Workshops That Matter : How to Plan and Run Relevant, Productive and Memorable Workshops
Overview
The practical guide to planning and running workshops people remember and act on: in a room, online or hybrid, with the words, agendas and checklists ready to copy.
Most workshops fail in the same ways. The goal is vague, the loudest voices win, the energy dies after lunch, and two weeks later nobody remembers what was decided. This book shows you how to avoid all of it, whether you are a new team lead running your first session or an experienced facilitator who wants fresh tools.
This revised 2026 edition keeps the plain, practical voice and the games readers liked in the first edition, fixes what had aged, and adds what workshops need now: remote and hybrid facilitation, scripts for difficult moments, ready-made agendas and templates. The research it cites is listed at the back.
Inside you will find:
- Start here: ten steps to your next workshop on one page, and a first workshop followed from invitation to 90-day review
- When a workshop is the right tool, and when it isn't
- The facilitator's job: you own the process, the group owns the content, and how to make it safe to speak
- Preparation: the client conversation, the outcome sentence, writing good questions and an accessibility check
- Opening in ten minutes: a sample script and working agreements people actually keep
- Ten icebreakers, for colleagues and for strangers, most with an online version
- From sticky notes to priorities: silent writing, clustering, dot voting and small group work that ends with owners and dates
- Large groups and decisions: four decision rules, 1-2-4-All, Six Thinking Hats and a debate you can see
- Energizers and team games, and what to do when your group hates games
- Remote and hybrid workshops: video fatigue, online whiteboards, breakout rooms, time zones and AI note-takers
- Scripts for tough moments: the dominant voice, the silent room, the boss who takes over, the cynic, running late
- Closing and follow-up: feedback, a 48-hour email template, and how to show a workshop changed something
- An agenda library from a 90-minute session to three days, plus checklists and templates you can copy
For team leads and managers, facilitators and trainers, HR and learning and development teams, and anyone who leads a remote or hybrid team.
Book 2 of The Human Side of Business. Also in the series: Mergers & Acquisitions: The Human Side (leading your team through a merger) and Step Back to Leap Forward (a practical reset for burnout).
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9781549963810
- ISBN-10: 1549963813
- Publisher: Independently Published
- Publish Date: October 2017
- Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.23 inches
- Shipping Weight: 0.31 pounds
- Page Count: 98
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