The difference between in-person and remote workshops

- Obviously, the experience of an online remote workshop is a bit different to a real life in-person workshop. The coffee and biscuits aren't provided when you're working from home, for a start. I've seen many people trying to replicate the offline experience online. That's a bit like a new vegan trying to find food that tastes like blue cheese, that smells like blue cheese, and has the same texture as blue cheese. It's only going to lead to disappointment. And I say that from experience. I want to look at three of the main differences between in-person and remote workshops and suggest some ways that we can improve our online sessions. First, is the state of mind. The act of getting showered, dressed, and making the journey to an office show a level of commitment to the work that you're expected to do. So when you step into a workshop, you're more likely to take it seriously. Getting dressed from the waist up, wandering into your kitchen, and lifting the lid of your laptop doesn't quite match up to that. One way to address this is to give all of the attendees some pre-work to do in advance. That shows that you're taking this seriously, and they're expected to put in some effort. It's also a great opportunity for people to get their minds around the issues that you want to address before the workshop actually starts. Next, we've got engagement. When you're in a face-to-face workshop, you don't have the opportunity to slack off, browse on your phone, or clip your toenails. So let's look at how to reduce the risk of that happening online. I'd recommend telling people that you expect them to have their webcams on but their microphones muted. Use their webcams to involve them and to get feedback like thumbs up and head nods. Do this regularly so that they don't have time to drift off. Also when people know that they're being watched, they're more likely to do what's expected of them. Finally, we've got collaboration. And I think online offerings can be far better than Post-it Notes and flip charts. I know that some videoconferencing platforms have virtual whiteboards and collaboration areas built in, but I prefer to use a separate collaboration space. I tend to use Google Docs or live collaboration on a Word document. That allows me to paste in workshop instructions and to keep an eye on how people are participating in real time. Google Slides can also be good if you want people to move objects around a space. There are more differences between offline and online workshops, but hopefully this will help you understand that with just a little bit of thought you can address them and maybe even turn them into advantages.