Presented July 27, 2016, for InVision

All the Workshop’s a StageKicking Off Projects in Three Acts

Who we are

Caris Hurd Director of User Experience Four Kitchens

@carismarie

caris@fourkitchens.com

Todd Ross Nienkerk CEO, Co-Founder, and Digital StrategistFour Kitchens

@toddross

todd@fourkitchens.com

Four Kitchens

We build digital services focused on content management, content strategy, and multi-channel publishing

@fourkitchens

fourkitchens.com

Imagine you have to leave suddenly for an undisclosed location…

Hurry! Grab two!

• Laptop

• Knife

• Rope

• Coat

• Sandals

• Canvas tarp

• Camera

• Sunscreen

Credit: robmbm on Flickr

Surprise! It’s a desert islandKnowing this, would you change what you brought?

To understand what we should do, we must know why we’re doing it

Why tell stories?

Why have a workshop?

• Create clarity by setting goals and direction

• Gather information

• Let multiple people be heard in a roundtable setting

• Establish trust and rapport between you and your client

• Have fun doing it!

Running a workshopExercises, protocols, and tools

Act One: Setup

IcebreakerIntroduce the characters

ProtocolsEstablish setting

GoalsExposition

Act Two: Confrontation

PremortemInciting incident

Success criteriaRising action

Act Three: Resolution

Draw your own homepageClimax

RetrospectiveDenouement

Bad workshops

• Simply “interview” the client

• Focus on note-taking

• Let the client lead

• Lack variety and interactivity

• Entrench silos

Good workshops

• Create a narrative across exercises

• Follow a three-act structure each day

• Observe the energy of the day

• Include SHORT breaks

Good workshops

• Create empathy

• Allow for improvisation

• Don’t last too long

• End with a sense of resolution and trust

Learn more

• Gamestorming by Dave Grey

• Visual Meetings by David Sibbet

• Facilitation courses

• Improv classes

Questions?

Thank you!