The Paradox of Workshop Preparation

Sometimes I wonder why I even bothered preparing a workshop… 🤷‍♀️

Preparing a workshop often takes me roughly as much time as facilitating it. And when there are lots of uncertainties, challenges, or things I’m trying for the first time, spending two or three times the workshop duration on preparation isn’t unusual.

Of everything I prepare, getting clear on the shared purpose is probably the most important. Why are we bringing these people together? What should be different by the time they leave? 🎯

But preparation involves much more than designing the program. I spend time understanding the context, talking with the people involved, checking the venue and room setup, thinking through group composition, informing participants about what to expect, preparing materials, and considering what could get in the way.

And, of course, there’s the program itself.

What are we actually going to do? In what order? How much time will each activity need? What instructions will help people get started? Where might we need more space, and what can we easily drop when time runs short?

So by the time a workshop starts, a lot of thinking has already gone into it.

In a training, perhaps 20% of my original program changes along the way. In a workshop where we’re working with real, messy challenges, changing 60–80% isn’t unusual. 🙄

That might mean spontaneously introducing a completely different Liberating Structure. Changing the sequence. Dropping something altogether. Spending much more time on one part than planned. Or changing the invitation or individual steps because the group needs something different.

Sometimes the program I prepared ends up looking remarkably little like the workshop I actually facilitated. Even when I prepare for multiple scenarios, somehow a scenario I hadn’t anticipated still emerges.

Now, to be clear: I actually love changing my (facilitator’s) mind! ❤️

But afterward, my mind is spinning, and I’m happily exhausted. Sometimes I wonder: could I have known this upfront? What if I’d skipped preparing the program, walked in with a clear purpose and a deep enough toolbox, and simply decided along the way what the group needed next? Would the workshop have been just as valuable?

Perhaps the real value of preparing the program isn’t the program itself. 
It’s about being prepared enough to comfortably change your mind.

So, how comfortable are you letting go of your original workshop plan? 🤔