Find the right workshop for you

I am a big fan of workshops when trying to solve a business or brand problem. 

Why? Because workshops allow you to work through problems in a logical way with your team, and get everyone in the same room to share their voice. So on that note, here are 3 strategic workshops I like to use to help me make decisions, whether I'm working solo or with a team. 

1. Working out your Priorities

A Priority Map Workshop allows you to pinpoint the criteria that matter the most to you or your team, so you can identify seemingly competing priorities. 

1. Draw two axes on a large surface like a + sign, and within each quarter, write the following: High, Low, Big, Small

2. Pick two criteria to rank your items against, for example: 

• Effect vs Effort

• Urgent vs Important

• Business Needs vs Customer Needs

3. Plot all the items that are competing priorities using sticky notes on the map by ranking them against the criteria you've chosen. For example, you might have priorities like: start user testing, create marketing funnels, update packaging, redesign website. 

2. Understanding your Audience

An Empathy Map Workshop helps your team empathise with your audience so you can make better brand or product decisions.

1. Draw a table on your chosen digital tool (recommended Workshop tools below): 

2. Write the goal of the user in the middle. For example, “looking for a productivity app" 

3. Ask your team to write their assumptions on sticky notes for each section for five to ten minutes. 

- What is the user saying, thinking, doing, and feeling about their goal?

- What responsibilities does the user have? e.g. looking after their kids

- What pains do they have in achieving their goal? e.g. confusion 

- What do they stand to gain from their goal? e.g. less stress 

4. Ask each participant to stick up and talk through their assumptions. Cluster their assumptions into categories as you go. 

5. Once you have all the assumptions grouped into categories, you can start to identify if there are any assumptions you might want to test, using a feedback form or questionnaire (Typeform is a great tool). 

3. Solving a Problem 

 A Problem-Solving Workshop is a great way to understand the root cause of a problem when you're not quite sure what's causing something to go wrong, but you have some assumptions. 

1. Invite your participants. Invite everyone who needs to be in the room, and who the problem has a direct impact on, to the workshop.  

2. Identify the problem. What may appear like the problem, could actually not be the deeper underlying problem. To identify the right problem, start with your assumed problem, and then ask “Why?” until you get to the final root cause. 

3. Brainstorm ideas to solve your problem. Use a Mind Map to get your brain onto paper.  

4. Evaluate your ideas. A SWOT Analysis is a great way to analyse an idea’s strengths, weaknesses, potential opportunities or risks. 

The Bottom Line

There are plenty of workshop tools out there, and you will need a visual tool to help map the workshop so every participant can see it and get involved. I recommend a collaboration tool like Miro, Mural or Notion. Happy workshopping!

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