Your best workshop yet!
Good preparation is key when facilitating workshops, trainings and events.
Often details of your workshop planning might be scattered across several mediums but this canvas brings it all together in a workshop template.
Importantly it also helps you think holistically about the details of your workshop covering the 6 P's of Workshop Preparation.
Purpose
Why is this workshop happening?
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The most important step of the workshop planning. The purpose anchors everything else.
PRACTICALITIES
What will be required?
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This includes rooms, stationary, equipment, lunch! Anything required to make the workshop run well.
PArTICIPANTS
Who needs to be there?
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A simple question but often it's a challenge to narrow down attendees. Make sure you are clear who will be there!
PRODUCTS
What are the inputs and outputs?
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Any pre-work items required by participants and the items you expect to leave with after the workshop.
PROCESs
What is the agenda?
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Detail about the activities happening during the workshop. The agenda should help achieve the purpose.
PRINCIPLES
How will we work?
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Outline the principles that will make the workshop a great thinking space such as listening, empathy and regular breaks.
How to use?
Whenever you start planning a workshop, start by thinking across these dimensions and adding relevant information for each.
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The canvas can be used individually but is a great tool to communicate with your facilitation team and key stakeholders of your workshops.
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Once you have several examples, previous workshop canvases allow you to accelerate preparation of future sessions.
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Use this workshop template to reduce your anxiety of forgetting small details, keep everyone on the same page and build confidence that the workshop will be awesome!
An example:
Here is simple example of how the workshop planning template can be used. In this example it is used to plan a product release workshop. You can see highlighted the decisions to be made in the workshop and the ideas of the facilitator.
Workshop Planning Questions
A full list of the questions for each section of the canvas:
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Purpose:
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Why is this workshop happening?
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What is the intended legacy of this workshop?
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What is the consequence of not holding this workshop?
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Practicalities:
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Where and when will the workshop take place?
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What room setup is required?
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What materials are required?
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Participants:
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Who is going to be there?
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What is their role in the workshop?
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What are their needs?
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Products:
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What are the inputs to the session?
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What needs to be prepared beforehand?
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What tangible items will we leave with?
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Process:
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What is the agenda?
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What steps are required to meet the purpose?
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When will the breaks be?
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Principles:
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“We work best when…..”
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How will decisions be made?
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What are the workshop values?
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This canvas was inspired by the 5 P’s of Michael Wilkinson and the awesome facilitators that have inspired me over the years, especially Ellen Gottesdiener and Jean Tabaka.
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I hope this canvas helps with your next workshop!
You might also find my virtual facilitation toolkit helpful
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