Benefits and trade-offs

Before you jump to this week’s riff between me and Rebecca Sutherns, take a minute to jot down three things you can do online that you cannot do in a face-to-face workshop.

1.

2.

3. 

I’d love to know what you came up with and how they compare with the ones that Rebecca and I talk about.

This week, we spend most of our time talking about the breakout rooms and the chat function. We bring our facilitation lens to these features and our focus is on the benefit to participants.

We’ve noticed how breakout rooms let participants dive deep really quickly. There are fewer distractions, including those pesky facilitators who can buzz around like mosquitos. 

We agree that the chat function can be empowering for participants, as well as more efficient for getting lots of ideas out fast. 

We love the benefits but have had to adjust to the trade-offs. As facilitators, we can struggle to get a sense of how the groups are working together in the break out rooms, for example. 

The chat function can also distract the facilitator and participants, sometimes even derailing a conversation.

As Rebecca points out, benefits and challenges with stuff you can do in the digital room all depends on context.

Just like with any workshop, how we blend face-to-face and online facilitation techniques goes back to our purpose.

I hope riff #2 leaves you feeling that we are in this together and a bit inspired by the ‘new normal’ rather than overwhelmed. Curious to new stuff, but not throw the baby out with the bath water. 

Enjoy! And please drop me a line to share your thoughts. I’d love to build on the conversation.

Watch the second Best of Both Worlds conversation here.

If you'd like the best of both worlds for your next workshop, I can help. Book a 15-minute meeting with me to get the ball rolling.