Time management

Time management is certainly about sticking to the schedule. But it is also about knowing when to end an unproductive conversation or keep a productive one going. As a facilitator, exercise your judgment to ensure that the workshop goals are being met while keeping participants engaged and comfortable.

Here are some tips for managing time effectively during a workshop:

• When creating the agenda for your workshop, include some buffer time for every activity.
• Announce time limits as unobtrusively as possible. Using a loud countdown can make participants nervous and hinder creativity.
• When participants go off-topic, add their ideas to the parking lot and redirect them to your original workshop plans.
• Plan enough time for breaks, so people can renew their creative energies and be productive during tasks.