3-2-1: Workshop Weekly #16

This week's newsletter is about engaging ways to online networking & interviewing, async skill sharing, and celebrating success.

Let's go!

– Arthur

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Three Workshop Examples

Three ways to network & interview people online (inspired by Liberating Structures):

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1: Celebrity Interview

What: Instead of boring presentations, host a well-prepared interview. (30 - 45 minutes)

Why: Engage a whole group and boost a connection between an expert and the audience.

How:

1. As the Interviewer, prepare a set of well-thought-out questions to ask the "Celebrity" (aka expert) and visualize them in a tool like Miro.
2. Set up a video call and ask everyone to mute except for the "Celebrity" and the Interviewer.
3. Take 10 to 15 minutes to ask the questions everyone wants answered. Bonus points if you can make it a fun and engaging conversation.
4. Have someone "capture the conversation" and write down one- or two-sentence answers to each question.
5. After 10 to 15 minutes, create breakout rooms for participants.
6. Ask them to discuss the conversation and write down questions they still have in 5 to 10 minutes.
7. After regrouping, the Interviewer reviews the newly formed questions and looks for patterns and answers with the "Celebrity."
8. Wrap up the interview.

I use this technique a lot in Design Sprints. We usually do a round of 3 to 5 interviews before going to the next workshop exercise.

(A good next step can be to ask the group to visualize what they have learned during the interview, for example, in a Customer Journey Map.)

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2: Impromptu Networking

What: Facilitate spontaneous interactions to build connections and share knowledge. (20 minutes)

Why: Encourages informal knowledge sharing and relationship building in a low-pressure environment.

How:

1. Set up a virtual meeting room and randomly assign participants to small breakout rooms (2-3 people per room).
2. Provide a broad topic or question related to the workshop's theme for discussion. (e.g. "What would make this session valuable for you?")
3. Allow each group 5-7 minutes to discuss the topic, encouraging each member to share their thoughts and experiences. Roughly 2 minutes talking time per person.
4. Rotate the groups after the 5-7 minutes are up, ensuring participants meet new people in each round.
5. Continue the rotations 3-4 times, depending on the group size and available time.
6. After the final rotation, bring everyone back to the main room.
7. Facilitate a group discussion, inviting participants to share interesting insights or common themes they discovered.
8. Conclude by encouraging participants to follow up with new connections made during the session.

This technique is particularly effective in workshops aimed at cross functional collaboration, as it breaks down silos and encourages diverse input.

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3: Appreciative Interviews

What: Conduct interviews focused on positive experiences and strengths. (45 - 60 minutes)

Why: Builds a positive atmosphere and helps uncover hidden assets and opportunities.

How:

1. Pair participants randomly and ask them to share success stories.
2. Each pair takes turns interviewing each other, with each interview lasting max. 8 minutes.
3. Questions should focus on positive experiences, personal strengths, and successful outcomes related to the workshop's theme.
4. Encourage interviewers to probe deeper with follow-up questions based on the interviewee's responses.
5. After both interviews, pairs join another pair to form a group of four.
6. Each participant shares the positive highlights and insights from their partner's interview. (2 minutes per person)
7. Groups then discuss common themes and insights, identifying patterns and key takeaways. (8 minutes)
8. Reconvene with the larger group and share the most impactful stories or insights.
9. Collect insights and patterns for the whole group on a digital whiteboard.
10. Wrap up by discussing how these positive experiences can inform and improve current and future projects.

This technique is excellent for fostering a positive mindset and uncovering strengths and success stories that can be replicated or built upon in future work.

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Two Async Tips

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1: Skill Share Sessions

Real-time knowledge sharing is often used as an excuse to compel team members back into the office.

"You can only grow and learn at the office."

This approach is not only inconvenient but also inefficient. It overlooks the challenges of coordinating calendars and disrupts the balance of work and personal life.

Yes, real-time knowledge sharing can be a great way to share knowledge. But it's not the only way.

A shift to a library of pre-recorded mini-training sessions, shared by team members, can be a flexible alternative.

Domain experts from the team can share their insights at their convenience, and other team members can access this valuable knowledge when it fits their schedule.

Combining this method with real-time knowledge sharing creates a culture of continuous, accessible learning. Free from the constraints of time and location.

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2: Async Design Critiques​
Similarly, the traditional way of design critiques often hinges on real-time, in-person sessions, subtly reinforcing the outdated notion, "True collaboration only happens face-to-face."

This mindset not only limits the scope of feedback but also makes it harder for future team members to understand decisions being made.

In-person critiques have their merits. But they're not the only way for effective collaboration.

(In fact, forcing synchronous sessions only can lead to rushed feedback, overlooked details, and a skewed work-life balance.)

Async design critiques, where feedback is shared in a common digital space (like Loom, Notion, Miro or Google Docs), offers a richer alternative.

Team members can provide detailed, considered feedback at a time that suits their individual schedules and thought processes.

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One Question For Your Team

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That's all for this week. If you enjoyed today's issue, please reply (it helps with deliverability). If you didn't, you can unsubscribe via the link👇.

See you next Wednesday — Arthur​

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