Game-changing tips so you never hear crickets in your workshops
Did you know that many workshop participants when hearing “This is a safe space” start to feel less safe and less likely to share?
That when you call them by their name, they get propelled right back to school, feeling like a kid called out by a teacher?
That for learning to be successful it is not enough that the participants are behaviourally engaged (speaking, clicking on polls, nodding their head), but that they have to be mentally engaged?
‘Mentally engaged’ means to actively think about the concepts you are discussing, weigh pros and cons, try to apply them and reflect on how to apply them and adapt them in your life outside of the workshops.
This requires effort, as well as focus and motivation. In other words, active engagement.
Engaged participants are participants who are motivated and willing to actively participate in the learning process.
So, how you bring them there?
Here are 9 powerful tips — I hope you will apply them already in your next workshop.
1 - Build the Right Mental & Emotional Environment Right at the Start of the Workshop
Make it safe
How do you make it safe?
Definitely not by saying “This is a safe space”.
You would be surprised how many times I heard from people that these are the exact words that make them doubt the safety.
Instead, make it a safe space in the following ways
- carefully choose and design the opening (Read more about how to build intentional and impactful openings in Struggling with Difficult Participants blog article)
- use your body language and words in a warm, supportive, appreciative way
- take participants’ emotions and backgrounds into account
- show your own vulnerability and openness (while maintaining your credibility and trust in your competence)
(Yes, the list goes on… but let’s stop here for now).
Make people feel connected (enough)
The purpose of connection and a sense of belonging in a workshop is not to make people feel cozy and enjoy the conversation.
Instead, as trainer, we are building a sense of connection in order to support the learning goal and deepen the learning.
How much of a sense of connection is the right amount?
That depends on your learning goal and topic. Always start with the learning goal – and than ask, How much of connection would be supportive of that goal, in this specific group & environment?
Here is how you build a sense of connections:
- create meaningful opportunities to share their thoughts, attitudes, experiences
- seek to establish fairness within the group and to have everyone sharing in a similar amount of information and with a similar depth
- keep raising vulnerability gradually and equally for everyone in the group, not having everyone feel exposed or too fenced from the rest of the group
(And yes, the list goes on… but these will get you started. To dive to true depth of the topic, you might wanna join us as Train the Trainer.).
Make it clear how they can engage and what the expectations from them are
Clarity builds safety.
Nothing in the training process should happen just “because the trainer said so”. You are not there to boss them around – you are there to serve & hold the space for learning to happen.
Make it clear that the workshop is about them and their process, you are simply the guide.
By sharing with your participants the reasoning and why behind each part of the learning process, you can build sense of relevance and trust, and with it deeper engagement.
Having a clear WHY behind each method and step, and promoting an active approach from the very beginning will be the most empowering way for your participants reach their learning goal.
2 - Create Active Participation by Deepening Personal Motivation, Interest in the Topic and Care for the Group
Share “WHY” at the beginning of the workshop (and keep on sharing it at the beginning of each learning block)
If you share the learning goal and the “real life” relevance of today’s workshop right at the beginning of the workshop (or meeting), you will build the foundation for their motivation & empower them to actually work on that goal together with you.
Ideally, don’t just tell them what the relevance is. Instead, show them through examples or data, or invite them to think actively what is the relevance of this topic in their lives.
Use facilitation to have them figure out for themselves what is the best value they can get out of the workshop. Then, ask the group to share their thoughts, so they would also inspire each other.
Keep giving ownership – while motivating & supporting to use that ownership well
The more choice and trust you give to participants, the more likely they are to make the right choices for their learning.
Of course, this only works as long as they are motivated, so motivation needs to always stay in the very center of learning process.
How?
- Keep sharing “why” behind different exercises and methods (Why are we taking that approach? What is the goal of this learning block or activity?)
- Strive to include their ideas and feedback into the process, demonstrating that they have an active role in sharing their own experience
- Give space and show willingness to accommodate their needs and preferences of how to engage
(Notice: calling out their name when they didn’t volunteer is not respecting their choice and preference of engagement.)
Awaken an emotional engagement
Don’t shy away from incorporating emotions in your workshop:
Encourage engagement by building curiosity, creating a sense of belonging and connections with the group, and evoking a range of other positive emotions.
Don’t be scared of gentle negative emotions either: challenge them allow a moment of frustration when trying to do something new, or a moment of confusion why they are processing a complex insight… These challenging moments are often followed by relief and pride when they succeed, and they make insight that comes after tham more memorable.
(Looking to learn how to design with emotion in mind? Start by downloading the free ebook about The Emotions Best for Learning, or dive in deep into practice by joining us at the Optimal Emotions for Learning course.)
3 - Don’t Let Them Get Away with Slacking and Being “Lazy” to Think
Be “gently stubborn”
Ask the group a question with a smile & open, supportive body language… but also make it clear that they are not getting out of it without answering.
Make it clear who is expected to share (not by name! But, for example, is it the whole group or just a couple of volunteers or a more experienced part of the group?), and how specifically is the best to share (in voice or chat, short and concise or extensive, conclusions or early brainstorm?).
For example:
- “For this one, I will ask everyone to share in just a few words.”
- “Let’s just hear a couple of opinions about this one – who would like to share?”
- “Let’s dive deeper into this and hear some of your experiences – who will be the brave one to start by sharing their story first?”
- “Whoever has an idea, do share!”.
Push them with a bit of silence and a pause that is as long as needed – but also support them with clarity, motivation and a positive attitude!
Give clarity
Sometimes people don’t answer because they are not sure if they got the question right, or they don’t wanna say something wrong, or they are not sure if it’s ok to just speak up or maybe they need to raise their hand?
In other words, they are not sure what the expectation is on what & how to communicate.
(This can especially be an invisible obstacle in virtual workshops.)
Here is what you can do about it:
- Set clear guidelines for engagement right from the beginning of the workshop
- When no one starts sharing, ask yourself if perhaps the expectations of how & what to share are unclear
- Repeat the question concisely, and remind them how they can share. Is it verbally, should they raise the hand first, is it an option to share in chat etc?
- In some situations, it’s also ok to ask for feedback: Was the question clear? How come no one is sharing just yet – do you need a bit more time to think?
Motivate through relevance
Another reason for not answering: they might feel the question is not so interesting or relevant.
- So remind them why we are talking about this question (or why we are doing this exercise). How is it related to the main goal of today’s workshop? How is it relevant to their life outside the training room?
- Or, even better, give them a choice to vote if this question is relevant and interesting. In the end, they know better than you what is relevant for them (unless this question is some secret strategic step in your workshop design).
And please try not to call them out by their name – can you see how in this scenario if you call out for their name you might be suffocating their motivation? Instead of clarifying the relevance or asking them if it’s relevant you might be leaving them with a sense that you are forcing them to waste their time on a meaningless question.
And what if you ask a question… and hear crickets?
Ask them for feedback! Was the question clear? How come noone is sharing just yet – do you need a bit more time to think?
But be careful how you ask them – when you ask for feedback in a moment in which people are reluctant to share, make sure to ask them to reply to your feedback request in a really simple way (thumbs up/down, nod etc). In other words, lower the barrier that they need to cross in order to interact.
But then if you get no reactions, it is the time to push! Clarify that it is really important for you to understand what is preventing them from getting involved, as that is the only way that you can make the workshop useful for everyone – and that to this question you really need answer from everyone.
Make it gentle, not bossy, but with authority.
Huh, a long list, ha?
And it seemed like such a simple question!
Now, it’s your turn to think actively – what is your way of building engagement in your workshops?
Weigh pro’s and con’s of different tips & tricks and make your own choices – in a proactive, intentional way, and in accordance with your style and values as a trainer.
Moment to Reflect
- What are you already implementing from the above list?
- What could you use more of, from the tips provided, in your workshops or meetings?
- How can you start putting those new ideas into action?
There is so much more I could write about this topic:
about warming up the interaction slowly and building it up gradually (like nourishing a plant), about the role of emotions in all of this,
about skillful use of questions that nudge participants in the direction in which you want to take them,
and about understanding the depth of adult learning process and which traps to avoid…
In fact – it takes us the whole Train the Trainer course to cover all these topics to depth, and in a practical way.
If you are looking to improve all the other aspects of your workshops and facilitation – consider joining us at Train the Trainer for deep dive into fundamental skills of workshop design and delivery, or Advanced Facilitation Training to strengthen your skills of facilitating meaningful conversations.
And for more quick tips and tools, stay in the loop via the newsletter.
In the previous article, I wrote about why it might not be a good idea to make participants talk by calling them by their names.
And I also shed light on the – possibly – most important moment in participant engagement – the moment that makes it or breaks it.
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