Quiet participants

Individuals who are not able to speak up in a group don't necessarily lack valuable insights. So, don’t discount quiet participants during your workshop. Instead, focus on conducting activities that help them open up and feel comfortable sharing. Splitting them up into groups of 2-3 or including individualistic activities like brainwriting and postup can help them voice their insights more freely.

If this isn’t possible, try addressing them directly and asking them for their input. For example, “(Person’s Name), I know you got some great experience in this, and we would really like to hear what you think,” is a great way to get them to speak up without being too pushy. Another strategy is to approach them privately during a break and find out if there’s anything you can do to make the environment more conducive for them to speak up.^[1]