Delivery Matters

Stories behind workshop plans,
sticky notes and markers.

Author: James Smart - page 3

Facilitator running a leadership workshop with her team.

How to conduct an effective leadership workshop

Great teams are built on a foundation of great leaders. But how do leaders grow and develop the skills necessary to help their teams do great work and collaborate with purpose? Structured training programs and leadership skills workshops can help provide dedicated space for your leaders to level-up and grow in a collaborative format. In this guide, we'll explore why your team should invest in the growth of your leaders and share practical advice for how to facilitate an effective leadership workshop. Let's dive in! What is a leadership workshop? A leadership workshop is a collaborative session where new and existing leaders develop the skills needed to be effective leaders…

Group discussing ideas during an ideation workshop

How to run an engaging ideation workshop

Want to know a secret about ideation? Coming up with ideas is easy. But what separates a good idea from a great solution is collaboration, refinement and strategic thinking. Enter the ideation workshop: a proven format for generating new ideas and turning them into effective solutions. In this guide, we'll share an effective ideation workshop structure and a heap of tips for running an effective ideation process, whether you're trying to solve problems for users or simply need to create innovation in any context. What is an ideation workshop? An ideation workshop is a structured process for brainstorming innovative ideas and refining them into effective solutions. For me, an ideation…

20 impactful workshop ideas for your next event

Workshops are a powerful, dynamic format for getting stuff done as a group. Whether you're a manager working on skills development or a creative professional building space for innovation and fun, a workshop is one of the most effective ways to accomplish a shared goal. But how to choose the right workshop format to use and how to make the most of time spent together as a team? In this blog post, we'll share workshop ideas ranging from corporate sessions you can use to make an impact in the workplace all the way through to creative activities you can use to engage participants at any workshop event. When should I…

What to keep in mind when hiring a facilitator

When a group faces tough challenges, effective facilitation can help create space for inclusive and engaging change. But when should you consider bringing in a professional facilitator to host a workshop or event? How can you ensure it's a worthwhile investment of your time and money? In this guide, we'll explore what to keep in mind when choosing to hire a facilitator, what to expect from them, and give you some idea of the cost of a facilitator's services too! Understanding the role of a facilitator Before diving into the specifics of hiring, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of what a facilitator does and how they'll be able…

What is facilitation? Definition and principles

Facilitation is a powerful skillset that helps improve collaboration, generates results and improves group dynamics. But what does it truly mean to facilitate and approach situations like a skilled facilitator? How can managers, leaders and anyone running meetings and workshops learn to bring a facilitative approach to their work? In this post, we'll share a definition of facilitation before exploring the key principles of facilitation you can use to embody the approach successfully, whether you're looking to have more effective meetings, handle conflict and do more productive group work. Below, we'll explore the meaning of facilitation in simple terms while also giving you a better sense of the core principles…

How to have a productive kickoff meeting (and empower your team!)

Have you ever been a part of a group project that went nowhere or was badly organized to the point of chaos? Perhaps no one knew who was accountable for what, everyone had a different idea of the goals, or the final results were poor. So, what went wrong? When it comes to empowering your team to do great work and complete projects, one of the most important things you can do is hold a kickoff meeting. With a comprehensive project kickoff, you can position your team for success, create alignment and structure, and build resiliency to potential issues. By creating clarity, excitement, and preparedness in this short, focused meeting…

40 problem-solving techniques and processes

All teams and organizations encounter challenges. Approaching those challenges without a structured problem solving process can end up making things worse. Proven problem solving techniques such as those outlined below can guide your group through a process of identifying problems and challenges, ideating on possible solutions, and then evaluating and implementing the most suitable. In this post, you'll find problem-solving tools you can use to develop effective solutions. You'll also find some tips for facilitating the problem solving process and solving complex problems. What is problem solving? Problem solving is a process of finding and implementing a solution to a challenge or obstacle. In most contexts, this means going through a…

A photograph of a trainer delivering content.

What is Instructor-Led Training? ILT Complete Guide

When designing and delivering employee training, one size rarely fits all. While some skills and topics can be effectively taught in a self-paced environment, instructor-led training continues to be a great way to impart knowledge and skills experientially. But how do you ensure instructor-led training is engaging and cost-effective at scale? Whether you’re working in a virtual or live environment, this guide to instructor-led training will help you and your trainers deliver exceptional training experiences. We'll share share best practices, actionable insights and help you decide when instructor-led training is right for you and your team. What is instructor-led training? Instructor-led training (ILT) is a learning format where an instructor or…

What is instructional design? (+ examples and tips!)

Instructional design is a systematic and theory-backed approach to creating engaging and impactful learning experiences. Whether you’re designing eLearning courses or employee training programs, effective instructional design is a surefire method of meeting business goals and developing effective learning solutions. But what is instructional design exactly? In this guide, we'll start with a practical definition of instructional design. We'll explore the role of instructional designers, learning models and theories, and also share real-world examples and best practices to help you craft more effective learning experiences. What is instructional design? Instructional design is a systematic process of designing and developing effective instructional materials and learning experiences. Instructional design involves analyzing learner…

A screenshot of learners on an online course.

How to create an effective instructional design storyboard

A well-structured instructional design storyboard is the foundation of any successful online course or elearning project. It forms a blueprint that allows everyone involved in the project to understand the learning flow, offer contributions and then implement the design in your elearning authoring tool with ease.In this guide, we'll share a complete process for creating effective elearning storyboards. We've included tips for the course design process and a heap of instructional design storyboard templates to help you optimize your elearning development process. Let's dive in. What is an instructional design storyboard? An instructional design storyboard serves as a design blueprint for an instructional design project or elearning course. This typically…

9 Instructional design principles and how to use them

Robert Gagne’s instructional design principles were first proposed in 1965. Though the world has changed a lot in that time, the way we learn is fundamentally the same. Together, these nine principles are a science-backed framework for creating effective learning experiences, whatever your learning format. Whether you’re creating elearning courses, training sessions or working in blended environments, this guide will help you understand how to deploy these instructional strategies and engage your learners. We’ll explore each principle in turn and provide practical examples and advice for applying them in your instructional design process. Good instructional design is an art and a science. Even if you’re new to learning design, chances…

Photograph of participants playing a training game.

24 engaging training games and activities

Creating the ideal conditions for learning isn’t easy. Trainers need to balance information sharing and theory with experiential activities in order to create effective learning experiences. Training games are a great way to engage trainees with interactive activities that help facilitate the learning process. In this guide, we'll share our favourite training activities alongside tips for engaging trainees. You'll leave with practical ideas for improving your next employee training and add new methods to your toolkit. Let’s dive in! What are training games and activities? Training games and activities are interactive activities designed to engage trainees and create a more memorable and engaging learning experience. These games are experiential in…

Design more engaging sessions
with ease

Drag, drop and reuse content. Calculate time automatically. Collaborate in real-time. Create your next session
in minutes (not hours) with SessionLab.