The Challenges of Digital Facilitation
Many of us are currently facing the challenge of turning a workshop that was planned to happen in person, into a virtual one. Whereas many facilitators are incredibly good at leading a group of people in a physical space, virtual facilitation can bring a new set of concerns and questions to the table. But the same rules still apply to facilitating any workshop – there needs to be a purpose and goal with everything as well as a carefully planned timeline.
1. Activate people and create a relaxed and trust-filled environment. In virtual workshops, it’s important that you make the participants feel safe and secure to start a dialogue. Don't oversee the importance of the traditional check-ins. One way to do this is to pose a short question that’s easy to answer from a personal perspective. Also, if you are in a video meeting, make sure you have the same rules for everyone. For example, instruct participants to keep their cameras on or off and when they have the opportunity to speak.
2. Use and manage the right tools. It’s important as a facilitator to feel like you have control and understanding of the tools you are using. The solution we tend to favor is any video conferencing tool that we feel comfortable with. But in big workshops, when everyone tries to take turns sharing their thoughts and experiences on a video call, it will end up with a lot of participants just staying quiet. It's a good idea to mix different methods just like you would in a live setting. Have a script of what happens when and with which tool, and clearly communicate that to participants.
3. Hold people’s focus and attention for the whole virtual workshop. Maybe you can’t. And that’s why it is never suggested to turn a full-day live workshop into a digital one. Instead, it’s better to have a plan based on smaller interventions mixed with shorter synchronous video calls. In general, people tend to have a shorter attention span when it comes to working in a digital environment. It’s also much harder to tell how the energy in the group is. Mix things up with a higher frequency than usual, even during a 1-hour video session.
You need to facilitate each digital interaction as much as you would if you met face-to-face. Leading in the digital space is not the same as leading in the physical. It can definitely have the same purpose and goals, but it still requires some new type of skills and insights on what works and what doesn’t.
