These days facilitating Design Sessions and Workshops (of different natures) is something that almost every Designer is expected to perform across any organization they go into. Just check any job posting on Linkedin or Indeed and you can witness that firsthand under the requirements section of every job description. However and what’s in actuality something quite interesting, Workshop facilitation isn’t necessarily something that Designers have had as part of their Academic curriculum or even as part of their UX Bootcamps. In the past I’ve written about shaping and running remote workshops, on workshop preparation, and also on how to quickly set ideation sessions forward, but this time around this article will be more focused on facilitation, and essentially ensuring that whatever sessions Designers tackle are as effective as possible. Most of my comments and observations are derived from the intersection of my experience as a Certified Teacher/Trainer, where in order to do so, I actually had to learn how to prepare sessions in terms of content, facilitation of activities, communication, friction/conflict management, evaluation and also my experience in the Product Design world, particularly in Innovation Labs, where I’ve been able to work with a variety of audiences and subject matters, always with the goal to effectively capitalize on everyone’s time efficiently, and potentiate new ideas/concepts in a timely manner. As always, I’m hoping this article generates some interesting reflections and conversations between professionals in this field.

1. Scope, Goals & Context — For someone who is facilitating and organizing a Design Session and/or workshop (or series of sessions & workshops), it is essential to clearly define the scope and goals for that engagement (or series of engagements). This is of course self-evident, but it is always worth reinforcing it, since it becomes even more important for the attendees. All the attendees may come with a preset of expectations, therefore making sure everyone is well informed of what the scope is going to be be, as well as the goal by its end also tames those expectations, not to mention, potential anxiety and even friction. Contextualizing the engagement is equally important, and this may include the topic that is going to be discussed, but also specific requirements that Attendees need to be mindful of in order to successfully participate or even if they need to prepare anything in order to actively engage in the session.
2. Attendees — Selecting attendees is always something that Designers may not necessarily control, however being mindful of the volume of participants, alongside their experience and academic background is always of paramount importance in order for these sessions to be successful. One of the tasks I always did before embarking on a Teaching/Training assignment, was reading through the information the Institute collected on the attendees. I specifically focused on learning about their education level, familiarity with Design tools, expectations for the course and what their biggest pain points had been thus far, either in their professional careers or general activities they wanted to get knowledge on. For Designers/Facilitators this now can translate in typically making sure the number of attendees for a session is adequate with the number of professionals running the engagement. In my training sessions the maximum number of attendees per trainer was usually 12, and that was considered a big group. For engagements where there are more than 12 attendees, making sure there are enough facilitators, and that everyone is well organized so they all follow the same process is, once again, fundamental to smooth fulfillment of these sessions.
3. Timing — One important aspect surrounding sessions is time. This encompasses a variety of aspects, namely how many sessions are going to be needed for a particular engagement, during which period of time, what their duration is going to be. Also and equally important, in order to make sure the sessions are productive, define breaking times, in order to allow participants to decompress, also keeping in mind not to dilate these breaking moments so much that it jeopardizes the momentum of the session. Another thing to keep in mind: always remember to contextualize what the session/engagement is about for participants who join later or for those who have to leave earlier. While that may disrupt the momentum of the session, it’s nevertheless important that everyone feels included and with enough context.
4. Activities & Tools — In order for any engagement to be successful there has to be a series of activities which are catalysts for participation. The activities can range from sketching exercises, to case study construction, outlining and building pitches, among many others. Making sure the attendees understand these activities will be part of the sessions is always helpful, since it builds reassurance. I’ve also witnessed sessions where springing unexpected tasks can indeed potentiate creativity, but that also provokes some resistance. If a facilitator is indeed going to ask for something unexpected, it’s important to always educate the attendees on how to go through the necessary steps in order to get the expected outcome. This also ties with tools and instruments needed for the sessions. Always make sure to level set everyone’s knowledge of a tool or a particular item that is essential for the engagement to be successful. These days, as remote and hybrid work has become more prevailing, it’s at times easy to assume everyone knows what certain tools do and how they operate (Mural, Miro, Freehand for instance). Designers and Facilitators should always make sure that everyone knows how to use the materials required for the session.
5. Inclusion & Management — Every group one works with is never quite like the previous. Or the next. Every engagement has its fair share of specificity and also of the unknown. I taught many classes where the level of camaraderie between the groups were quite different, ranging from the very close to the very random. The level of unity and cooperation between people typically develops with time, but as a Facilitator the role is not only to be a host and introduce the array of activities taking place (and educate), but also making sure everyone feels seen, heard and has an active voice in the proceedings. While you don’t necessarily want to push attendees into situations they’re not comfortable with, you shouldn’t also avoid participants who are either more introverted or naturally quieter. Incentivizing a democratization in participation is one of the biggest tasks for a facilitator, as is friction and conflict management. Friction is something that can at times occur, and while the facilitator is seen as somewhat of an authority figure, always keep in mind the conflict should be solved within the group, allowing for the attendees to have an opportunity to clearly expose what prompted the situation, why they’re frustrated and collectively figure out a solution for it.
6. Findings & Synthesis — Any engagement always has a goal which is synonymous with findings. This output, this synthesis which is crafted by the Facilitator/Designer and Researcher or whomever gets tasked with this summarization, should always be documented in a manner that is easily accessible for any of the attendees to consume and navigate through. This means, either through a Mural/Miro/Freehand space or an Invision Board, or the more traditional PDF or PowerPoint formats, the information should be showcased in such a manner that it illustrates the journey the attendees went on, but also what was the essence of that journey, what the convergence of everyone’s efforts translated into. Typically this is where a mix of Data Visualizations (Infographics), married with more detailed observations comes into play, which hopefully generates a compelling narrative.
7. Next Steps — In order to effectively provide a sense of journey closure, and also of completion or achieving a milestone, it’s important to contextualize what comes next. What is effectively going to be the aftermath of the engagement. For instance, in the classes I used to teach there was always a series of exercises/activities which were part of a mini-project that the attendees would work through and eventually finalize by the end of the course. This would be a reflection of what they learnt, but also of their team work. For Design Sessions or Workshops, typically it’s important to inform attendees of what is going to be the subsequent engagements, and what their level of participation and interaction will be. All of these sessions generate an emotional tie between the attendees but also towards the activity/task itself, a sense of ownership that should be nurtured, since in itself, it also promotes team integration. Keeping everyone informed in a timely manner not only perpetuates that investment, but also reinforces the role everyone has had in shaping whatever is being worked on.

Facilitating Design Sessions/Workshops is a process which demands organization, perseverance and flexibility. The Facilitator/Designer can and will typically be faced with an array of challenges that are very diverse. Working with different team members, also means working with different expectations, and that’s something to always take into consideration. However, recognizing everyone’s skillset and individuality, making sure everyone knows the context of the session, and communicating succinctly and substantially always invigorates these sessions making them into very productive endeavors.

As Albert Einstein stated:
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”