8 surprising benefits of remote workshops – Board of Innovation

Remote workshops shouldn’t be just an emergency measure. Some of the world’s largest organizations have been experimenting with digital collaborations for years. The obvious reasons for that include the money saved on travel and the increased flexibility they enable. But, as people who’ve facilitated behind computer screens for years, here are 5 benefits of remote sessions that you might find surprising.

Big voices can drown out little ones in groups, which often limits a workshop’s potential. We’ve noticed that this is less of a problem in virtual collaborations. With the computer screen as a shield, people feel protected and more open to sharing ideas (just ask internet trolls).

In our experience, collaborating remotely can enable shorter and more frequent sessions, which leads to increased experimentation. Plus, you can create prototypes collaboratively, in real-time – from presentations to websites, and more.

Remote sessions enable you to share content quickly, organize your thoughts, save time digitizing written ideas and keep a ledger/record of your discussions. Want to recall the clever way a colleague worded their concept? Not sure what the stakeholder or facilitator advised? Simply hit play or Control/Command+F.

Innovation workshops help connect interesting profiles that wouldn’t normally collaborate. It’s easier to bring busy people together for a remote session versus an in-person one – you don’t need to book plane tickets or ask people to leave home for days on end. The increased flexibility means valuable stakeholders are more likely to say yes.