Hello friends,
Many thanks for reading The Quest, your weekly round-up of tips and insights to help you design and lead exceptional online sessions that your group members will love.❤️
I’m excited to share a simple technique you can use to get all voices heard in your online courses, workshops, and webinars.
It’s the key to breaking through that wall of awkward silence and getting your session buzzing.
Let’s jump right in!
How many people actually speak up in online sessions?
Consider this:
- 70% of remote workers say it’s tough to get a word in on video calls (@owlabs).
- 42% of attendees leave virtual meetings without sharing what’s on their mind (@Slido).
- 22% don’t say a single word (@Geekwire).
Think about that for a second.
That’s a lot of untapped ideas and wasted potential.
Here’s the surprising thing.
When it comes to getting all voices heard, online sessions have a major edge over in-person. It’s never been so easy to get everyone to chime in.
And yet the problem persists.
Getting people to speak up in online sessions can feel like pulling teeth. You throw out a question only to hear crickets. 🦗
Enter “Go Wide, Go Deep”.
“Go Wide, Go Deep” is a 2-step engagement technique to help you get every voice heard in your online session.
Let’s take a closer look at how it works.
1/ ➡️ “Go Wide”
This is all about casting a wide net. You want every single person in the room to have the chance to chime in—no exceptions. It’s your opportunity to gather a broad range of ideas and get a sense of where the whole group is at.
This is where digital tools shine:
- 💬 Chat: For instant, low-pressure feedback.
- ☁️ Word clouds: To visualize common themes.
- 📊 Polls: A quick and easy way to gauge opinions.
- 📋 Shared whiteboards: To let ideas flow visually.
- 📈 Spectrograms: To see where people fall on an issue.
2/ ⬇️ “Go Deep”
Once you’ve got the big picture, it’s time to dive deeper. This is where you explore those ideas in more detail, uncovering new insights and perspectives.
Tools to help you dig deeper:
- ✍️ Individual writing time: Give people space to reflect.
- 💡Group discussion: Encourage conversation and debate.
- 👥 Breakout groups: Smaller, focused discussions that can lead to richer insights.
Why it works
👉 It makes contributing easy: It lowers the barrier to participation.
👉 It gives people options: This is especially crucial for introverts who might prefer different ways of engaging.
👉 It keeps it interesting: Switching things up keeps peoples’ attention and increases motivation to contribute.
Here’s how you can bring the “Go Wide, Go Deep” technique to life in your live session sessions:
Go Wide ➡️ Start your session with a simple prompt related to your theme. Use a poll or chat to get everyone to chime in.
Go Deep ⬇️ Transition to breakout groups where participants can explore the topic in more detail.
Go Wide ➡️ After the breakouts, invite everyone to share a takeaway in the chat.
Go Deep ⬇️ Lead a group discussion, drawing out the key insights.
Go Wide ➡️ Wrap up by asking everyone to share an action they’ll take based on the session.
This is just one example. How you use the technique will 100% depend on your session’s purpose and audience.
💡Pro tip: The magic is in the mix. Alternating between going wide and deep keeps the energy high and participation flowing. Always aim to start and end wide.
Remember “Go Wide, Go Deep” for your next session to ensure every voice is heard. Because when everyone contributes, everyone benefits.
Put it into action 💪
What’s one way you can start using “Go Wide, Go Deep” in your next online session?
I’d love to hear your ideas. Just hit reply to this email and let me know!
This Week’s Facilitator Finds 💪
In this section, you’ll find curated resources, tips, and tools that I’ve been checking out.
1/ The Top 80+ Poll Question Ideas to Ask Your Online Audience. A blog post from Slido with poll questions that help you interact with your audience (with lots of ideas for going wide:)
2/ 2-4-1 All . One of my favorite design elements from Liberating Structures so you can immediately include everyone regardless of how large the group is.
3/ Session Lab’s Training Design Handbook. A 37-page guide to training design brought to you by Deborah Rim Moiso and the awesome team over at Session Lab.
💌 Thanks for reading The Quest
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Creatively yours,
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