This article is based on our downloadable Remote Design Sprint 101 Guide. Check it out!

A lot has changed over the last year and a half, but not our ability to collaborate, creatively solve problems, and design impactfully. While some are beginning to return to physical offices, many companies and employees are opting for a hybrid work model resulting in the shift to a distributed workforce. With the right practices and technology, we can still have meaningful virtual meetings and remote workshops. Namely, remote Design Sprint workshops are an essential tool to utilize during these transitional times. They’re more important now more than ever, as companies adjust to survive and thrive in the pandemic-impacted world – from solving big business challenges quickly, to refining company processes to launching innovative ideas.  

A Design Sprint is used for validating ideas and tackling business problems, guiding teams through a design-thinking-based process to uncover insights, prototype an idea, and test it with users. We at Voltage Control have successfully adapted our tried-and-true Design Sprint model for remote work and documented everything in our Remote Design Sprint 101 Guide. This comprehensive guide is for anyone who wants to plan and run their own remote Design Sprint. Some of these ideas were also featured in The Sprint Book‘s Remote Design Sprint Guide, written by the inventor of the Design Sprint Jake Knapp.

In this article, we’ll review some of the benefits of running a remote Design Sprint in your organization and how to lead your own in the virtual landscape. Let’s continue to work and create together! 

Remote Design Sprint Purpose & Benefits

Before we jump in, let’s recap some reasons you may want to run a Design Sprint. Design Sprints have multiple benefits, including:

• Aligning a team around a shared vision.
• Answering critical business questions.
• Discovering the essence of a creative challenge or problem.

Some excellent times to run a Design Sprint are:

• When kicking off a new initiative.
• When looking for new breakthrough features for a product.
• If you want to test divergent solutions.
• When you’re prioritizing potential business opportunities.
• When you need to switch gears or iterate on a current product.
• When you haven’t talked to your users enough.

Remote Design Sprints are not the same as in-person design sprints in many ways, so we must treat them differently. Read on to find out how you can successfully run your next remote Design Sprint.

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5 Tips to Run an Effective Remote Design Sprint

1. Move slower

We are often asked if we facilitate a remote Design Sprint in the typical week-long format of an in-person sprint. In general, we believe that the pace of the Design Sprint needs to be slower in a remote setting. While technology can indeed speed us up, it can also slow us down. That’s because remote workshops account for many factors that we don’t face when we’re connecting face-to-face, such as time zone differences or Zoom fatigue.

For example, you don’t want remote participants to spend more than four hours at a time on Zoom, as being chained to a desk and laptop for any longer can stifle focus and participation (learn more about tips on how to get rid of Zoom fatigue and energize your remote team here). Another consideration is the limited ability to read the virtual room intelligence to ensure that everyone is on the same page. The physical separation makes it difficult to notice if someone is distracted, struggling, or falling behind. Keep in mind the need for team connection, which is especially important in a virtual setting. If you do manage to detect that someone needs help, it takes extra time to stop and catch them up. Simply put, things take longer online. There are inevitably delays and extra processing time needed to get everyone on board no matter what tools you are using (more on that later). Account for extra buffer time to set up and field mishaps during the remote Design Sprint. You’ll need to prepare to support those that are less familiar with the tools you’ve chosen or having trouble with their internet connection. 

Another factor to consider in a remote Design Sprint is that participants are more likely to get distracted online. An effective Design Sprint ground rule to increase productivity is to ban the use of personal devices. However, it’s impossible to eliminate the distraction of screens during remote Design Sprints because laptops and tablets are the means for connection. In short, you have to wrangle the cats more. That’s because each participant is in their own physical environment. Natural external factors of working from home are also at play, such as pets or children. Facilitators will have the most success when they allocate extra time and are prepared to assist participants through these distractions (note: if you are looking for other general ways to improve remote team alignment, see here). 

2. Tweak the schedule

Running any successful remote workshop (especially a remote Design Sprint as it’s more complex than other remote meetings) requires adjustments to a typical in-person one, as fostering the same spirit of focus and connection can be a major challenge. However, this doesn’t mean that any remote workshop or remote Design Sprint is doomed to fail. With the right perspective and a little bit of tweaking, your remote Design Sprint can provide all of the value and human connection of an in-person one.

Because things move slower virtually, we request our Design Sprint participants commit to a series of mini-workshops rather than asking them to commit to the five full days (which is the typical length of time for an in-person Design Sprint). Between each mini-workshop, we assign homework and set the expectation that they will present their work at the next group session. Setting the expectation that the participant will present creates social pressure to encourage participation and ensure the work gets done. In the Design Sprint tradition of working alone together, participants do work alone offline in addition to the moments where everyone will be on the Zoom call at the same time. 

These mini workshop sessions build chronologically one after the other. This sequence could happen over the course of four days, or even eight if needed. Combined, they create the complete virtual Design Sprint calendar. Designing around the in-between times is powerful and an opportunity that in-person doesn’t support. 

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Another crucial aspect of scheduling a remote Design Sprint is considering different time zones, which isn’t a concern when everyone is in person in the same place. Time zones present a serious challenge and should not be ignored. It is important to be conscientious of all participants’ time differences. For example, it is unrealistic to invite someone to a workshop that would occur at 2:00AM their time. We use Worldtimebuddy and Calendly to easily select times that are convenient for all participants.

The extra headache of aligning time zones is well worth the benefits of connecting a globally diverse team, which is something we don’t get with in-person Design Sprints.

This shift to virtual and hybrid work has required us to see what is possible and has exposed new workshop designs. For instance, you would never fly someone from China to Austin, Texas to have a two-hour workshop on Monday and another one on Friday. It’s just too expensive, even if that was the perfect design for the content and the arc of decision-making. This is now possible because the logistics are different.

And because you will likely be dealing with different time zones in your remote Design Sprint, there is no standard schedule like when you meet at the same location in a physical sprint. You will have to adjust your Virtual Design Sprint schedule for each virtual sprint team so that it is reasonable for each participant’s given time window. We make a bespoke schedule for each virtual Design Sprint that follows the schedule principles mentioned above.

Now that we are immersed in them, we realize that remote workshops offer some incredible things that you CAN’T do in person. 

3. Set the stage and make sure to debrief

PSA: Virtual Design Sprints require more prep!

Remote Design Sprints need more planning because there are more outside factors to consider including the best tools to use and adjustments that need to be made for timing and methods to optimize engagement. At Voltage Control, we’ve developed multiple virtual workshop tools to help individuals, teams, and companies build the skills they need to design and run exceptional virtual workshops and remote Design Sprints. We also put together a Virtual Work Guide highlighting how to set up and facilitate productive virtual meetings to make them just as purposeful and successful as in-person meetings (if not more so). 

First and foremost, participants need to understand the tools, the process, what is expected of them, how things will unfold, and why they are doing all of this in the first place. This is much different than doing a Design Sprint in person. In-person, it doesn’t take a participant very long to properly acquaint themselves with the sticky notes and a whiteboard. That’s why we make sure to spend enough time getting everyone acquainted with the new digital tools and processes so they are set up for success. 

One way we properly set the stage is by investing a lot of preparation time into our Design Sprint MURAL board. This is the digital space where both individuals and the group will participate in most of the Design Sprint exercises. The more prep we can do in the MURAL board, the less headache for the virtual participants. We can’t expect them to be as savvy with our virtual facilitation tools as we are. So we create videos of us walking through the MURAL board, the exercises, and the key features they will be using. And just in case someone didn’t watch the videos, we schedule boot-up time at the beginning of the sprint so everyone can understand this new paradigm.

Another helpful preparation that aids in the process of training up participants is to set expectations before the workshop. Create an agenda that optimizes the remote attendee experience – set clear objectives for why you are running the remote Design Sprint and what your team needs to accomplish by the end of it. Outline the objective for each day of the remote Design Sprint and the activities participants will be engaging in. Remember to pad your agenda to account for potential technical difficulties, clarification, distraction, and other hiccups.

Send a checklist and supplies list ahead of time so participants know what to order and are ready to go. It’s also incredibly helpful to make sure all participants know what their deadlines and deliverables are from the get-go so everyone can successfully accomplish them. As a facilitator, you demo the expectations and process for everyone else, field questions, and then let them go off and do their individual work. You don’t want to surprise anyone or embarrass them. The goal is to have everyone on the same, productive page. 

Schedule cleanup time after each day is over. This should be in addition to the official debrief or retrospective (which should be held after the remote Design Sprint is over). Purposefully dedicating time for both the “cleanup” and debrief is important to provide opportunities that may be otherwise missed in a remote environment, and also ensure everyone is on the same page for next steps.

4. Pick the right tech

The transition to virtual means choosing the right tools and platforms that best support your goals and needs for the remote Design Sprint. Here are several tools we use and recommend:

Zoom

The virtual meeting platform gathers everyone into a main meeting room. Note: ask everyone to turn on their video! It’s crucial to foster the missing element of physical human connection when working remotely. Zoom also has built-in rooms that you can use to assign participants to breakout rooms. We’ve found this especially helpful during storyboarding. The feature to automatically route participants in and out of breakout rooms and back to the main meeting room makes the virtual facilitation experience much easier. You also have the capability to mute all participants at any time (cancels out everyone’s individual background noises) which is helpful when giving directions or speaking to everyone all at once in the main meeting room. 

MURAL 

Imagine a Design Sprint wall of post-it notes, then make it digital. That’s the essence of MURAL. It is a virtual whiteboard tool that supports complex group work and allows teams to virtually share and collaborate on digital stickies. Miro is another option for virtual collaboration. We prefer MURAL for our Design Sprints because it has the most features to support facilitators. For example, you can use a super lock feature to identify elements that can only be unlocked by users with Facilitator Superpowers. It’s a nice feature so that a curious participant doesn’t accidentally mess up your template and confuse the rest of the team.

When working with a dynamic group, MURAL’s ‘Summon’ feature really comes in handy during all of the different activities within a Design Sprint. This helps the facilitator draw focus and attention throughout the sprint. And if summoning isn’t your cup of tea, MURAL also has a ‘follow’ feature where you can request that participants follow your screen. Get acquainted with how to use MURAL with our MURAL Cheat Sheet. By adding the MURAL app to Zoom, attendees will be able to collaborate without leaving Zoom.

Figma

Just like how MURAL allows our team to collaborate in real-time on a Design Sprint digital board, Figma allows the prototyping team to collaborate in real-time on a digital prototype. Whether you are prototyping a mobile app concept, a website marketing page, a software feature idea, or other forms of digital collateral, Figma allows many designers to rapidly create, assemble, and then present a believable prototype facade that a test user can interact with and react to. One pro tip is that we recommend embedding GIFs into your Figma prototype if you need to create video explanations or interesting animations to compel your test user. 

And to pair well with the Figma prototyping, we built out a MURAL template to help the prototyping stitcher to more effectively coordinate with the team on prototyping day. 

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Pen & Paper

We still like attendees to do some of the Design Sprint activities locally before sharing them on the MURAL board, and we have learned that you cannot assume that they have the basic supplies with them. So, you can either drop ship pens, paper, and stickies to the attendees, or you can confirm that they have something equivalent before the sprint begins. And if you can’t send them supplies and they don’t have any, we recommend discussing digital methods for them to do solo work on their tablet or computer before surfacing it on the MURAL board. 

Finally, we also curated a guide for all the hardware you need to run virtual magical meetings here.

5. Engage a Professional Facilitator

Depending on your specific situation, it may be beneficial to hire an outside facilitator (especially when making big decisions). It’s also beneficial to have an outside facilitator when you don’t feel confident that someone internal can do the job effectively. The facilitator is the key ingredient to the Design Sprint process; it is critical that they be confident in their role and have a deep understanding of the design thinking process. If you are wary or unsure whether an internal facilitator will lead your remote Design Sprint participants to excellence, it may be best to bring in an expert from the outside. This will also allow internal team members to see expert facilitation in action and may give them the insight they need to successfully lead a Design Sprint in the future.

Working remotely certainly has its challenges, but it also has great potential. Now more than ever we have the opportunity to connect and collaborate on a global scale. This shift to virtual is shaping the future of facilitation in ways that will benefit us for years to come. Instead of waiting to be in person with your team to reap the benefits of a Design Sprint, adapt it to the virtual landscape and run a (just as effective) remote Design Sprint. 

We offer virtual facilitation services.

Voltage Control facilitates virtual design thinking workshops and Design Sprints, virtual innovation sessions, and virtual transitions. Please reach out at info@voltagecontrol.com for a consultation.

The post How to Run Remote Design Sprints appeared first on Voltage Control.

It’s almost been a year since the switch to digital meetings and workshops. Digital events like remote workshops aren’t always guaranteed to run smoothly. Whether the culprit is a technical glitch, a family member who needs your attention right when you’ve started delivering your perfectly-crafted speech, or a nosy pet who is determined to spend the entire workshop trying to jump on your keyboard, fostering a spirit of focus and connection in a virtual meeting or workshop can be a major challenge.

This doesn’t mean that any remote workshop is doomed to fail. In fact, with the right perspective and a little bit of work, your virtual workshop can provide all of the value and human connection of an in-person event. Read on to learn about how you can craft a remote workshop that makes its attendees feel calm, comfortable, and connected — and has all the benefits of meeting in person with none of the risks.

Preparation is Key

One major key to hosting a great remote workshop is preparation. Give yourself plenty of time to determine when and where your remote workshop will take place. Set yourself up for success by selecting the virtual platform you want to use for your remote workshop. Make sure you understand how it works, and get comfortable with its ins and outs. Consider selecting a backup platform in case you run into issues as the date of your remote workshop draws closer.

But don’t limit your preparation to just yourself. No one wants to get emails the morning of their workshop and find themselves scrambling to download a virtual tool. Send out plenty of information in advance to your attendees about how to access the workshop. Add an itinerary of what you’ll be doing, and any materials they might need. Take the time to plan your remote workshop in advance to ensure you are more focused on your team.

Get Involved

A good in-person workshop should leave its participants feeling excited, inspired, and connected with their fellow participants. So, there’s no reason why a remote workshop should be any different! Instead of spending each section of your remote workshop delivering presentations or leading rote Q&As, think outside the box. Let your teams engage in virtual design thinking exercises or spend time in assigned or randomly generated breakout rooms. Don’t be afraid to break up the monotony of an endless string of Zoom presentations!

Little things can make a difference, too! While you’re waiting for your remote workshop to start or you’re enjoying a brainstorming session, play some fun, energizing music to make your remote workshop feel like a more open and welcoming space. Making the attendees feel excited, inspired, and energized is a great way to turn a remote workshop into a success.

Be Flexible

It’s nearly been a year since we made the switch to virtual meetings. Additionally, it’s still true that remote workshops are often more exhausting than in-person workshops. Adjust for this truth instead of trying to fight it. Shorten your sessions to allow people to remain 100% focused for the entirety of each exercise. Also, add numerous short breaks throughout your daily itinerary that will allow attendees to grab snacks or stretch their legs.

It’s also smart to consider making changes based on your specific participants. Furthermore, think about what would work best for them. For example, a team of young professionals might prefer to power through a full day of a remote workshop. Whereas, parents juggling working from home with providing child care may prefer two days of shorter sessions. Implementing the schedule that works best for the team will make them feel seen, comfortable and respected. Also, this can mean that they’ll be more likely to be fully engaged during the entirety of the remote workshop.

Schedule Cleanup Time

Cleanup time is the perfect way to keep your virtual workshop from being too rigidly scheduled or too free-flowing. Like Goldilocks’ third bowl of porridge, it creates a perfect balance that will make your remote workshop feel “just right”. Scheduling cleanup time involves letting your workshop participants hang out and relax after the workshop is over. Instead of abruptly ending your Zoom session or moving onto another segment. Why take the time to hang? Well, not only is it great for capturing the magic of an in-person workshop and letting attendees connect with each other in a casual, low-pressure setting, but attendees may even feel comfortable enough in a more relaxed setting that they casually ask that question they were too afraid to ask in an earlier, more structured Q&A session.

Help keep cleanup time low-key by not listing it on the agenda. However, be sure to generate some ideas for a semi-structured activity in case people want to stick around but feel unsure of how to get to know each other. Having a fun icebreaker in your back pocket, asking a silly question, or even encouraging everyone to introduce their pets is a great way to foster connection — even when everyone is miles apart.

Don’t Forget to Debrief

With shutdowns being extended through at least the next few months, it’s possible that this won’t be the only remote workshop you ever run. An easy way to make your next remote workshop even better is to collect as much feedback as possible. Debriefing is a great way to figure out what your attendees liked and didn’t like, as well as to encourage them to provide suggestions for improvements. Consider incorporating a session dedicated to gathering and parsing feedback into your remote workshop, or follow up with a detailed survey or questionnaire after the remote workshop for your participants to fill out. Soliciting feedback can be stressful for even the most seasoned workshop coordinator but the information it provides can be helpful for bringing your future remote workshops to a whole new level of excellence.

Run Your Own Remote Workshop Successfully

Do you want to run a successful remote workshop but don’t know where to start? Voltage Control facilitates events of all kinds, including live online workshops, boot camps, summits, and meetings. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at hello@voltagecontrol.com if you have questions or would like to schedule a consultation.

The post How to Run a Successful Remote Workshop appeared first on Voltage Control.

Think back to workshops in person. Are there any important aspects of these gatherings IRL that are still missing in remote ones? One seemingly subtle but vital element that’s often overlooked in remote workshops is “cleanup time”, i.e. the casual conversation that comes at the close of the meeting. This might seem trivial, but creating intentional space for connection post-workshop does wonders for group dynamics and building relationships. 

Picture this: you are attending an in-person workshop. The group work session is coming to an end. The facilitator begins a debrief to review what was discussed. He then addresses post-meeting next steps and opens the floor up to questions from the group, all burning questions are welcomed. The conversation naturally transitions to mingling amongst attendees as people gather their things to leave. People may exchange business cards or follow-up on new acquaintances made. Perhaps someone mentions a happy hour around the corner that piques the interest of many. Post-meeting conversations can lead to lasting connections, and connections are everything. 

In the virtual landscape, it’s easy to just say, “ok done” at the end of a workshop. This is a missed opportunity. Just like I use the pack-up time after an IRL workshop to chat with attendees, I always schedule in time to stick around for informal questions or just hang out virtually. Cleanup time is something that happens nearly effortlessly when we’re together in person. We may not fully realize it as it’s happening, but casual conversation is essential to build connections and relationships with others. It “humanizes” the work experience, and it’s necessary to include in the virtual landscape because people have become accustomed to it IRL. 

Create Cleanup Time

During my time running virtual meetings these past few months, I’ve heard from many people how they miss the human connection of in-person meetings. Cleanup time was a large part of that. People enjoyed it IRL, and they miss it. We shouldn’t deprive them of it. Cleanup time is often the cherry on top of the work–let’s bring it to virtual interactions!

Here’s how:

• Don’t plan on running to something else directly after the workshop. Schedule time to stick around after for informal questions or just to “hang out.” 
• As you wrap up the workshop, casually tell attendees that you’re staying on the call for questions and/or conversation and they’re welcome to join you. Note: There’s no need to put cleanup time on the official agenda for attendees to see. It was never part of the “time commitment” for a live event, but people still stayed to mingle. 
• Don’t overthink it. Just wrap up the session, and stick around. See what happens. 

A bonus of incorporating cleanup time in virtual workshops is that it’s really fun to go off-script. People open up and you can learn things you didn’t expect. I’ve found that people are more likely to ask you that crazy nagging question that they were afraid to ask during the “real session”. You can find out what’s really on people’s minds, the juicy stuff.

Pro tip: if you’re running a multi-day workshop you can incorporate cleanup time at the end of the second day. It can be part of the formative assessment, but it’s informal. 

The takeaway: people love time to chat and hang out after workshops, so let’s provide it virtually. 

Suggestions to Take Cleanup Time to the Next Level

We’ve been known to turn post-meeting chats into impromptu happy hours, gif dance parties, and/or an opportunity to play a game. Put the following in your back pocket for some cleanup time fun: 

• Snagit: screen capture and recording software, perfect for creating gifs 
• JQBX: team juke box  that allows everyone to play and listen to music in sync for the optimum dance party 
• Zoom Virtual Backgrounds: change your scenery and invite others to do the same for a fun twist on conversation–find out why everyone chose the background that they did. 
• Energizer and icebreaker games: Session Labs has a great collection of virtual-friendly games to tee up, from wordplay to rock paper scissor tournaments to improv games. 
• Ask the bartender: cleanup time might turn into cocktail hour, in which case it can be fun to tell everyone to craft their favorite drink and share the recipe with the group. 

Want to learn more about virtual facilitation? 

Voltage Control offers virtual services including Virtual Facilitation, Virtual Transitions, and Virtual Meeting Design. Please reach out at hello@voltagecontrol.com for a consultation.

The post We Need Virtual Workshop Cleanup Time appeared first on Voltage Control.

Planning a virtual workshop? I’m sharing my top tips to help you run it successfully! Voltage Control has been hosting multiple virtual workshops a week using the virtual meeting platform Zoom. Among them are community meetups that discuss the future of facilitation and how to transition to a virtual environment. We also run master facilitation workshops to teach facilitators and business leaders the necessary skills to effectively run and manage remote work and virtual workshops. Zoom is our app of choice because it has all of the features facilitators need to run workshops effectively. The platform supports large groups, user reactions, gallery view, and even the capability for breakout rooms. That’s right–you can assign participants to virtual breakout rooms!

I started to use Zoom because it’s resilient, reliable, and people “understand it”. This made it a really fantastic solution given that previously conferencing software confused people and consistently failed. Zoom switched from rarely working well to rarely failing. It is easy to set-up and manage and it supports 100+ participants. The HD video and audio are super reliable, even in low-bandwidth environments. Essential features like chat and operational audio/video capabilities (like muting) are easy to find & use. 

Below I share helpful pointers for running effective meetings in Zoom, from how to prepare your virtual space to facilitating during the virtual workshop. Good luck!

Workshop prep

Before the activities begin, it’s crucial to set up your virtual space so you’re adequately prepared. First, make sure the app is installed and you are running the latest Zoom. Pro tip: install the Zoom plugin for Chrome. It adds a Zoom button to your Google Calendar which makes for easy scheduling. Check your mic and your video and consider your background and appearance. I Zoom in from my organized, homey office space for every virtual meeting and workshop. It’s important to consider the aesthetic of your environment and dress professionally, just like you would for an in-person workshop. You’re setting the stage. Then, once you have the logistics in order and environment set, do a test session with some friends to make sure it’s all running smoothly (you can even attend one of our free facilitation practices).

An important organizational feature to use is the breakout rooms. This is an assimilation of organizing people in separate spaces for discussion like you would normally do in person. You can assign people rooms in the app–there’s an option for random assignment–and automatically redirect them from the main screen and back again according to your schedule.

When creating your workshop agenda, be sure to schedule extra coordination and synchronization time as everything takes longer online. Things are slower because of varying outside factors that you don’t have with in-person workshops, like wavering internet connection and the need to explain the platform to participants. It’s also important to plan for a minder to help you stay organized during the workshop. This person or these people will handle muting participants at appropriate times to manage the environment, setting timers, and arranging breakout groups. Note: if you have helpers, make sure to create a room for them in Zoom so they have a place to be during the workshop.

Finally, set and communicate expectations to all participants ahead of time so they understand what you will ask of them and how the tools work. You want everyone to be on the same page and ready to engage as soon as the workshop begins. Otherwise, the group won’t get the most out of the experience. For example, we had some people join in a virtual workshop expecting just to listen when the workshop was interactive and required participation. The lack of understanding caused some confusion and stagnation, disrupting the flow.

Clearly inform participants of what’s expected of them for optimum participation and overall success. 

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During the workshop

One of the best ways I’ve found to stay organized during a virtual workshop is to join Zoom using two or more devices, one device per task. For example, have one device for drawing (i.e. iPad), another device for configuring breakout rooms, and another device for sharing your deck. There are also several ways to keep participants organized during the workshop. Use the Auto Mute feature to silence everyone in the main meeting room. This helps you to manage the environment when all participants are together and eliminate the distraction of new arriving members as you’re speaking to the group.

Think: everyone has their own individual background noises that can make it very difficult for the group to clearly hear you and your directions. 

Another helpful way to share instructions is via the chat feature. All participants have access to a shared chatbox, the perfect place to send guidelines for them to refer to throughout the workshop. Note: attendees can only see chats that are sent after they join the meeting and they won’t see the main room chats when they are in a breakout room. 

When using breakout rooms, give people time to connect. They will have less opportunity to connect than at an in-person event. Allowing extra time for interaction can have a big impact on collaboration and productivity when it comes time to work. Use Google Docs, Google Slides or MURAL for breakout rooms to work together. MURAL is one of our favorite tools to use at Voltage Control. It is a virtual whiteboard tool that supports complex group work and allows teams to virtually share and collaborate on digital stickies. We prefer it for our virtual workshops because it has the most features to support facilitators. Pro tip: play a thoughtful playlist while the group works so that they are all in the same flow. Under Share/Advanced you can share audio only. 

Remember, everyone is at home and at their desks. It’s important to get them up and moving from time to time. Give more breaks, even just quick brain breaks. For example, have everyone turn off your camera and stretch. These intermissions will help overall productivity. 

Suggestions for attendees

Take time to explain the tools to people when you start the session. Show them where to find the mute icon and the chatbox. Let them know you will be using the Auto Mute feature in the main meeting room and that they will only be able to see the chatbox from that space as well. Encourage people to use their cameras.

Creating visual connection is a huge component of a successful virtual workshop.

Video is the closest thing to being with people in person. It’s difficult to connect with others when you can’t see their face! If people are embarrassed or shy, maybe suggest that they use virtual backgrounds or a green screen. Zoom has a virtual background feature!

Now with that being said, it’s also helpful to advise people to turn off their self-view so that they cannot see themselves. I know it may sound counterintuitive because I just told you how important it is to use our cameras to foster connection, but we can become less connected with others when we are staring at ourselves. Think about it, you aren’t constantly looking into a mirror during in-person interactions with other people. You’re focused on them and what they have to say, not what your hair looks like or how you look drinking coffee. Eliminating the ability to see ourselves on our screens can save us energy and distraction. Don’t make your brain work harder than it has to. Instruct participants to click on the “three-dot” menu that appears over your face in Zoom and turn off the “self-view”. 

Gallery View is another awesome feature to make participants feel like they are actually in a room with everyone there. It allows you to see thumbnail displays of all participants in a grid pattern. You will be able to see up to 49 participants (50 if you turn off your self-view) and have an arrow to scroll through the remaining participants. Click “Gallery View” in the upper righthand corner of the Zoom window. Hello, everyone!

Have people rename themselves once they’re in the meeting to show useful indicators. For example:

• Group Name
• City
• Affinity
• Skill Level

To do so, click on the “Participants” icon at the bottom of the Zoom screen. Then hover your mouse over your name in the Participants list on the right side of the window. Click on “Rename”. 

As always, collect feedback on the session–both about the content of the workshop itself and peoples’ thoughts on the virtual meeting space. This will help you learn how to better facilitate remotely via Zoom and provide people with what they need to succeed.

Want to learn more about virtual facilitation? 

Voltage Control offers virtual services including Virtual Facilitation, Virtual Transitions, and Virtual Meeting Design. Please reach out at hello@voltagecontrol.com for a consultation.

The post Get the Most Out of Zoom for Virtual Facilitation appeared first on Voltage Control.

Virtual facilitation is more important now than ever. The Great Pause has called upon the need for remote leadership to help the world navigate the forced shift to virtual communication and collaboration. Because important work shouldn’t wait. Even in a global pandemic, we need virtual leaders. The time to have that big meeting, collaborate with team members, capitalize on innovative ideas, and transform your business is now. That may surprise you to hear. But the new virtual business landscape is ripe with opportunity for partnership and teamwork that wasn’t possible before. Now you can gather 20-100+ people from around the globe in a shared space, all at once, and without the cost of renting conference room space or buying plane tickets. And with greater diversity in collaboration, comes more creative ideation and problem-solving. We have the power to solve problems and create collectively at a higher level than ever before. It’s rather remarkable. 

So how do we lead this creative power and innovation in a virtual landscape? Successful virtual facilitation is not as easy as scheduling a Zoom call and using a standard in-person facilitation process. A new landscape calls for a new set of practices. There are specific techniques needed to successfully navigate and lead people in a virtual space. The good news is that we’ve spent countless hours exploring the craft of virtual collaboration, and we have curated a detailed Virtual Work Guide with our findings thus far. From methods to foster human connection remotely to the best interactive tools to support virtual meetings and workshops, this universal toolkit can be applied to any remote team. And we want to share it with you so you can do meaningful work now. 

What’s inside the Virtual Work Guide:

The Virtual Work Guide instructs you on how to set up and facilitate productive virtual meetings to make them just as purposeful and successful as in-person meetings, if not more so. One of the most noticeable differences in working virtually is that screen time replaces face-to-face interactions. The absence of human connection can have a grave impact on team communication and productivity if the proper processes are not in place. Normal meeting guidelines still apply–like scheduling with purpose, creating a sound agenda, and keeping everyone involved and engaged. Adapting to the new virtual dynamic additionally requires choosing the right tools, fostering connection among meeting participants by utilizing tool features, and incorporating intentional networking opportunities for attendees that would otherwise exist in-person. 

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Also included are detailed ways we have adapted our Design Sprint model for remote work. Typically, a Design Sprint is a week-long process for tackling a business problem. Over five days, the sprint takes a team through a design thinking-based process to uncover insights, prototype an idea, and test it with users. Remote Design Sprints must be significantly adjusted to fit into the virtual work environment. The guide outlines ways to tweak the sprint schedule and cadence, set the (virtual) stage, and pick the right tech to maintain the ability to collaborate, creatively solve problems, and design impactfully.

The last section of the guide is focused on the need for human connection in a virtual environment. In the absence of in-person interactions, there is an increased importance placed upon creating human connection, outside of required meetings. It’s super important to create as much human connection as possible in a virtual space.

We list various helpful tools and processes to navigate and make the most of the virtual landscape supporting: organization/productivity, communication, smart scheduling, creative collaboration, and personal and team breaks. 

Bonus: the guide includes a preview of the tool we’re working on in-house to help maximize virtual facilitation. 

Don’t wait. Do meaningful work now. Download the Voltage Control Virtual Work Guide to access all of the tools and processes you need to make virtual work possible and most effective.

Looking for a Virtual Meeting Facilitator? We Can Help. 

Voltage Control facilitates remote design thinking workshops, innovation sessions, and Design Sprints. Please reach out at info@voltagecontrol.com for a consultation.

The post The Voltage Control Virtual Work Guide appeared first on Voltage Control.