Miranda Aguilar is a Creative Producer at CuriousWorks, running programs like Everything is Writing, Future Culture, Testing Grounds, Fetch Quest, and more. Here, they share their guide to online facilitation.
Since 2020, I’ve had a lot of practice facilitating online. The zine Handle with Care was largely created over monthly online workshops. I’ve also been a participant in a lot of online workshops, some of which have worked better than others. Here are some do’s and don’ts I’ve learned from the experience:
DON’T: Cram in non-stop activities. I always schedule check-ins at the beginning whether online or IRL, and I don’t try to force people to start work right away
DO: Schedule breaks. Schedule a break once every 45 minutes to an hour for folks to do whatever they want - screen break, bio break, mental health break. They don’t have to tell me what they’re doing on break. Schedule longer breaks every 3-4 hours - especially if you’re having a workshop that goes into lunch or dinner. When I moved previously in-person sessions online, I actually made the workshops longer so that I could schedule more breaks. If you’ve facilitated before, you know that things often take longer than you expect. I think you need to be even more flexible about that when you’re online.
DON’T: Force folks to turn on their cameras or mics to prove “they’re engaged.” There’s nothing wrong with asking folks to turn their cameras on, but it’s not a fool-proof metric of engagement. There are many reasons why a person might not have their camera on: needing a screen break, privacy concerns, sensory overload, depleting social battery, or working around a struggling Internet connection. It can already be harder to connect with folks online, and shaming or calling someone out for not turning on their camera won’t make it easier.
DO: Put multiple ways for people to engage with you privately. Whether something’s wrong, if they want to tell you something privately, or if they just have constructive feedback - there should be multiple ways for people to share that with you. There’s private chat functions, but you can also add your phone number or email for people to contact you during the meeting. I also like to make sure there’s anonymous evaluation forms sent out to folks.
DON’T: Try out some new technology without testing it first. Are you sharing video? Using something like an online bulletin board? Sharing a presentation? Please test it out first. We understand tech mishaps happen, but we all expect folks to be more tech-savvy since that first lockdown. If you can, make sure there’s another facilitator or person in the workshop with you who can help you troubleshoot tech during the workshop so you can focus on the people there.
DO: Be ready to explain and help participants with their own tech problems. Holding space for folks online can sometimes mean being IT support too. It can feel a little frustrating when it seems that everyone should have some experience with online video calls now, but everyone’s experience and skillsets are different! Some people don’t know how to turn off their mic or share video, so be prepared if you’re going to ask folks to participate with an online tool.
While online workshops became more popular out of previous necessity, there are still plenty of reasons to host your next workshop online instead of in person. Maybe you want to reach a wider group of people who no longer need to travel to attend a workshop. Maybe you find it easier to implement certain accessibility tools in online workshops. Maybe you just want to allow participants to engage with the workshop in their own space, at their own pace.
Facilitating workshops online is different, not worse. It’s just a slightly different skill-set that any good facilitator can learn. Good luck!
Image Credit: Andrea's collage made during the Handle with Care workshops.