A Set of Guiding Questions for Workshop Facilitators
Emotions are in the very core of learning.
When there is no emotion, learning cannot happen. Emotion is what creates an imprint of the new insight in our memory, and what ensures active engagement in the learning process.
Yet, way too often trainers and facilitators miss to keep emotion in the center of their workshop design.
Let’s change this – one tip at a time 😉
Today, I am bringing you a lengthy list of guiding questions that you can use to get deeper into designing your workshops with emotions in mind.
If you would like to learn more and practice getting better with emotions in training, do join us for Optimal Emotions for Learning: Create More Impactful Learning Experiences Workshops online course.
It is a fairly short course (3 modules, 7.5 hours in total, all within a couple of weeks). But it comes with an abundance of deep insights and practical tips on this topic, as well as an exchange of insights with peer trainers.
Questions to start with to get more intentional with emotions in training and workshops:
- Which emotions would you like your learner to arrive with?
- How would you like them to feel when they enter the training room, and once the training starts? Which “flavour” of emotion – but also which intensity of emotion and level of energy?
- And how do you expect that they might feel in reality? What emotion might they come with? What do you know about them, their circumstances, the timing of the workshop, their attitude towards the topic – and how might this impact their emotion?
- How can you merge the two – meet them where they are, while also leading them towards emotions that will support their learning process better? Allowing them space to bring in what’s theirs and not force them in the direction that you think is more beneficial – but also inviting them and encourage them to explore a new emotional space and experience?
For an impactful and deep emotional experience you need two things. On the one hand, you set an intention for how you want your learner to feel and what emotion would serve the learning best. On the other hand, you keep reality in mind and allow your learner the freedom and ownership of their unique, individual experience. Let’s see how that can work throughout the workshop.
Questions to align emotion in every part of the workshop or training with the learning goal:
- Which emotions would be the best for this specific learning activity, for them to get the most out of this experience? (Reflect on this for every part of the workshop and for every activity, and especially for bigger, more important learning activities).
- Based on the flow of emotions and all the experiences that happened in the parts of the workshop until they arrived at this activity, what emotions are most likely to be present for them?
- What are other options, possibilities, and potential traps of how they might feel at this point in training? What are all the different things that might influence their emotion at this point? Consider their previous experiences with the topic, their current mood or background events in their life, their relationship with the group, and any aspects in the environment
- What can you do to lead them towards a mental & emotional state that is more beneficial for learning and for this specific activity?
- How do you expect your own emotion and energy at each point in training to be – and how will that impact theirs? Are there some points in the agenda, or specific events in training, where you should pay more attention to your own emotion or energy?
Question to reflect on the closing part of the workshop:
- How can you gently prepare the (emotional) space for closing even before the closing starts? At what point in the training do you need to start preparing this? Think of specific steps and actions.
- How do you think they will feel based on all previous activities and emotions that happened in the training so far?
- How would you like them to feel during the closing itself, and during its different stages? How can you gently build up that emotion, step by step?
- Which emotion(s) would you like them to have while leaving the training? Don’t limit yourself to just one! They could be motivated to kick off action while at the same time being sad that this experience is over. They could be reflective while at the same time determinate… Options are limitless.
And let’s be crystal clear here – I am not saying there is one right optimal emotional state that the participants should feel at any stage of the training.
There are types of emotions that are more beneficial for the learning process and types that can disrupt the learning. It is something that we also explore deeper in Optimal Emotions for Learning: Create More Impactful Learning Experiences Workshops online course.
But within that range, there are many many options.
You need to start with your learning goal, and learning process design, and then see how to support these with diverse emotions.
For example, at the opening sometimes you want them to feel curious and motivated, other times calm and safe.
Most of the times it is a bit of each, but the balance between the two can be very diverse depending on the topic & environment.
Sometimes, you want them to leave with their mind open to many new possibilities, curious, and with a desire to dive in deeper and explore more.
Other times, it’s better to have them in a motivated, driven state – ready to put new learnings into practice, without overthinking.
With emotions, we wanna be intentional and mindful – yet not overcontrolling and overmanaging. Perfectionism is not the point – instead, let’s focus on intentionality and awareness.
Do use these questions already with your next workshop or training – or perhaps even with a meeting that you facilitate.
I hope the questions in this article inspired you to incorporate emotions a bit more in your workshop design – but remember that they are only the beginning.
If this is the topic you wanna dive into deeper, get powerful tools, and learn approaches that you can use right away to bring your workshops to the next level. Do join us for an experiential, engaging online course on Optimal Emotions for Learning: Create More Impactful Learning Experiences.
To explore a bit more about which emotions are best for learning – and how to create them – check out the free ebook for trainers and educators that we created at Trainers Toolbox. But don’t forget – knowledge becomes power only once put in action!
So focus on how will you bring this knowledge back into your trainings and workshop – or join us for Optimal Emotions for Learning: Create More Impactful Learning Experiences to practice it together with a group of amazing peer trainers.
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