Using the right technology for the right purpose is often the key. However while technology is a great enabler, there’s much more involved in facilitating online gatherings, like keeping the attention of everyone involved, ensuring equal contributions and establishing clear agreements on the relevant outcomes.
- Remote Facilitation: Engage us to design and facilitate an engaging remote event for you & your team, or a group of stakeholders
- Tech Coaching: We can teach you how to use the best, most suitable technology so you can facilitate remotely yourself
- Tech Support: Get help and guidance in transforming your physical event into a remote one with tech support from us on the day
The Benefits of Remote Workshops
There is growing evidence that in several ways, effectively-run virtual offsites and meetings may be superior to in-person meetings.
LESS COGNITIVE BIASES: In many meetings, decisions taken will be in line with the HIPPO, or “highest-paid person's opinion”. In virtual meetings however, participants are more comfortable openly disagreeing with leaders, which can lead to more productive discussion and often better outcomes (Olsen et al., 2017; Bloom et. al., 2014).
MORE INCLUSIVITY: Virtual workshops offer the opportunity for reduced physical considerations such as age and gender - for example by introducing anonymous contributions and voting, and even removing some of the more obvious visual cues experienced in a physical meeting. This can, when managed appropriately, level the playing field (Chen, 2020; Dailey-Hebert & Dennis, 2014).
BETTER TURN-TAKING: With effective facilitation, it’s easier to encourage equal turn-taking in virtual meetings. In our experience participants are much more used to waiting for each other to finish talking before speaking themselves. This enables fuller sharing and reduces the risk of more senior or outspoken participants ‘running the show’ and shouting down others.
