of silence and concentration. This is a great example of how a group can use ground rules to co-create cultural norms and ways of being. 

The Thiagi Group has an activity to select and discuss training workshop rules with participants, based on using pre-existing lists of 70 different ground rules and inviting people to choose among them. Their list is full of great ideas for culture-shaping rules such as “Expect to be surprised” or “Don’t lose your sense of humor”. 

5 methods to encourage participants to co-create group agreements

Throughout the article I’ve been stressing the importance of co-creating agreements with your participants, rather than imposing them yourself. Co-creating agreements with participants has many advantages, including:

• Ownership. Participants are more likely to adhere to codes of conduct they have created themselves;
• Fit-to-purpose. You might be surprised by what participants come up with! I’ve had group agreements that included tips on where to park cars to make it to the workshop on time, or on when and how to take screenshots in video calls. No facilitator can possibly predict everyone’s needs, and the only way to find out what fits a specific group is by asking;
• Improved trust and alignment. Co-creating agreements doubles as a team-building experience that will leave the group more cohesive, and establish shared awareness around needs and boundaries, ultimately helping people deepen bonds by learning more about one another.

If you’d like to try your hand at guiding a group conversation around meeting rules, here are 5 methods from SessionLab’s library of facilitation techniques that can help you do just that.

Let’s start with a write-up on how to establish a group contract, taken from The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth by Amy Edmondson. Besides the useful, detailed questions to use for workshop discussions, what I love about it is that it starts by inviting participants to visualize themselves at the end of the workshop session if everything has gone spectacularly well. How do they feel? What happened? What behaviors enabled such success? This is great anchor point to start off discussions. 

When short for time, you can still create good meeting guidelines by looking at the deceptively simple question “What do you expect from today?” In this method from the International Association of Facilitators’ library, divide a flipchart into four quadrants and ask for suggestions on what people expect from themselves, from other participants, from the trainer and the training. 

Gamestorming’s recommendation on how to create a code of conduct includes useful tips for the facilitator. Using as a guiding question “What would make this workshop meaningful and pleasant?”, create visual mindmaps that synthesize emergent ideas. 

Last but not least, my personal go-to method for group agreement creation, which I learned early in my career and have stuck to because, from my personal viewpoint, (1) it works and (2) it’s easy to remember, being based on the mnemonic of 4G: ask participants to think of Gains (expectations, what they want to take from the workshop), Gifts (what are they bringing, what can they contribute) and Groans (worries, concerns, anxieties). Then turn those into potential Guidelines for the day. 

How workshop ground rules help create a constructive and positive atmosphere

Ground rules are part of the process of ‘container-building’. This refers to setting in place the conditions for positive, collaborative work. A meeting or workshop is, after all, an artificial environment, where behavior is not as spontaneous as in day to day life, but responds to a specific set of criteria to create a productive, collaborative space. Inside the workshop ‘container’ specific modes of behavior apply. 

Many actions facilitators and team leaders take at the start of a workshop have the overall intention of creating and strengthening this container, in order to help participants understand their role, and +make the space psychologically safer. I am saying ‘safer’ and not ‘safe’ as we can never truly establish a ‘safe space’ for everyone. But we can do our best to make it safer for attendees to express themselves and raise any questions or concerns. 

Some of the actions of creating a container include:

• sharing the objectives and agenda of the workshop;
• pointing out any logistical needs, such as times for breaks;
• clarifying intentions and desired outcomes.

Setting and discussing ground rules is arguably the most powerful lever a facilitator can pull to create a solid container for a workshop. This is especially true in diverse, multicultural settings, where the same word can mean wildly different things to different people. A typical example is “punctuality”. Punctuality is probably implied in any professional setting, but what does it mean, exactly?

When setting ground rules, a group might unveil different cultural expectations and sensitivities around punctuality. Does it mean we start on the dot? Or, as common in many academic settings, that a session will begin 15 minutes late? What is expected from people who arrive later? Will we wait for everyone or begin without them?

It is interesting to note that any group convening to work together will, in fact, create ground rules for itself regardless of whether this is an explicit process or not. When a group of people gathers, they will automatically establish some do’s and don’ts. What dress code and attire is acceptable, and what is not? How do we refer to one another? Who gets to speak more, or less? 

At the beginning of my career as a professional facilitator, I worked a lot with non-profit groups and grassroots community organizations, introducing them to effective meeting models and facilitation concepts. One of the things I would ask at the beginning is: “What is your group contract? What are your agreements?” 

Often, the initial response was “We do not have any”. But was that true? A bit of digging would uncover the existence of unwritten, unspoken rules all members in fact adhered to without even noticing. Some could be good, effective, and functional, such as “We always begin on time, and people joining later enter quietly”, but others often needed rediscussion, such as a pervasive “It is ok to interrupt newcomers, but senior members can completely dominate the conversation for as long as they want”. 

In the absence of explicit ground rules, in other words, the group will revert to whatever is considered “normal” in the general context. This may be functional or dysfunctional and, in any case, will remain unspoken and hidden. Hidden norms can be the source of much conflict, as different people will interpret them differently.

Suppose I think it’s perfectly ok to use my phone to multitask during a workshop, while someone else may find it rude and even feel hurt by such behavior, deeming it disrespectful. This can give rise to secret resentments and grumpy judgments that we will carry with us throughout the day, negatively affecting our collaboration. 

Setting ground rules at the start of a workshop allows the group to have clear expectations and even set aspirational goals for how they hope to behave together and towards one another. 

When I worked as a tutor for summer schools, I generally dedicated about an hour at the start of the program to craft a group contract together with students. We would write it up on a sheet of poster paper and carry it with us from classroom to classroom, from site visit to lecture, hanging it up as a reminder wherever we went. Working with university students, the hot topic of asking questions often came up. 

Someone would timidly raise the idea of having a ground rule around asking questions: “Can we write that it’s ok to admit not to know something?” Having an open, honest discussion in which many participants revealed their fears of being judged if they asked so-called “stupid questions” led to a lot of relief.

We would generally include an agreement along the lines of “All questions are welcome and are a gift to advance our collective learning.” This generally led to lecturers and professors being enthusiastic about working with our group, as we would reliably have great discussions rather than stone-faced silence during Q&A sessions. 

The key takeaways here are that ground rules can help groups build a collaborative atmosphere by:

• Reducing participant stress by clarifying expectations for contribution;
• Preventing conflicts that might arise from misunderstanding the intentions behind one another’s behavior;
• Creating a more cohesive and aligned group by making implicit norms explicit;
• Ensuring the session stays focused and productive by setting shared expectations;
• Giving team leaders, facilitators, and participants a convenient reference point that can be useful later in the workshop to resolve discussions and disagreements.

Common challenges when setting ground rules (and how to overcome them)

Having come this far, you should feel equipped to establish a strong foundation for your next workshop, with a clear understanding of why a meeting guideline matters, and how to create one. But as with any aspect of facilitation, things don’t always go smoothly. Here are four common challenges you might face when setting and using ground rules, along with tips to help you navigate them.

1. Time is tight

This is probably the most common issue with dedicating time at the start of a workshop to co-create ground rules. If you’re only working together for a couple of hours or half a day, is it really worth it?

In my experience, even with limited time, it’s important to establish at least a basic code of conduct. When time is short, you might need to sacrifice the discussion phase. Instead, prepare a pre-established set of standard rules and present them to the group, asking for quick agreement (a thumbs-up or brief verbal acknowledgment can suffice). While this doesn’t allow for full alignment, it sets a baseline for behavior.

When I’m designing shorter sessions, I’ll always dedicate at least 5-10 minutes to “housekeeping.” This includes presenting the agenda (what are we doing?), reminding participants of our objectives (where do we want to be by the end?), and introducing the agreements I hope they can commit to (what’s expected of us during this time?). Even brief alignment makes a big difference.

I DO ARRT is the perfect structure to use if you are short on time but still want to make sure you have a strong enough container to start the workshop. The title is a mnemonic device to help you remember to start any meeting or workshop by introducing Intention, Desired Outcomes, your Agenda, Roles, Rules and Timing. 

2. Ideas are too vague

Sometimes participants will suggest broad rules like “respect everyone” or “stay positive.” While well-intentioned, vague ideas can lack the specificity needed to guide behavior in practice.

When this happens, it’s often a sign that participants don’t feel comfortable sharing what truly helps them stay focused, productive, or comfortable. To address this, consider using a facilitation activity like 1-2-4-All to help participants articulate their ideas more clearly. 

Another helpful strategy is to ask, “How will be able to tell if this rule has been followed or not?” This invites concrete examples and helps the group develop actionable, pragmatic agreements.

3. Perfectionism 

Senior facilitators and trainers are righteously wary of using the precious time at the start of a workshop, when energy and attention are high, to define group agreements together. Is this the best possible use of that time? 

The question is particularly important if people get mired in perfectionism, attempting to craft the ideal set of rules and find the perfect answer to every possible future problem. This can lead to haggling over details such as wording; energy will diminish rapidly, with some people starting to disengage.

In some cases, there might be a real and interesting conflict behind the search for a “perfect” rule. In this case, naming it and parking it for later discussion might be the best course of action. 

In most cases, though, the group is trying to complete a task at its very best. To shift that helpful attitude to the actual purpose of the workshop, rather than losing momentum by fixating on a perfect set of rules, here are two useful reminders you can mention as facilitator:

• The agreements we create should be “good enough for now and safe enough to try”, a useful framing I’ve picked up from Sociocracy to remind everyone that we are not writing a national constitution, just a set of guidelines that will dissipate at the end of the day, or weekend, or training course. Can we live with it, knowing it’s not perfect? This usually gives some relaxation and respite and allows you to move on more quickly;
• We can revisit our agreements later. Especially if the group will be working together for a length of time, it’s useful to remind everyone that the set of agreements you start with can be checked and revisited, for example at the start of Day 2, to verify if they work well and add what may be missing. 

Ultimately, the process of creating ground rules should be engaging and should not take away too much time and energy from the rest of the workshop. 

4. Participants don’t take the rules seriously (and nobody enforces them) 

To address this, involve participants in co-creating the ground rules whenever possible. When people participate in establishing the agreements, they are more likely to take ownership and respect them. You can also explain the purpose behind each rule, linking it directly to the workshop’s objectives (e.g., “This rule helps us stay focused so we can achieve our goal of generating actionable ideas.”). 

Ground rules are only effective if they’re followed, and it’s often the facilitator’s responsibility to ensure they’re respected. Without visible reminders or active enforcement, they can quickly be forgotten.

To prevent this, write the ground rules on a visible surface—such as a flip chart, slide, or whiteboard—and refer back to them as needed. If you notice behavior veering off track, gently remind the group by pointing to the agreements and asking, “Does this align with what we agreed on? Are we okay with this, or should we adjust?”

Balancing firmness and flexibility will depend on your facilitation style and the cultural context, but showing accountability is key to maintaining a constructive environment. Finally, model the behavior you want to see: your own commitment to the ground rules can inspire others to follow suit.

Setting ground rules may seem like a small step in workshop design, but it can have a transformative impact on your sessions. These agreements create a foundation of trust, clarity, and mutual respect that helps participants feel safe to contribute, collaborate, and thrive. While challenges may arise, each offers an opportunity to fine-tune your approach and learn what works best for your group.

What’s next

If you came looking for ideas and recommendations on how, and why, to establish a code of conduct for a group, chances are you a planning a workshop, session or event.

To learn more about tips and tricks on how to run successful, engaging workshops, we’ve created a quick how-to guide with some foolproof ideas and techniques on how to run a workshop.

For a more detailed and thorough overview of everything that goes into planning a workshop, from initial concept notes all the way to feedback and reporting, read our complete guide to planning a workshop.

Perhaps you are interested in the idea of hosting a workshop, but not so clear on what kind of topic and activity is right for your group? In this article, we’ve listed 20 workshop ideas for all sorts of teams.

Have you tried out any tips or methods listed here? Or perhaps you have different ideas on what works to set basic rules for a workshop? Let us know in the comments, or join SessionLab’s free, friendly community to discuss with other facilitators and trainers! 

In this quick starter guide we will go through all the essential information you need to confidently run your first workshop. Taking it step-by-step, we will look into how to craft an invitation, what to include in the opening section of your event, how to guide the group through activities, and what to do in closing. 

To get you started designing your first workshop, we’ve also included a free Workshop Design Canvas you can fill out to kick-start crafting your agenda.

Many occasions might call for planning a workshop. You might be a new team lead aiming to design the best working practices for your group, or perhaps you need to run a quarterly meeting to explore ideas and set goals. Maybe you are working with your local community to prepare a great calendar of events, or aligning with key stakeholders around how to run a project. 

Whatever the motivation, a workshop is a great way to get people together, focus on a specific topic, generate new ideas, build new skills, problem-solve and make real progress. For more information on what a workshop is, and why to run one, here is our dedicated article.

This is what we will be looking at in the next pages:

We hope this will provide you with all you need to feel prepared for your first workshop. If you are more experienced, you might want to take a look and see if our tips correspond with your practice. Is there anything we mention here that you have not been giving much attention to lately? Or have we forgotten something important? Let us know in the comments! 

How to prepare for a successful workshop

Experienced facilitators have a rule of thumb: time spent preparing a workshop will be about double the actual time spent in the workshop. That means if you are planning for a two-hour session, you can estimate about four hours spent in workshop preparation. For a one-day event, at least two days will go into prep work. For a full run-through of all that you might want to consider for proper planning, check out our complete guide.

If that feels like a lot, stop and consider how much work you can save by hosting a well-designed workshop. A good workshop experience may save you hours of busywork, or improve return on investment by diminishing waste of energy and funds that might go into decisions that hadn’t been well thought out.

So, what are the absolute essentials of workshop preparation? Let’s say you are getting ready for something fairly basic, like a one-hour working session for your team. People know one another and know more or less what to expect. What do you need to do to prepare?

There are three key items you’ll need to set up to prepare your workshop, each answering some essential questions:

1. Space setup. Where, and when, will the workshop take place? This is about preparing a space, whether in person or online, and deciding on a time and date.
2. Agenda design. What will we do at the workshop? This concerns preparing a well-thought-out agenda, as well as materials.
3. Invite preparations. Who will be there? This is about sending out a compelling invite and making sure you know who should attend.

We will now look into these three points in turn, adding some tips on how to best manage them and avoid common pitfalls along the way. 

1. Timing and location

To start workshop preparation, you will need to pick a location and make sure the physical environment fits your needs. Go through your workshop agenda in your mind and check out materials and technical requirements. Do you need a projector and screen? What about whiteboards? Will participants require access to good wifi, and do you have the password? SessionLab’s agenda planner has a dedicated section that will help you create a checklist of materials, making the process of getting ready for the big day easier!

It is practically a running joke in the facilitation world that workshop facilitators are the ones who show up early and start moving tables around. This is due to the fact that most meeting or conference rooms are organized with lectures and presentations in mind, while for a participatory, engaging workshop you’ll probably want small huddles of tables, or chairs arranged in circles. If you want some ideas on which room setup to choose for your next workshop, here is our complete guide on how to use room setup styles to maximise engagement! 

Besides a location you will, of course, have to decide on a time. Give some thought to what time and day of the week will make attendance most likely. I have recently been leading a series of workshops with tour guides: to find out what time would work for them we had to keep up to date on local festivals, as well as avoid weekends, which are peak working times for this stakeholder category.  

If, on the other hand, your workshop will take place online, you’ll need to choose a meeting tool, create and share a link, and make sure you are familiar with all settings. While in a webinar it is common to simply present slides, in a virtual workshop there will be a lot of interactivity.

Using breakout rooms is a common way to kick off discussions in small groups: ensure you are confident in setting them up. Think of other needs you may have, such as sharing a whiteboard or quizzes. Running workshops online has its own challenges and may be worth a practice run-through! Here are some more ideas on how to pick online tools and handle virtual workshops with ease.

When preparing a virtual workshop, you also might be thinking of having participants join from different timezones. Make sure you schedule your workshop at a time that suits most perspective attendees. Giving for granted that everyone is in the same timezone, when they are not, is probably the most common scheduling error of all. Double check your timezone and write it clearly in the invitation! 

2. Crafting a workshop agenda

Creating a clear agenda is an essential step in running any successful workshop. A good agenda helps you make the most of your time together and ensures that every topic gets the attention it deserves. For a full guide to agenda design, look no further than our 101 introduction here. 

The basics of agenda design start with setting clear objectives. What do participants hope to achieve by the end of the workshop? Start with your goals and work backwards, mapping out activities that help the group reach those outcomes. It’s a good idea to include a mix of different types of activities, from presentations and discussions to interactive exercises and reflection time. This variety helps keep everyone engaged and caters to different learning styles.

Download and use our essential agenda design canvas (for free!)

At SessionLab, we specialize in supporting team leaders and facilitators in designing agendas for meetings that matter. Using SessionLab’s planner you can quickly put together a flow for your next workshop: a flexible drag-and-drop tool allows you to shift activities around and automatically calculates the timing, and by colour-coding each section you can see in an instant whether you’ve achieved a good mix of activities. 

Here are three ways SessionLab can help you design your next agenda with ease:

• Download and fill out the agenda design canvas. This is a simple tool to help you collect your thoughts and start the design process. Each section can help you focus on an essential part of the design, starting with the workshop’s purpose (and title), all the way to learnings and feedback you’ll want to remember to improve future workshops.
• Start from a ready-made template. SessionLab has a library of workshop templates you can take inspiration from. Each is prepared by expert facilitators who have provided their tips and tricks for how to run it. At the end of this article you’ll find a selection of beginner-friendly workshop templates to start from!
• Try out SessionLab’s planner. Its functions are made to help you design effective workshops, and you can pick activities from a vast library of over 1400 methods! 

3. The art of the invite

Now that you have your agenda, a time, and a place sorted, it’s time to gather the people. Sounds simple, right? Yet, if there’s one challenge I often face when organizing workshops, it’s ensuring that invitations are sent out on time and contain everything participants need to show up prepared. Here’s what you need to consider to craft a clear, motivating invite that gets the right people in the room.

Who should be at your workshop?

When deciding who to invite, focus on identifying potential workshop participants who can contribute the most to your workshop goals. It’s tempting to include everyone, but inviting too many can lead to confusion or make it harder to get things done. Instead, ask yourself: who has key information to share, and who needs to be involved for the decisions made in the session to be implemented effectively? It’s better to have a smaller, engaged group than a larger crowd that feels disconnected.

How many people should be there? 

Choosing the right group size is about finding a balance. Keep it small enough to ensure workshop attendees can participate actively, but large enough to bring in diverse perspectives. For most workshops, aim for 5-12 participants — this range allows for meaningful dialogue without becoming chaotic. Remember, quality over quantity is key; a focused, engaged group will always be more effective.

Handling no-shows gracefully

Even with the best planning, there will be times when people don’t show up. Instead of stressing, embrace the mindset of “whoever comes are the right people.” This principle, which comes from Open Space Technology, a brilliant method of working without a set agenda (intrigued? Read up here and check out our dedicated template and materials here), reminds us to focus on what can be done in the moment, with the people who are there, instead of stressing over who “should” be here but is not. 

To keep everyone in the loop, make sure you take thorough notes and share them afterward. At SessionLab, we use Notion to document our meetings so anyone who missed out can easily catch up and stay informed.

Crafting a clear and motivating invitation

Your invitation sets the tone for the entire workshop, so make it count. Start by clearly stating the purpose of the session and why it matters. Encourage potential attendees to join by explaining the impact of the future workshop: what will be done with results? Set expectations about the level of participation needed, especially if it’s an interactive workshop rather than a passive webinar. 

Example invitation:
“Hi team, we’re gathering next Wednesday from 10 to 11 AM CET, to brainstorm ways to improve our onboarding process. The session will take place on Zoom at this link [include link]. 

This is a valuable opportunity for us to address key challenges together, and your insights will help shape how we create a smoother onboarding experience for new team members.

It will be a collaborative, interactive session. If possible, please join from a computer rather than a phone, and from somewhere where you have a good connection and can keep your camera on.”

This way, your invite is clear, sets the right tone, and gives people motivation to join. Happy inviting!

Anyone can be a great workshop leader. If you have prepared well, you will be confident in your workshop delivery.

Pamela Hamilton, The Workshop Book

How to start a workshop

You can really tell an experienced workshopper from the way they open their sessions. An attentive host will make sure people are settled in and have all the information they need before actually kicking off activities. Starting a workshop by going straight into the topic, perhaps with a lengthy technical presentation, is exactly the kind of pitfall you want to avoid. 

A well-facilitated workshop will therefore have an opening section where the facilitator will:

1. Welcome participants
2. Present the agenda
3. Frame the purpose

Let’s look at these in turn.

1. Welcome participants to the workshop

Welcome workshop participants warmly and set the stage for a productive discussion by introducing a quick check-in activity. Icebreakers or check-ins fulfill a need to understand our role in the room and settle in. A common pitfall in workshops is to consider icebreakers (and feel free to rebrand them as ‘icemelters’) as futile exercises, while actually they can be powerful tools to create a good flow.

Pick a question that makes sense to your audience. Aim to help people know one another better, establish trust, and settle in the workshop space, not to make people uncomfortable! 

Online you can read many bad examples of using checkins, icebreakers or energizers in a way that makes people cringe. The worst I’ve ever heard implied asking team members to move around chairs and sit on one another’s laps based on the questions that were asked. This resulted in a very uncomfortable intern having to sit on her boss’ lap: a really awful case of facilitation gone bad!

Here’s a better example: a few days ago I was facilitating a workshop with citizens and local administrators of small villages. Most people knew one another by sight, but not very well. I started the day by asking participants to turn to another person and share something they love about their village. This lifted their mood, allowed them to share more or less personal things as they felt comfortable, and set the stage for a good discussion about needed improvements in local policy. 

A key reason to include an icebreaker or check-in question is to encourage participants to speak up as early as possible. The earlier people make their voices heard, the more likely they will be to intervene in group discussions later. Here are three simple ways to do it:

• If workshop attendees do not know one another, you may want to invite a tour de table, asking everyone for brief personal introductions. It’s up to the workshop facilitator to set clear boundaries for this, or introductions can take a very long time. I’ll typically ask for name, organization, and “what brings you here today?”. Model how long this should take by starting yourself.
• Ask a check-in question and have people share in turns. If you are short on inspiration, here is a list of over 200 ideas of what to ask.
• Online, start meetings and webinars with a chat waterfall. Simply ask everyone to use the chat as a check-in, and read out some answers as they arrive.

2. Present the agenda and set expectations

Now that the group is ready to get to work, it’s time to share the agenda with participants. Your agenda is more than a list of topics — it’s the roadmap for the day, helping attendees understand what’s coming and how to engage.

Start by providing a brief overview of the workshop’s structure, highlighting the key sections and activities. This helps everyone see the bigger picture and know what to expect, reducing any anxiety about what might come next. Be clear about the timing of breaks, interactive elements, and when there will be opportunities for discussion. When people know there will be dedicated moments for their input, they’re more likely to stay engaged.

A common mistake here is to launch into a detailed explanation of every single agenda item. Instead, keep it concise and focus on giving a high-level view. You can go into more detail once each activity begins. 

If you’re running an online workshop, it’s especially important to outline the agenda clearly. Use visual aids like a slide or a shared document that participants can refer back to throughout the session. This helps keep everyone on track and minimizes confusion, especially if participants join late or lose connection briefly.

In summary, give an overview, highlight key points, and share the plan visually if possible. If you are using SessionLab’s agenda planner, you’ll find it particularly easy to share a high-level agenda with participants: you can choose whether to download and share a PDF or Word file, or simply share a QR code to show everyone the flow of the day. 

A disclaimer is also in order here: experienced folk might want to keep their agenda to themselves, to encourage surprise and wonder, and to allow themselves more leeway in adapting to the group. This can be a good tactic in certain circumstances, but is not something for beginners to launch into straight away! 

3. Frame the purpose of the workshop

Besides welcoming people and sharing your roadmap, the other thing you need to do in the opening section is give a brief context of why the workshop is happening. Do not assume that people know: we have busy lives and not everyone may have had time to prepare before joining. 

Explain why the topic is important and how it connects to broader objectives (e.g., company strategy, project goals, or community needs). Avoid assuming that workshop participants are already on the same page — even if they’ve seen the invite, a reminder can make all the difference in helping participants shift their focus from their day-to-day tasks to the workshop’s topic.

A common pitfall here is to make this part too long or abstract. Keep it clear and straightforward, using language that resonates with the group. You might say something like, “Today, we’re here to brainstorm ways to streamline our onboarding process. We’ve seen some challenges with our current approach, and this is our chance to work together on real solutions that can make a difference.”

You may have already noticed that, with just a bit of facilitation skill, you can easily connect the workshop topic to the check-in question to make everything feel coherent. 

9 tips for running a workshop

Framing your workshop well will enable you to kick-off activities, conversations and discussions with momentum. Having concluded the opening, it is now time to introduce the core discussion topics and activities on your agenda. Here are 9 things to keep in mind when going through the items in your workshop agenda:

1. Mix different activities and exercises. You can combine different activities around the same question. A typical way to start is to introduce a question or topic, maybe with the help of an expert presentation, then call for initial individual responses written on sticky notes, cluster, and discuss them. 
   
   A great activity to learn is 1-2-4-all, from Liberating Structures. If you have a question for participants to engage with, you can start by asking them to reflect on it individually, then share in pairs, in small groups, and finally in plenary. This is a way of varying activities that enables everyone to contribute, and can ensure participants remain engaged throughout.
2. Be a guide on the side, not a sage on the stage. The facilitator’s position in a workshop is not to tell people what to think or do, but to gently yet confidently guide participants towards desired outcomes, and to create a collaborative environment. For more reflections on the role of a group facilitator, read about 6 facilitation roles, here. 
   
   Asking for permission is part of holding this role well. You are working with adults, in a professional or community setting, and nobody should feel like they are being forced to do or reveal anything. Frame activities as invitations, and give options to observe, opt-out or pass (for example, when leading a round of reflection, you might say something like “take your time to respond and please remember you can always just pass to the next person”). 
3. Make room for a break (or two). One of the most common mistakes a workshop facilitator can make is doing away with the breaks “because we are short on time”. You do not just want decisions to be made at the workshop: you want good decisions, and an increased sense of belonging and trust to boot.
   
   Making sure everyone’s energy levels enable them to work well together, including by taking refreshing, nourishing breaks, will do a lot to prevent excessive noise, confusion, and conflict.
4. Give clear instructions. Getting good at giving clear instructions is really key to effectively facilitating workshops. Try to put yourself in the participants’ shoes: what information will they need in order to participate in group activities? Introduce each section by briefly stating its purpose (why are we doing this?) and give step-by-step instructions as to how it will work.
   
   Online, it’s good practice to have instructions written out in a slide or in the chat box. When working in person, I like to write up instructions on posters or on a projected slide as well, as I feel it makes it easier for participants to follow along. Asking “Do you have enough information to start?” is a good way to get the group moving; if there is some confusion, you can usually trust other participants to help each other along.
5. Create a parking lot. Conversations can go in unexpected directions. What do you do if the discussion veers wildly off-topic? One useful facilitation tool is having a “parking lot” space (I’ve also heard it referred to as “port” or “fridge”) where you might ask participants to park any ideas that are interesting, or relevant, but outside of the scope for the day.
   
   Having a parking lot can really help alleviate the tension between wanting to cut a conversation short but realizing it’s still important, just not for now!
6. Beware of “Let’s hear back from the tables”. If you have divided participants in small groups and asked them to collaborate on a task, it’s common to want to have a round to hear back from every group. While this urge makes sense, it is often conducive to lengthy presentations that nobody is really paying attention to. Can you feel the energy drop when the fifth group repeats things everyone’s already heard?
   
   Counteract this by asking very specific questions (“Please share one tip you have for the other groups” has worked well for me), timeboxing strictly (3 minutes per table, tops) or moving to a different activity to collect insights, such as using a Mentimeter question and projecting results on a screen for all to see.
7. Silence (and music) are your friends. Good workshop facilitation is a lot about balancing spaces that enable both extroverts and introverts to work well together. Make room in your agenda for individual work and reflection, and do not panic if people stay quiet after a question: they may just be thinking!
   
   If silence while doing individual work is uncomfortable for you, consider bringing audio equipment and playing some soft music in the background. 
8. Throw it back to the group. It’s common for beginners at leading workshops to get the impression that every decision and choice is uniquely up to you. This can feel very overwhelming, and might lead you to double-guess every choice you make. Instead, you should always remember that you are in a room full of smart, experienced people. Your role is to guide them, not to take their place in every decision about what should happen at the workshop.
   
   In practice, this can translate to the commonly used facilitation tactic of “throwing it back to the group”. You might ask, for example: “What do you think, is it time for a short break or shall we continue for another 45 minutes before going to lunch?” Instead of deciding in place of participants, you can use your position to clarify what decisions need to be made and ask attendees for input. Collect a few ideas, then propose a way forward.
9. Design a flow that goes from ideation to decision-making. Facilitated workshops often begin with a brainstorming phase, called divergence, where new ideas are welcome and the aim is to stimulate creativity and innovation. Then comes a discussion phase, known as emergence, in which ideas are mulled over and refined.
   
   Last comes convergence, which is about selecting ideas based on realistic criteria such as available time, resources, or KPIs and finally making a decision (or deferring a decision to a group leader, who now will be able to make better-informed choices). 

5 foolproof activities for running workshops

Having come to this point you may be wondering what kinds of activities you should be familiar with in order to prepare and host a great workshop. The truth is, although you may explore many activities, and create your own, there are a handful of tried-and-true methods that will generally serve you well, whatever the topic, situation, or number of participants.

So let’s look at 5 foolproof activities you can guide, even if you need to jump into them because of last minute surprises! Here they are, in the likely order you’d use them in a typical workshop:

Break the ice with Impromptu Networking

Impromptu Networking is a quick and energizing way to kick off a workshop by helping participants connect and share ideas right from the start. Through a series of short, structured one-on-one conversations, attendees exchange thoughts on the workshop topic, setting a collaborative tone. This method is perfect for creating an atmosphere of trust and openness in any workshop setting. I like to use Impromptu Networking especially when facilitating large numbers of participants, as it doubles as a getting-to-know-you exercise.

Collect a flurry of ideas with the Walking Brainstorm

The Walking Brainstorm method gets participants moving while generating ideas, combining physical activity with collaborative thinking. By walking around the room and commenting on ideas in writing, and in silence, participants can spark creativity and fresh perspectives.

Debrief and reflect in a Paired Walk

Once a lot of ideas are on the table, certain topics or tensions might emerge that benefit from some time to discuss and debrief. You might, for example, discover that half the team wants to focus on AI use, while the other half views it with extreme skepticism. In workshop settings it is often not necessary to resolve such tensions definitively, but it is important to acknowledge them, air them, and see what emerges that might direct later choices.

A good way to enable moments of reflection and deeper understanding is to send people on a paired walk. Speaking in twos is generally less intimidating, and more conducive to understanding, than keeping every discussion in a large group. And a bit of fresh air can do wonders!

Organize ideas in an Impact/Effort Matrix

It’s been often commented that facilitators tend to have more methods for brainstorming and ideating than for making decisions. While that is true, it might be because convergence, that is, choosing a path among many, is a more structured, less creative process. As such, the convergent phase of any workshop will benefit from matrixes and canvases upon which ideas can be mapped and evaluated. A classic, all-purpose way of doing it is the impact/effort matrix. We use it here at SessionLab as well to evaluate what projects and activities to pursue!

Close the day with 3 Action Steps

The 3 Action Steps method is a strategic planning exercise designed to help groups and individuals take actionable steps toward a desired change. Typically used at the conclusion of a workshop or program, it involves participants discussing and agreeing on a vision, then creating specific action steps to achieve that vision. The process also includes defining the scope of the challenge by discussing factors that may help or hinder progress.

Here at SessionLab we host a library of over 1400 activities and methods that can form the key elements of your next workshop. Taking time to explore them will provide you with plenty of ideas and inspiration for successful workshops. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, to receive a curated list of our favorite facilitation methods in your inbox twice a month!

Timekeeping tips for smooth workshop flow

Staying on schedule is one of the most crucial aspects of running a successful workshop. It’s easy for discussions to run long, especially if participants are engaged and enthusiastic, but this can derail the rest of your carefully planned agenda. 

One effective technique is timeboxing, where you allocate a specific amount of time for each activity or discussion point. Clearly communicate these time limits to the group, and use a timer or a visible clock to help keep everyone on track. SessionLab’s planner helps with this by allowing you to clearly allocate time to each activity.

However, timekeeping isn’t just about sticking rigidly to your schedule. A skilled facilitator knows when to be flexible and adjust the timing based on the energy and needs of the group. If a discussion is particularly fruitful, consider extending it by shortening a later activity — just be sure to get the group’s agreement first. If energy is low, you might want to add a quick break.

Remember, your agenda is a guide, not a rulebook. Flexibility shows that you are responsive to the group’s needs and can help keep momentum without sacrificing the quality of discussions.

Effective notetaking and documentation

Capturing the key insights and ideas from a workshop is vital, not only for immediate follow-up but also to maintain momentum beyond the session. Designate a notetaker at the start of the workshop — ideally someone other than the facilitator, so you can focus on guiding the discussion. For in-person workshops, using a large whiteboard or sticky notes can help make the notes visible to all participants as they’re captured. In an virtual setting, collaborative online tools like Google Docs or Miro can be used so everyone can contribute in real-time.

Encourage the notetaker to highlight key points and group them by theme or topic. This makes it easier to review and synthesize the information later. If you’re using sticky notes for brainstorming, consider snapping photos or transcribing them digitally right after the session to avoid losing valuable input.

At the end of the workshop, it is good practice to share the notes promptly with all participants. This follow-up step reinforces what was discussed and decided, and it gives everyone a shared reference point for next steps. A clear and organized summary can make the difference between a workshop that fades from memory and one that leads to real, actionable change.

How to close a workshop effectively 

You made it! The time for your workshop is almost over and you have some happy, if possibly tired, participants in the room. What do you need to do to effectively close the workshop? You’ll be aiming to create an atmosphere conducive to feelings of accomplishment, progress and closure. Probably not every topic will have been successfully and completely closed, but that is not the point: the point is that progress has been made. 

Workshops are always at risk of running late. It is good practice to hold closing time as inviolable: people will have other engagements, personal or professional, afterward, and it is quite unfair to keep them seated with the (generally unspoken) threat that something important might happen in the room after they leave. 

Even if your activities are running late, you should start wrapping up about 15 minutes before the scheduled end. Remind participants of other opportunities they will have to pursue whatever topic or discussion is going on, and invite them to reach closing remarks. 

Once you have concluded the last activity, there are a couple more things you’ll need to do in the final phase of your workshop:

• Recap what happened, and provide some next steps. Briefly remind participants of the journey you’ve gone through together and inform them of any next steps: where will they find documentation about the workshop? What will be done with the output? Assign tasks if appropriate. 
• Ask for a checkout. Giving participants some space to reflect on how the workshop was, and how they feel now, provides a nice sense of closure and achievement. Techniques such as One Breath Feedback are ideal for this step. 

• Gather feedback and reflect. You can do this directly at the end of the workshop, or as part of the follow-up. Feedback is fundamental for your own reflection and improvement.
  
  A classic way of asking for feedback at the end of the workshop is to ask everyone to write at least one thing they appreciated and one thing they might improve on posters at the exit or, if the group is small enough, have a closing round of feedback.

Asking for feedback at a later time might imply more back-and-forth communication, but is also likely to get you more honest answers, as people tend to give very good report cards when asked directly at the end of a session. You can collect opinions at a later date by, for example, having a Mentimeter questionnaire ready asking for reflections on the workshop: this has the added value of giving you materials that are ready to collate into a report if you are planning to prepare one.

Reflecting and debriefing on your experience as a facilitator is the best way to learn and improve new skills. Make sure you keep some time in your agenda (hopefully, after getting a good night’s sleep – facilitating workshops can be tiring!) to look back on how things went and what you can learn from your own experiences at the workshop, as well as from participant feedback. Having a learning process in place will make all the difference for your future skills development. 

Templates and resources to help you get started as a workshop facilitator

We hope this guide helps you feel confident enough to feel you can now run workshops wherever you are. Whatever your personal style, whoever your target audience, we believe the world needs more collaboration, and well-run workshops can help achieve this. 

If at this stage you’d like more detailed information on planning a workshop, we have a dedicated guide that takes you through every step of the process in detail. You can read it here.

If you feel ready to step into designing your next workshop, you might find the process easier by starting from a ready-to-use template. Here are three suggested ones from our collection: simply duplicate them in SessionLab’s planner and adapt them to your needs! 

The Essential Workshop Structure template provides a foundational framework for participatory workshops. It includes an opening phase to set the learning environment, slots for activities and debriefs, and a closing section for reflections and next steps, adaptable to various workshop topics.

The Workshop Design Canvas Template, designed by experienced facilitators and trainers at Voltage Control, facilitates learner-centered workshop designs by applying backward design principles. Participants create detailed learner personas, manage cognitive load effectively, and align activities with assessments, resulting in engaging and impactful learning experiences

This Workshop Planning Template offers a structured approach to designing workshops through a series of five 1-hour meetings between clients and facilitators. It guides you from sharing a vision to refining the agenda, briefing the team, and collecting learnings, ensuring a comprehensive planning process.

Workshop facilitators as a whole are a collaborative and generous bunch. Check out more free resources on how to run successful workshop at this link, or join our friendly SessionLab Community and ask your questions there! 

Here at SessionLab, we’ve surveyed over a thousand facilitators, trainers, and leaders to uncover their top go-to facilitation books. Read on to find the 11 recommendations not to be missed!

Reading facilitation books will help you understand the deeper roots of the role, give you a bedrock of activities and tools and of course, if you are purchasing these as actual books and putting them on a shelf, will also provide you with a lovely and appropriate background for all your video calls. 

Why facilitation books matter

Facilitation is an ever-evolving profession, quick to react and adapt to changes in society. A generous, global network of practitioners offers constant opportunities to refresh knowledge and build new skills through online resources, training courses, and community events. If free downloadable guides are what you are looking for, we’ve compiled a blog post with online resources for you to peruse. 

All those free resources should have you covered when it comes to learning new tools and adapting to change. At the same time, there are certain truths about group dynamics and how to harness collective intelligence and lead effective collaboration that are not likely to change anytime soon. To learn about the foundations of facilitation and the frameworks and theories of group dynamics, there is some essential reading any group facilitator should do.

Experienced authors have labored years to collect these hard-learned lessons about what makes or breaks effective workshops and how to create meaningful experiences. Reading their practical tips and theoretical frameworks sooner rather than later will save you a lot of pain. It will also help you answer key questions about how and why facilitated activities work and, ultimately, make your practice better. 

Recommended books for learning about facilitation and group dynamics

When it comes to becoming a skilled facilitator, learning from the best books in the field is a great way to deepen your knowledge. The following books are recommended by facilitators around the world. Each of them offers insights on how to craft life changing workshops, deliver great meetings, and unleash your group’s creative potential.

Here are our top 11 tips for learning about facilitation and group dynamics:

To select these top books we’ve trusted not one, not two, but over a thousand facilitators who responded to the State of Facilitation survey recommending their favorite reads. For more tips on top resources, check out the latest edition of the State of Facilitation report! 

Inspiring reads on hosting meaningful connections

Facilitation isn’t just about managing a meeting—it’s about creating conditions favorable to connection and purpose. The following books will inspire you to host gatherings that leave a lasting impact, whether in personal or professional settings.

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

Hosting meaningful gatherings feels ever more important, as a means to counteract isolation in our personal lives and polarisation in society. Priya Parker’s The Art of Gathering teaches that hosting events is all about creating an experience conducive to genuine connection. From family reunions to corporate meetings, Priya Parker emphasizes the importance of intentional design and thoughtful planning.

I recently joined a facilitation case study class in which the speaker told us about a challenging multistakeholder workshop he had hosted. Inspired by this book, he actually started activities the evening before the formal start of the event. Attendees were invited to a dinner, in which they were called to share personal stories about their professional experience in the field. This led to an increased sense of trust, respect and mutual understanding which made all later negotiations much easier. 

One of the standout lessons from this book is how to create a sense of belonging in your events. Through case studies and personal stories, Priya Parker illustrates that gatherings, even in everyday life, have the power to create transformative experiences for all participants.

As someone who finds it much easier to say “yes” than “no”, I found the chapter on how to craft an invitation that is clear about who should be, and who should not be, included, particularly challenging (and enlightening). 

This book is a must-read for anyone who hosts groups and wants to bring more purpose and meaning into the mix.

Facilitating Breakthrough by Adam Kahane

Do you foresee upcoming high stakes situations in your practice? Would you appreciate some guidance on what to do when tensions are thick? In that case, Adam Kahane’s Facilitating Breakthrough is the book you want on your bedside table. This book shares real-world stories about navigating the most challenging of group dynamics—situations where success feels far from guaranteed.

From boardroom conflicts to international peace negotiations, Kahane draws from his extensive experience to demonstrate how a facilitator can help groups move forward when they’re blocked.

The very first chapter of the book is the one that sticks in my mind the most. Kahane tells the story of a once-in-a-generation meeting of parties in conflict in Colombia, where he learns that the job of a facilitator can be described as “removing obstacles to collaboration”. This idea of being a “remover of obstacles” has stayed with me since. 

If you enjoy this book, you should know that Kahane has a lot of other great titles in his back catalogue, and his new work on Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems is scheduled for publication in 2025. 

Most people want to connect, but there are structures that separate or exclude them. The consequences of these obstacles are estrangement and weakened communication, linkages, and relationships. Transformative facilitation focuses on dismantling these structures and thereby enabling connection. 
Adam Kahane, Facilitating Breakthrough

Treasure troves of practical techniques

The two texts above are inspiring, non-fiction narratives, and while you can gather a lot of great ideas from them, you’ll also want to check out a few books that can help you with practical advice and methodologies. The following texts are packed with hands-on activities and techniques that can be applied immediately to your facilitation practice, helping you boost creativity, participation, and problem-solving within groups.

The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless

If there is one toolkit to rule them all, it’s Liberating Structures. This is a set of 33 micro-structures or activities you can use in isolation or string together to guide, and change, the way dialogue and engagement flow. Although you can read all available documentation concerning Liberating Structures on their website, you’ll probably want the book on your shelf to thumb through. 

The Liberating Structures toolkit is versatile enough to be used in any context, from small teams to large conferences. These activities help groups tap into their collective intelligence and allow everyone to contribute. Whether you’re new to facilitation or a seasoned professional, this book is a practical guide and can be immediately applied to any group setting.

Pro tip: when creating your next session in SessionLab’s planner, you can go to the Library and directly drag-and-drop your favorite Liberating Structures method straight into your sessions, complete with notes and lists of materials. Give it a try!  

Gamestorming by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo

Serious does not have to be the opposite of fun, as anyone involved in serious games well knows. Fun is, actually, one of the best ways to learn. Gamestorming by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo is a must-have for any facilitator looking to boost creativity and collaboration within a group. This highly visual book is a treasure trove of 80 activities and games designed to break down barriers and get people out of their comfort zones, sparking fresh ideas and solutions.

The subtitle says it all: Gamestorming is A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers and Changemakers. Each activity is carefully detailed (and whimsically illustrated) with a lot of guidance to help practitioners understand how and when to use games to encourage participants’ creativity, sense of adventure and open-mindness. Whether you’re facilitating agile teams or creative brainstorming sessions, this book will help bring energy and engagement to the room.

To enter into a game is to enter another kind of space, where the rules of ordinary life are temporarily suspended and replaced with the rules of the game. In effect, a game creates an alternative world, a model world. 

Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo, Gamestorming

Essential manuals to have all the basics of facilitation crystal-clear

Understanding group dynamics and learning how to guide groups toward productive collaboration are key to becoming a master facilitator. The following books offer a comprehensive resource for facilitators who want to build strong foundations in their practice and create better meetings and workshops as a consequence.

A Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making by Sam Kaner 

Can I just say I love this book? If you are considering buying one single text on facilitation, I’m going to say get your hands on a copy of this big, well-illustrated, practical and thorough workshop survival guide. Sam Kaner and co-authors Lenny Lind, Catering Toldi, Sarah Fisk and Duane Berger: if you are reading this, top of the hat and thank you.

A Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making provides a robust framework for all your future designs. A common principle in workshop planning is “start with the end in mind”. In this book, the end is “agreeing upon a decision”, and the rest is a detailed, thoughtful step-by-step overview of how to get there. 

When I teach facilitation, I often use handouts from Kaner’s book (which is full of illustrations and exceptionally handout-ready) to support discussions on decision making processes, on the divergence-emergence-convergence model, and more. 

The Art of Facilitation by Dale Hunter

The updated edition of Dale Hunter’s classic The Art of Facilitation includes a study guide that works as a self-study “training program” and can be used by a group of aspiring facilitators as a peer learning framework. The Art of Facilitation moves from an in-depth look into group dynamics to covering applications in practice, including describing how facilitation works in organizations, sustainability, therapeutic group work, and a new section on the key elements of online meetings. 

Clear, thorough and accessible, Dale Hunter’s book moves from definitions of what a facilitator is, and isn’t, all the way to giving practical cases of facilitation work in various fields. Dale Hunter also makes a strong case for why collaboration skills are growing in importance in our complex, interconnected world, and draws on the best available scientific research on leadership, group dynamics, and adult education.

This book is essential reading for facilitators who want to deepen their understanding of group processes and learn all about creating group synergy and managing group dynamics.

The Secrets of Facilitation by Michael Wilkinson

Here is another revised classic. The second edition of Wilkinson’s manual on Getting results with groups the SMART way (in this case, standing for “Structured Meeting and Relating Techniques”) is also expanded to include online facilitation. Michael Wilkinson also added sections on leading great meetings for cross-cultural teams, as well as designing for large groups and conferences. 

Of all the texts listed here, The Secrets of Facilitation is probably the best bet for team leaders wanting to add some facilitation magic to their toolkit. The chapter on how to create an in-house community of practice in your company provides actionable advice that can really help create a company-wide culture of facilitation wherever you are. 

Crafting excellent learning experiences

While there is a difference between facilitation and training, it’s nevertheless true that many facilitators are also trainers, and that methods and activities drawn from facilitation can make learning experiences more engaging. 

Furthermore, it’s possible to make the argument that all facilitated sessions are learning sessions, since in order to bring change and increase collaboration, some form of learning must happen. The borders between learning design, experience design, and facilitation are blurred! With that in mind, here are two of facilitators’ favorite texts on how to design for learning. 

Training from the Back of the Room by Sharon L. Bowman

Learning that is boring will never stick. Sharon Bowman’s Training from the Back of the Room is a field manual for how to design learning sessions that work. This book introduces brain-based techniques that help facilitators and trainers, as well as teachers, support participants in mastering new concepts and materials.

Bowman’s approach is designed to ensure that participants not only absorb the material but also retain it long after the session ends. The book includes 65 ways to step aside and support participants in taking ownership of their learning process, and includes ideas on how to make online learning interactive as well. For anyone who leads workshops or training sessions, this book offers a fresh perspective on how to teach more effectively.

When learners talk and teach, they learn.

Sharon Bowman, Training from the Back of the Room

Facilitating Group Learning by George Lakey

Whenever I am asked to design a new training, Facilitating Group Learning – Strategies for Success with Diverse Adult Learners is the book I pick out of the shelf to keep at hand. The first chapters, in particular, serve me as a practical reminder of things that should always be included in learning design. I love this book because it combines very practical tips with theoretical frameworks drawing from psychology, sociology and pedagogy.

Lakey reminds readers of the importance of creating a container and fulfilling some practical needs in learners before they can fully absorb information. His book is full of very concrete examples and even direct quotes from real-world workshops that, if you’ve ever tried your hand at participatory training, you’ll probably recognize. 

In order to learn, people need to feel safe. In a course or workshop or service learning project, they find safety by creating a social order of some kind. 

George Lakey, Facilitating Group Learning

The book is a how-to manual for experiential learning, where learners are actively engaged in the process, rather than passively receiving information. Lakey’s methods are therefor particularly effective in workshops or educational settings where collaboration and dialogue are key.

Facilitation skills for social change

Facilitation goes beyond the meeting room. It plays a vital role in social movements and transformative change. The following books explore how facilitators can drive social change, lead with empathy, and guide groups to face, and even transform, complex societal issues. 

A word of caution: all facilitation requires personal growth and self-awareness as a prerequisite, but social change work will put your belief systems to the test more than most! Expect rough waters, and a lot of growth and change! 

Theory U by Otto Scharmer

In Theory U, Otto Scharmer presents a framework for leading profound social and organizational change. The book’s approach is centered around deep listening and co-creation, where facilitators help groups connect with their highest potential. Scharmer’s model is a great resource for facilitators working in change-driven environments or organizations undergoing transformation.

Facilitators who want to explore the deeper, transformative aspects of their work will find Theory U to be an essential resource. Drawing on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) tradition of action research and learning by doing, Theory U has evolved over two decades of experimentation and refinement by a global community of practitioners. Going way beyond the book are the ULab courses, online yet experiential 6-week programs teaching systems thinking, innovation, and how to be a leader in change. 

Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown

In Emergent Strategy – Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, adrienne maree brown explores how social movements can be facilitated through adaptive, flexible leadership. This book is a true original, unique in the landscape of facilitation books in the way it weaves together poetry, science-fiction, critical theory and personal stories to compose an inspiring call to action. 

Emergent Strategy is deep, radical, and ends in a whole section of self-reflection journal, which is very much the kind of thing facilitators enjoy. An inspiring read for anyone involved in social justice movements.

Change happens. Change is definitely going to happen, no matter what we plan or expect or hope for or set in place. We will adapt to that change, or we will become irrelevant.

adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy

FAQs

What are the best books on facilitation?

We can’t really tell you the best, as it depends on your focus and interest. However, based on a global survey of facilitators, these are the top books not to be missed!

How can facilitation books help improve group dynamics and collaboration?

Facilitation books provide frameworks, techniques, and strategies to help facilitators lead groups effectively. Whether it’s navigating difficult conversations, building consensus, or fostering creativity, there’s a wealth of knowledge that can transform your group dynamics. To learn more about facilitation skills, you can also start by checking out our article here.

What facilitation techniques are covered in these books?

From participatory decision-making to using games and Liberating Structures, these books cover a wide range of facilitation techniques.

There are also certain methodologies that have deserved their own individual books. You may want to remix and customize methods to suit the needs of particular client, group or moment (as well as your own preferences) but it good professional practice to always acknowledge the people who created a method in the first place, and to know how it’s originally supposed to work.

Here are some study recommendations if you want to learn more about some specific methods:

• The World Café Book: Shaping our future through conversations that matter by Juanita Brown and David Isaacs with the World Café Community of Practice. This is a thorough manual for anyone interested in guiding World Café conversations, a powerful yet simple method designed to facilitate the emergence of collective intelligence.
• Open Space Technology: A user’s guide. The deceptively simple instructions for leading Open Space meetings and events can be found in many places throughout the web (including our own template in SessionLab, complete with printable posters!), but if you want to fully understand the rationale behind Harrison Owen’s wonderful contribution to the field, pick up this guide.
• Cynefin. Weaving sense-making into the fabric of our world. How can you tell if a problem is simple, complicated, complex, chaotic? And what do you do when faced with complexity? Dave Snowden’s work on Cynefin is a must-read for anyone working in uncertainty.
• The Change Handbook. This is the book of books, a 400+ page long encyclopedia of methods. If you want a comprehensive list of resources to thumb through and bookmark, repeatedly, throughout your career, give yourself a copy next holiday season!

Conclusion: your go-to facilitation reading list

These books are more than just recommendations—they’re tools you can use to transform how you think about facilitation, leadership strategies, and learning design. Whether you’re looking to improve group productivity, find practical tips for delivering workshops, or explore how facilitation can push for a more innovative culture, there’s something in this list for everyone.

So, which book will you pick up first? Whether you’re new to facilitation or a seasoned practitioner, each of these books offers valuable insights that can help take your skills to the next level. 

For more ways to sharpen your facilitation skills, check out our facilitation courses and our step-by-step guide to planning workshops. Happy reading!

When a meeting or event flows well, it can feel like magic. But it actually isn’t: you can easily improve your day-to-day meetings or stakeholder events by applying some simple group management tips.

In this article, we’ll explore what makes group facilitation effective and share 12 tips to help you bring out the best in any group you’re working with.

What is group facilitation?

Whenever a group of people assembles to get something done, there is a need for guidance and organization.

Group facilitation refers to the craft of helping a group achieve a common goal. The goal might be realizing a project, creating a shared strategy document, or learning something new together. 

Accompanying a group to define and achieve their goals is the job of group facilitators. One aspect of this role is project management, which may include familiar tasks such as defining steps and setting deadlines. Another aspect has to do with creating conditions conducive to good collaboration, which is typically the goal of a process-oriented facilitator.

To understand more about what facilitation is and how it can help your team or organization achieve its objectives, we’ve compiled a guide to what is facilitation. 

What is a group and what is a team? 

A group and a team might seem like the same thing, but there’s an important difference. A group is a collection of individuals who share a common interest or purpose but work mostly independently. A team, however, is a group that has become a unit, collaborating closely and working toward shared goals. In a team, a successful outcome does not only depend on individual efforts, but also on how those efforts come together.

A facilitator helps turn a group into a cohesive team by creating alignment and clarity. They guide the group in defining a common purpose, ensuring everyone understands the shared goals. The resulting work can last a long time, but can also be a temporary team, lasting only the duration of a 3-hour training session. 

When does a group process need facilitation?

My first answer to this is going to be “always”. As long as the group has a purpose it wants to achieve, facilitation will help.

Suppose you are just hanging out with your friends. In that case, facilitation might be optional—although I’ll still make an argument that some facilitation skills might help improve even an unstructured evening with friends (for example, by removing unnecessary friction about which restaurant to pick for dinner).

Note that I am talking about a group needing facilitation, not necessarily needing a facilitator. A facilitator is a person dedicated to the task of facilitation, usually someone appointed externally. 

You should also consider hiring an external professional if your session or gathering has elements of complexity, such as:

• a numerous group (over 20 people);
• participants with different, even conflicting interests;
• members of the group do not know one another (yet) and/or come from very different backgrounds;
• the timeframe for decisions is tight, decisions are risky and complex.

For general day-to-day business, on the other hand, a group still needs facilitation, but this can be interpreted as a role to be distributed among group members and taken on by the collective. You might, for example, have someone time-keep and another person take notes on the meeting. 

By including facilitation in your day-to-day workflow you can ensure productivity, a better agenda, and better relations all around. Let’s look at 12 facilitation tips that will help you become a better group member or leader.

12 group facilitation tips

Facilitation is an endlessly creative process, where there is always something new to learn and experiment. Creating activities and agendas to fit the particular needs of a specific group at a certain time is part of what keeps our work fresh and innovative at every turn. 

Having said that, certain rock-solid processes or tips can apply to any group facilitation, anywhere. Here are 12 group facilitation tips you should always keep in mind, whether you are just starting out or a seasoned pro. Next time you need to lead a session, try out these methods and mindsets to improve the levels of collaboration in your team.

We’ve included 5 practical tips to get you started, as well as 7 tips that have more to do with the mindset of a great group facilitator.

5 practical group facilitation tips to get started

Before getting into the skills and mindset of facilitation, let’s see what can be achieved in practice by adding just a few activities and processes to a standard meeting. Here are 5 beginner-friendly group facilitation tips you can easily apply with any group

These tips are guaranteed to improve the flow of a meeting process whether you are in the room with an established team, online at a webinar, or in any other situation a group gathers!

Create ground rules

Any time a group gathers to get something done, it will create its own culture. This is simply a fact of how we work together as social beings (and a good reason for facilitators to be interested in anthropology). You can pick up signs of this micro-culture everywhere: what do people in this group wear? What kinds of jokes do they make? What is acceptable and what is not?

As group facilitators, we leverage the culture-creation aspect of a group gathering by making it more explicit and intentional. We do this by asking the group members to reflect on what kind of a culture they hope to create together. What is conducive to their best work? 

Ground rules, also known as group compacts or group agreements, are a written document in which the group, aided by a facilitator, spells out behaviors it wishes its members to adhere to for the time they are together. 

No matter how short the session you are facilitating, creating ground rules is a guaranteed way to make it flow better. If you are short on time, prepare a generic draft and submit it to the group for approval. “Respect”, “confidentiality”, “punctuality”, “phones silent (if in person)”, “video on if possible (if online)” are some classic examples of what you’ll want to see there. If you have more time, or you’ll be working with a team for a series of sessions, craft those agreements together. 

All collaborations require connection. Harnessing diversity requires inclusion and belonging.

Adam Kahane, Facilitating Breakthrough – How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together

Have (and share) an agenda

To write down these tips, I’ve been thinking about the session I’ve most recently facilitated, a networking and upskilling day for high school teachers. What elements did I introduce to the agenda in order to create an atmosphere conducive to learning, positive interactions and, ultimately, change? 

Many things I did were quite simple. As participants arrived, I had a coffee break set up to welcome them (see below “Never underestimate the power of breaks”). Once we were gathered, I and my cofacilitator Rossella had planned a 30-minute slot for introductions and opening activities. I went through some simple group agreements, then pointed to a whiteboard where I had written out the agenda for the day.

Having an agenda is essential to the facilitation process. Facilitators are famously improvisers, but still need a structured plan to improvise upon. Agenda design is a key skill of group facilitation; to read more about this you might want to check out SessionLab’s complete guide to planning a workshop.

Sharing your agenda with participants early in the process fulfills a basic need for clarity and safety in the group. Now, every participant knows what will be expected of them in terms of style of participation, thanks to your group agreements, and in terms of time to dedicate to the event, thanks to the agenda. Keeping the agenda visible throughout the session keeps you, and the entire group, accountable for time management. 

In SessionLab’s agenda planner, you’ll find a great ally for agenda design and sharing. This is the go-to place for group facilitators to craft sessions, and includes a variety of customizable options for how to share your plans with clients and participants. To start a group facilitation session, you can share a QR code, or share your screen, pointing attendees to the key elements of the agenda (such as the timing and title of each activity block). 

Encourage group members to participate as early as possible

The earlier people are encouraged to make their voices heard, the more likely they will be to intervene later. This is a key tenet of online facilitation, in which a good guide will encourage participants to check in using the chat as soon as they join the call, and holds just as true for in-person facilitation. 

There are numerous ways you can encourage participation as early as possible. Which to choose depends greatly on the amount of participants, the location (online, offline, hybrid) and the style of your gathering. Here are some classic examples:

• Invite a tour de table, asking everyone to introduce themselves briefly. Do set clear boundaries for this, or introductions can take a very long time. I’ll typically ask for name, organization, and “what brings you here today?”. Model how long this should take by starting yourself, and if you are worried about a round taking too long, have everyone stand up!

• Ask a check-in question and have people share in turns. If you are short on inspiration, here is a list of over 200 ideas of what to ask.

• Online, start meetings and webinars with a chat waterfall. Simply ask everyone to use the chat as a check-in, and read out some answers as they arrive.

• Impromptu networking is a wonderful method from Liberating Structures, taking the form of an invitation to quickly chat with a couple of attendees and start making those precious connections.

Never underestimate the power of breaks

The apparently trivial matter of a coffee break can be a group facilitator’s ally in many ways. Wondering how to best welcome participants and set the tone? Make sure they find refreshments upon arrival. Getting a sense that the group is overtired, with conversations going around in circles? Take a break.

Breaks should be included in your agenda about every hour and a half, but a good group facilitator knows that it’s best to anticipate the break, or call for a quick 5-minute breather, whenever it feels appropriate. 

A break can be an amazingly effective way to defuse tensions and allow everyone to return to the session refreshed and ready for a change of perspective. Seemingly intractable problems sometimes dissolve with a breath of fresh air.

Mix different types of activities

A major challenge when facilitating a group is figuring out how to create space for contributions coming from many different kinds of people. Some of us enjoy quiet thinking time, others get their best ideas from conversation. For some people, speaking in front of the whole group is second nature, while for quieter participants it may be much preferable to express thoughts in writing. How do you, as facilitator, cater to all these different needs? 

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be complicated: all you need to do is make sure, when designing your agenda, that you have made space for many different ways to contribute.

A classic, evergreen way of doing this is by using the Liberating Structure 1-2-4-all. This means asking a question of the group then giving first some time for individual reflection, then for conversation in pairs, discussion in small groups and, finally, sharing insights in a plenary. 1-2-4-all is a perfect example of how group facilitation activities can create space for different types of personalities to contribute. 

Giving people some time to write ideas on sticky notes before reading them out loud and clustering them on a board is another classic facilitation technique. This allows both those who appreciate quietly writing out ideas and those who prefer an animated discussion to bring their voice to the table. 

You can find a ready-to-use flow for a workshop that integrates these top tips among SessionLab’s collection of templates. This essential workshop session includes all the building blocks you need to start off with group facilitation on the right foot, with space for check-ins, group agreements, debrief activities, discussions in small groups and, of course, breaks! 

7 ideas to keep in mind for great group facilitation

The five tips above should give you enough to go with to start designing and leading your first facilitated sessions. Besides practical tips though, there are also some more general concepts that it’s good to keep in mind to make sure your sessions are engaging, meaningful, and help drive the group forward.

Here are 7 ideas I find important when designing and leading group sessions. If you have others to add, use the comments or join the conversation in SessionLab’s friendly community! 

Connection before content

Trainers and learning facilitators will always tell you to put connection before content. People need to feel comfortable enough in their surroundings, and clear about their reason for being there, before they can effectively absorb new information or contribute new ideas. 

In practice, putting connection before content is often as simple as having a round of check-ins before starting a meeting, or asking for expectations before a workshop. Impromptu networking is a great method to create connections, including in large groups and/or online. 

Make the process explicit to the whole group

When it comes to group facilitation, transparency is key. Making the process explicit means letting participants know what to expect at each stage of a session. This clarity helps people feel more comfortable and confident, knowing what’s coming next and why. It also demystifies the facilitator’s role, turning what might feel like an unfamiliar process into something the group can engage with fully.

Sharing your plan at the start is part of this mission, and so is explaining the purpose (the “why”) behind each activity, as well as clarifying to participants which part of the workshop process you are currently in.
It’s a simple shift that builds trust and invites everyone to be active participants in the process, rather than passive observers.

A skilled facilitator will occasionally narrate the day back to participants as the hours pass: “This morning we started with brainstorming, and collected so many different ideas; now we are going to change gears and prioritize those ideas, as we want to reach a shortlist of three before the break”.

Balance attention to each group member and to the whole

The facilitator role includes balancing the needs of the whole group with those of each individual. The group’s goals and progress matter, but so does making sure that every participant feels seen, heard, and valued. This balance can be tricky, but it’s essential for maintaining both momentum and morale.

In practice, this might look like managing time so that everyone has a chance to share their thoughts, while also keeping the group focused on the collective goal. Having someone assist with co-facilitating a session is particularly useful in case any one person needs some extra attention or just a side conversation during a break. 

Reframe troublemakers as message-bringers

In group facilitation, what some might label as “troublemakers” can actually be seen as valuable contributors. Often, those who challenge the process or raise difficult questions are highlighting issues or needs that others in the group might also be feeling. Thinking of these individuals as message-bringers can shift the dynamic from conflict to curiosity.

Reframing a person who strikes me as “difficult” as a messenger was a key learning for me early in my career. Is the session not responding to their needs in some way, are they pointing to something that would benefit the whole group, and how can I adapt to this? Sometimes, finding out what message they are carrying might require a separate, 1:1 conversation. In many cases, assigning a clear role to those apparent troublemakers, such as helping out with facilitation, can give their energy a more constructive outlet.

Be aware of the local culture

Group facilitation isn’t one-size-fits-all, and being aware of local culture is crucial to guiding a group effectively. Cultural norms influence body language and personal expression, from how people communicate, to who gets to speak (and for how long), to how participants respond to authority. Therefore, facilitators need to be sensitive to these dynamics. What works well in one setting might not work at all in another.

To adapt to local culture, it’s important to observe how the group interacts and adjust your approach accordingly. Group agreements definitely help make assumptions explicit; I once ran a series of workshops in Sicily where we agreed to spell out on a poster at the entrance that “This is what we mean by punctuality: we will start 20 minutes later than the agreed starting time” (yes).  

Being aware of local culture could mean changing how you frame questions or make eye contact, adjusting the pace of activities, or being mindful of when silence means contemplation versus discomfort. If you find yourself misunderstanding body language, for example, you might need to ask what people intend to communicate or check in on how they are feeling. A little cultural awareness goes a long way toward creating a space where everyone feels comfortable participating.

If you are working in a culture different from your own, the best tip I can give is to cofacilitate with somebody local: the combination of an outsider and an insider perspective can make for truly great insights! 

Pay attention to power imbalances

It is not necessarily the facilitator’s job to redress or change power dynamics, but it’s certainly part of the job to be aware of them. In a hierarchical context, such as a business setting, it’s perfectly fine to give more time to the leader or CEO, and in decision-making workshops it’s common for a team leader to have the final word over assignments.

Keeping that in mind, it can be beneficial for the group’s development to have the facilitator champion quieter voices and make sure they are heard. Do people dare express their own ideas? An effective facilitator will find a way to encourage people to contribute without compromising their sense of safety.

In more horizontal settings, such as a volunteer group, good group facilitation might imply making hidden power structures visible and checking if they are serving a purpose (e.g. seniority in the group will often implicitly give people more of a say, which can be a good or bad thing depending on the needs of the moment). 

Paying attention to power imbalances in practice often translates into noticing things that are happening and mirroring them back to the group, then asking if this is something that works well for them or something they might want to address and change. 

Time is on your side

My “facilitation mantra”, a sentence I repeat to myself when group work gets tough, is something like “This is exactly the right time for this group”. Getting time on your side can be a struggle in group facilitation, but it doesn’t have to be. Having a clear (and visible) agenda helps with this. 

Transparency is also a great aid: when I ask for a round of comments, for example, I’ll generally bring the group’s attention to the number of people involved and the time we have, saying something like “We have 10 minutes for this debrief and there are 15 people here, so if we each speak for a minute, that will be too long, right? Please do feel free to take the time you need to make your point, but also aim to be concise”. 

I personally really dislike ending workshops in a rush: my antidote to that is to have a timer set to ring in my pocket about 10 minutes before the established ending time. At that point, even if we have not completed all activities, I know I have to start leading the group towards closing.

“Although we have not fully completed this plan, we probably have enough to go with for now: what will our next steps be? What are we taking away from our time together?”. Having time to debrief and share thank-yous and goodbyes leaves people in a much better mental state than rushing through a conclusion. 

What are group facilitation skills?

As you have seen above, there is a lot to keep in mind when dealing with group facilitation. Leading a bunch of people through a process and all the way to an outcome is exhilarating (if tiring) and important work.

As you practice this craft, you will come to understand and hone a series of facilitation skills that include:

• nailing the planning process, so that you arrive with a clear agenda to share;
• knowing how and when to improvise, throwing the plan away to better serve the needs of that particular group and that particular time;
• leaning into trust and curiosity, rather than trying to condition the outcomes;
• reading and understanding group dynamics, and how to shift a group’s energy around (insider’s tip: it’s much easier to shift the mood of a group than it is to shift the mood of an individual).

For more ideas on what facilitation skills are and how to develop them, read SessionLab’s guide to the head, hands and hearts of facilitation skills. 

6 group facilitation techniques you’ll want to know

As you find more opportunities to facilitate meetings, you’ll soon discover a need to diversify your toolkit and make sure you have an idea for an activity always at hand.

In SessionLab’s extensive library of facilitation techniques, you will find all the inspiration you need to keep your sessions fresh. 

Having said that, there are a few tried and tested group activities that are basic enough, and flexible enough, to warrant recommending them as a go-to essential toolkit for group facilitation. 

The aforementioned 1-2-4-all is a versatile Liberating Structure (to learn more about Liberating Structures, read up here) applicable to any situation where you want to encourage group members to reflect and share. It simply means inviting people to jot down their answers to a question first individually, then discussing in pairs, then in a small group, and ultimately reporting back to the plenary.

Becoming better group members often has to do with practicing listening skills, and learning the ability to momentarily quiet the voice in our minds that is preparing to respond. Paired activities are a great way to stretch our listening muscles. I’ll often invite an active listening exercise early in a session, even on something as basic as “what are your expectations for today?”.

We’ve mentioned ground rules quite a lot in this post, but you may be wondering what is an effective way to co-create them. Here you go! The activity takes about 45 minutes and will get you a set of tailored group agreements for a team to adhere to. 

If the group you are hosting is meeting in person, it’s good to remember to leverage the possibilities of using physical space as a facilitation asset. Sending participants on a paired walk functions as an energizer and, at the same time, a practical way to deepen conversations and handle difficult questions. Creative ideas are much more likely to be sparked during a walk than sitting down at a table!

When it comes to prioritizing options and starting to converge towards a decision, a solid way to work with a group is using some variation of dot-voting. At a recent workshop with academics, for example, I asked everyone to mark with a green dot those sections of the whitepaper under discussion that were ready to go, and in red those that needed revisions. In just a few minutes, the group produced a clear “heat map” of the necessary next steps.

There are many tricks a group facilitator can use to get time on their side. Quick rounds such as one-breath feedback, are a good idea if you need to reach a sense of closure but have very little time left! 

You can find more activity ideas in SessionLab’s library; download our Essential Meeting Facilitation Toolkit to have these and other basic tools of group facilitation always at your fingertips.

How to learn more about group facilitation 

With a bunch of methods at your disposal and some key tips to keep in mind, you should be more than ready to start practicing facilitation. You’ll be joining a growing number of facilitation enthusiasts!

Facilitation is practiced by a network of incredibly generous people, who often offer workshops, materials and resources for free. To look into more resources, including facilitation training courses and where they can take you, check out our blog post on how to learn facilitation.

Another essential resource to orient yourself in the world of group facilitation is the yearly State of Facilitation report, where you can read up on trends, challenges, and top 10 lists of books, podcasts and more, as voted by the worldwide facilitation community. 

How SessionLab can help with group facilitation

SessionLab is the go-to platform for session design. We strongly believe in creating a culture of facilitation in workplaces and groups everywhere and, as such, have set out to provide anyone interested in facilitation with as many practical and applicable resources as possible.

Here are some of the ways SessionLab can help you with group facilitation:

Build a session in SessionLab’s planner. SessionLab’s agenda planner is an intuitive tool that enables great session design, made easy. Simply drag-and-drop different activities to create an agenda. By automatically calculating time, showing you lists of materials, and enabling you to color-code different sections, the planner simplifies your work and makes designing for engagement an intuitive process. Try it out! 

Use ready-made templates. To start your first session, visit the Template collection and pick a ready-made agenda created by top professionals in facilitation and learning design. Duplicate a session, especially the ones marked #essential, to get started, or browse the collection for learning and inspiration.

Learn from SessionLab’s library. SessionLab hosts the world’s largest collection of facilitation activities. Get familiar with how to use it, and how to drop activities inside your new sessions, to make sure you never run out of ideas for things to do with your group!

Subscribe to our free courses and newsletter. The most-read newsletter in the facilitation space is delivered straight to your inbox once every two weeks, packed with resources and tips for your next sessions. We’ve also set up some email courses you can check out here to learn more about how facilitation works, and how to overcome its challenges. 

Keep us posted about your journey in group facilitation by joining our vibrant, friendly community, where you’ll find free events and plenty of support to answer all your facilitation questions.