How I facilitated a 6-hour Zoom session that kept clients engaged and got results
The workshops we facilitate come in all shapes and sizes - ideation sessions, Design Forums, strategy sessions, Empathy Camp™ training, synthesis sessions, etc.
As facilitators, our goal is to keep clients engaged. When engagement is strong, clients are better able to immerse themselves in their customers’ worlds.
Before the pandemic, it made sense to conduct full-day workshops in person. Now, we all have to find a way to move these sessions online. Lately, my colleague Eric Snyder and I have both had the opportunity (and the challenge) to conduct long online sessions.
We’ve all heard the term “Zoom fatigue” about how tiring those calls can be. But I’ve wondered if they’re any more tiring than the in-person meetings we used to do. The online sessions were indeed tiring, but there was an upside: when we took breaks, we were all in our own homes, so we got to take a true break, rather than just getting up and getting a cup of coffee with the other participants.
And we had a few tricks up our sleeves that really helped. I’m glad to say that everyone remained engaged throughout the day and we were able to get results!
Here are my tips for surviving an all-day Zoom session:
Take breaks
I scheduled a 15-minute coffee break in the morning, a 30-minute lunch and another 15-minute coffee break mid-afternoon – and I stuck to that schedule (politely cutting people off – it’s an art!). So people didn’t have to go longer than an hour a half between breaks. (By the way, while the breaks helped, we encourage our clients to break things up further by doing shorter sessions over multiple days.)
Plan for some fun
We sent some cookies and snacks to all the participants in advance which I encouraged the people to have during the coffee breaks and talk about which treats they liked best. And rather than doing regular introductions, I had everyone send me the information about what they do at the organization, but also a little known fact about themselves and one or two photos of them doing something fun or unexpected. I put them in a PowerPoint deck and used them as “palate cleansers” between topics. I would first just show the little known fact and ask participants to guess who it was, and then revealed the person and their photos. It really served to break up the day and lighten the mood.
Offer incentives
Here's something Eric did with great results: offer small prizes for things like the first person to answer a certain question. It could be as small as a $5 Starbucks card, but people love the competition!
Be unexpected
Another tip from Eric: “Do the unexpected at various times throughout the day. It doesn't have to be long or frequent. It's meant to cleanse the Zoom palate a bit. It might be a desk yoga stretch, sharing a funny video or sharing a funny portion of a podcast. Anything that can divert your attention for just a few minutes is the goal.”
In addition, I discovered some helpful points about how to best utilize Zoom’s features... and handle its shortcomings.
Lay out your “virtual” room for success
I knew it would be important for everyone to see each other speaking, so I asked them in advance to all use a computer and not a tablet (which only lets you view 9 participants at a time – we had 12) and definitely not a mobile phone. And I made sure everyone was in Gallery Mode (or as I put it, “It should look like Hollywood Squares, where we are all in rectangles of the same size”).
The chat panel helps people stay engaged
I consider the chat panel an added bonus when compared to in-person discussions. If someone has something to add to what a person is saying at that moment, they can type it in the chat panel, rather than interrupting. Also, having two types of input – the voice of the person speaking and the text in the chat panel – actually helps people stay more engaged. When you just listen to a person speaking, your attention is more likely to wander.
Use software shortcomings to your advantage
One of the drawbacks of Zoom is that when two people start talking at the same time, it takes a few seconds to realize that, and neither can be heard. But the silver lining: it forces a more orderly discussion. I had people raise their hands to indicate they wanted to speak next and I confirmed in the chat panel (e.g., “Next: Barbara”). And when two people did start talking at once, I just had to play traffic cop and say something like “OK, Mary, you go ahead, and then David.”
We were planning to work together on crafting a vision statement and I had intended to share my screen so we could all agree on the text. But I realized that participants wouldn’t be able to see each other that clearly while screen sharing. Instead, I typed the suggested text in the chat panel, as well as subsequent revisions, until we had a version everyone agreed on. (Note: that would be a good time to click the “save chat” link in Zoom!)
Let’s talk about the best approach to find the answers to your strategic questions. Call me at 818-588-6050 or email jay@ignite-360.com.