How to avoid discussions that cause frustration in your workshops

When we organise workshops, a strange expression crosses people’s faces when we mention that we’re not going to hold any discussions during the workshop. It’s a common mistake and the amount of discussion occurring in a workshop is how you can distinguish a novice facilitator from an experienced one. When hiring people, one of the main things we use to estimate their maturity is how they respond to the question “should you have discussions in workshops or not?”.

Why should you avoid discussions in workshops? And what alternative methods can boost the productivity of a workshop? Read on to learn the reasons we avoid discussions in workshops and several alternatives we use to improve the productivity of a workshop.

Reasons to avoid discussions in workshops

1. Discussions in workshops are not discussions

Nobody’s really put a lot of thought into it, but discussions in workshops are not discussions at all. Instead, they push assumptions, opinions and beliefs onto other people, sometimes very aggressively or manipulatively. Discussions require a back and forth movement of arguments so one party can convince the other. This means both parties need to listen to each other, which is where a lot of discussions tend to fail.

2. Discussions only benefit extroverts

In a discussion, the winners are often those with the loudest voice, the quickest rhetoric, and the fastest thoughts. But not everyone is like this. A lot of people are not loud, have difficulty finding the right words quickly, and are not fast thinkers. There’s nothing wrong with this, on the contrary. But you won’t achieve a balanced result if you mix these two personalities together as one personality will overtake the other.

3. Discussions are not productive

In order for a discussion to be successful, all parties in the discussion need to be able to voice their arguments, to listen to each other, and come to a decision that everyone can support. When was the last time you saw this happening in traditional settings? This doesn’t happen because people will resist the outcome, sabotage the implementation of a decision, or use every possible means to get the decision retracted. The result is that discussions promote conflict rather than harmony.

4. Discussions are not anonymous

Everyone in a discussion is a witness as words come out of you and you can’t hide your opinions. A lack of anonymity is not always beneficial, especially if you are discussing sensitive matters or need to come to a breakthrough. Another reason is what we call The Highest Paid Person In The Room, or HIPPO. People tend to formulate their opinions around those of the HIPPO, which will not benefit the outcome of the workshop.

5. Discussions are frustrating

Considering all the reasons above, it is fair to say that discussions and workshops are frustrating. There is a better way though: running more structured workshops will eliminate frustration and other downsides. Let’s move on to see how you can make discussions and workshops more productive.

How to improve workshop productivity?

1. Bring in a facilitator

First of all, you should bring in a facilitator. A facilitator is a neutral person that facilitates a workshop. The facilitator abstains from participating in the workshop to maintain a neutral view and is also the leader of the process. They decide how the workshop will proceed, who will speak, for what length of time, when the group will move on, and so forth. Finally, the facilitator will guide the group in coming to a decision either through group decision-making or by referring the outcome to a decision-maker. Although facilitators have an important role, it is also vital that the group knows who the facilitator is, understands their role, and permits the person to act as their facilitator.

2. Bring in a decision-maker

Besides the facilitator, it’s important to have a decision-maker even if the group will rely on group decision-making. There are always moments in workshops where opinions are split in a perfect tie or where the group cannot get out of a discussion. These instances necessitate having someone who is accountable or will have to settle a difference of opinion, and only the decision-maker can do this. Decision-makers shouldn’t be relied on for everything, but the group should understand that the decision-maker will make a decision when it matters and will be held accountable for it. It’s also important to then commit to that decision and leave all other opinions and arguments aside. The whole group will move forward with the decision and will not return to it.

3. Set expectations

Setting expectations is crucial and it’s best to do it at the beginning of a workshop. This way you ensure that you know what everyone wants to get out of the workshop. Failing to manage expectations will make people feel left out of or disconnected from the workshop. In the worst case, you’ll have a couple of rebels on your hands and end up in total frustrating chaos again. By allowing people to voice their expectations and how they feel, the facilitator can take these expectations into account, manage the process and guide the group, which will make them feel more comfortable.

4. Work alone, together

Although workshops include having a bunch of people work together, they do it alone first. The goal is for each member to run through exercises by themselves and come up with their own findings, opinions and ideas. These ideas are subsequently brought together. This allows everyone to voice their opinion with the same power regardless of personality. At the same time, bringing all the ideas together will force everyone to listen to each one. The process propels everyone to go into listening mode since they will either read through all the ideas on their own or the facilitator will read them out loud.

5. Prototype everything

Oftentimes, a workshop will be examining whether or not an idea will work, only to find out that the conceiver of the idea meant something completely different. This happens because everyone has individual interpretations and is the reason why we radically prototype. A prototype is an idea made tangible. Traditionally, prototyping was used for physical products to test an idea without having to build it entirely. I do the same thing for all ideas. Visualise ideas on paper, we mock things up, make wireframes, use 3D printing, etc. Throughout workshops, we use different methods of prototyping to ensure that everyone can see our idea and everyone is talking about the same thing.

6. Make it anonymous

Most workshop exercises are built around some level of anonymity when it comes to voicing opinions, coming up with ideas, criticising and voting. This creates a safe space for people to come up with ideas and voice their opinions. No one worries about ideas being traced back to them, which increases the chances of both the person and the idea succeeding.

7. Make it a fast process

People often call out to me to say that the process is moving along too quickly. We start with ideating, put everything on a board, look at it and start voting for the best solutions. This is fast indeed, but most of it is productive and qualitative. Spending a lot of time going over the details of ideas and discussing them will return you to the above reasons for frustrating workshops and discussions. Many people believe that this method decreases quality because the group doesn’t understand the ideas presented on the board. This is incorrect. The exercises require everyone to be very explicit and the facilitator goes through all the ideas, seeking clarification when necessary. The group then reads through all of the ideas and votes for the ones they think are the best, each for their own reasons. If the group comes to a final conclusion, it means that the best ideas have the most common argument pros. At the same time, no comments are made on the other ideas and the result focuses on how the group commonly views a few of the same ideas as the best ones. In the end, everyone has the same information or even more compared to a traditional process, but without all the frustration. We suggest going out with the team to drink a beer and to socialise (or virtually socialise) with the time you saved. Winning on both sides here.

8. Introduce a parking lot

It’s inevitable for discussions to pop up during a workshop or for topics that do not contribute to the workshop to be raised. In order to manage these, it’s necessary to have a parking lot. Do not try to suppress these. By putting ideas in a parking lot, you show people that they are being heard and that their topic or concern will be addressed at some other point of the workshop or afterwards.

9. 80% is good enough

A lot of people tend to postpone a decision until they have 100% certainty or very close to it. Unfortunately, life doesn’t often offer people 100%. There’s a 100% risk you will die someday and it’s close to 100% that you have to pay your taxes or they will seize your assets. But apart from that, 100% doesn’t occur very naturally. Are there any upsides to postponing your decisions? Not much. We have learned that by taking a stance and validating it, you get results quicker and at a much lower cost. It’s by taking a calculated gamble or risk that you move things along. So don’t try to get it right all the time and just start doing. It will pay off.

10. Validation is your way forward

How do you know you are on the right track? You don’t. But you can get an estimate and manage your risks through validation. You’ll know if all of the above was right for you or not through validation. And if it wasn’t, that’s good as well. After all, there’s no such thing as the wrong way. If something doesn’t work out as it should have, then it’s a learning opportunity to find a working alternative. These learning opportunities are as valuable as being on the right track from the beginning. In our experience, teams that are wrong more often than not learn much more and much quicker than teams that are lucky and right from the get-go. Even Steve Jobs had to overcome walls of learning. It’s the way you deal with these wrong turns and learning opportunities that’s important. So put it up to validation and learn from the results. But don’t overdo it as 80% is enough and you’ll never really know until you launch your product, idea or venture.

We hope you’ve found this article insightful and the points made will help you to create a more productive and positive work environment. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need help with facilitating workshops or have any questions with regards to running workshops.