The key to a great workshop is great planning. The first and most important task is to get to the heart of the workshop brief.

To help you do this, here’s a discussion guide to help you understand the real workshop brief. I’ve also developed a checklist, to ensure you’ve considered everything. As a rule of thumb, spend at least as much time planning the workshop as you do running it. The more you plan, the more successful your workshop will be.

Taking a Workshop Brief: Discussion Guide

Here are the key topics you should cover. Also, the kind of questions you should ask. This is for when you’re meeting with the workshop 'problem owner'.

1 Background to the Problem

What’s the issue we’re trying to solve?

Why is it important? What’s been tried before?

What will happen after the workshop?

Is there anything I need to read to help me understand it?

2 Defining the Workshop Task

What specifically would you like to get out of the workshop?

What would you see as a successful outcome?

What specifically are the outputs you’re looking for? For example, give me a sense of the type and number of ideas you’d like to get to.

Do you have any existing formats/templates that you’d like to work on as workshop outputs? 

3 Understanding the Attendees

Tell me about the people you’d like to invite. Why is it important for them to attend?

What perspective/contribution will they bring to the session?

Any watchouts I need to be aware of?

Who else might be useful to invite?

4 Logistics

Let’s discuss dates/timings. What dates are you planning? How long will the session last?

What about the venue? Who’ll be booking it?

How / when will we invite people?

5 Preparation

Have you thought about participant pre-work? What do you think might be useful? (Tasks? Reading?)

Do you have any thoughts about the process / the agenda? 

6 Next Steps

When would you like to see a session plan?

Is there anything else I need to know that might be helpful?

Workshop checklist

Once you’ve had a briefing session, here’s a checklist to ensure you’ve covered everything. If you still have questions, then have a further follow-up with the problem owner.

1 Am I clear on the workshop task?

2 Do I understand the background and the issue we’re addressing?

3 Have we agreed on how much time to allocate to it?

4 Have dates/times been agreed?

5 Do I know who’s coming and why they’ve been invited?

6 When will invitations be sent out?

7 Has the venue been agreed upon and booked?

8 Have I thought about pre-work for attendees?

9 What workshop materials do we need?

10 What are the workshop tools we will use?

11 What kind of stimulus should we prepare?

12 Are roles and responsibilities clear during the session(s)?

13 When will I develop/share the workshop process?

I hope you find these helpful. If you have any other suggestions on the best way to understand a workshop brief, then please let me know.

Good luck with your next workshop.