At Think Productive we believe strongly in the principles of Universal Learning. This means:
- Giving all participants an equal opportunity to succeed.
- Offering flexibility in the way learners access material and show what they know.
- Seeking different ways to keep learners motivated and engaged.
On this page, you can find information about what to expect when you join one of our workshops and the practices we’ve put in place to help you get the most out of the learning.
We know we won’t have thought of everything, so if there’s anything else we can do to help you participate in the learning that isn’t listed here, just drop us an email on clients@thinkproductive.co.uk and we’ll take it from there.
Before your workshop
- Maximise your energy & focus
- Trainer arrival times
- What if you arrive late?
- Webinar joining instructions & troubleshooting
- Printed handouts
During your workshop
- Creating a safe learning environment
- Lights, camera, action!?
- Breakout rooms: what to expect
- Closed captions for accessibility
After your workshop
Maximise your energy & focus
When attending one of our workshops, it’s important that you have the space to take in the learning on the day. That’s why we factor in regular breaks throughout our workshops. We aim to give you ample thinking time to digest the discussion and ideas being shared and to enable proper rest and reflection.
Here are some things you can do to best prepare your energy and focus for learning, whether you’re joining us at an in-person or online workshop:
- If using your laptop, turn off your email & close your browser to avoid distraction.
- Put your phone on silent if possible (or in a drawer/bag!)
- Get into a comfortable position and location, away from avoidable distractions.
- Feel free to stretch, stand or move during the session. You could even bring along a tennis ball to run along your muscles if you’re feeling stiff (trust us, this works!)
- When joining online use a headset (if possible) to minimise noise and distractions around you.
- Bring something to take notes on but know that you’ll have access to any session slides afterwards, so you can focus on actively listening and participating on the day.
- Bring a piece of fruit, veg, nuts or other healthy snacks to keep you energised.
- Have a glass of water to hand.
- Come ready to learn, share, question and grow! Our workshops are a safe space to share and be honest. We find that’s the best way for everyone – including you- to get the most out of the session!
Trainer arrival times (for in-person workshops)
Your trainer will arrive for the workshop between 30-60 minutes before the workshop is due to start, to set up the room and make sure all the tech is working.
If you would like to chat with your Trainer about any specific support needs you might need on the day, this would be a good time to do so.
This could include sitting near the front of the room due to visual or auditory needs or asking if the trainer can speak slower or repeat/explain unfamiliar words. Your trainer will always do their best to accommodate any needs you may have to make sure you can participate in the learning.
Trainer arrival times (for online workshops)
Your trainer will arrive for the online workshop 15-20mins before the official start time. We recommend you join the session 10 minutes before the start time, to give you plenty of time to:
- Check/test your audio/video settings (there will be instructions on the screen once you’ve joined the webinar)
- Get comfortable and get any refreshments/notepad
- Locate and open your workbook pdf (if you’ve been sent one in the Joining Instructions)
- Fix any pesky pc connection problems you may encounter on the way into the webinar
- Say hello on the chat to your fellow workshop participants
- And take a breath before we begin!
What happens if you arrive late?
We know that these things happen sometimes, so if you arrive late, please don’t worry. Your Trainer will let you into the workshop and they will get you caught up when there is a good opportunity.
Webinar joining instructions & troubleshooting
For our virtual workshops, our preference is to use Zoom because of the advanced trainer and participant functionality available to our trainers and participants. Occasionally, if requested, we will use other platforms. We will always let you know which platform we’ll be using in your Joining Instructions.
Getting ready for your virtual workshop on ZOOM:
If you are reading this, you will have received our Joining Instructions, which include a registration link to Zoom. Make sure you click on that link in advance of your workshop (try to avoid leaving this until the day of, as it can slow down joining the session), and when prompted, write your full name and e-mail address.
You will then receive an e-mail with a personal JOIN link to the webinar. Click ‘Add to Calendar’ to save the details for easy access on the day!
Before the workshop: To make sure your video, audio, and internet connection are working properly, we recommend doing a quick and easy Zoom test in advance of your workshop. You can find a step-by-step guide here: [https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0063307]
On the day: We recommend clicking the link to JOIN the webinar 10 minutes before the official start time so you have time to get comfortable before we begin.
What you’ll see on when you click the Zoom Join link:
• You’ll be prompted to install Zoom to join the webinar if you do not already have it installed.
• You’ll then be asked to enter your name to join the webinar and you will be let in once it starts.
NB: If you’re unable to download Zoom on your computer, you can also join the webinar via the Zoom Web Client. How to do this:
• When you click the Zoom Join link, you will also see an option to “Join from your browser”. You’ll then be asked to enter your name to join the webinar and you will be let in once it starts.
• The Zoom Web Client works best on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Chromium Edge. Safari is not recommended. If you get stuck trying to join Zoom on the day, please call our HQ team on 01273 913 217 or alert us on clients@thinkproductive.co.uk and we’ll help you troubleshoot.
Printed handouts
In-person workshops
Not all of our workshops come with printed handouts for use on the day. We will usually let you know in your workshop Joining Instructions if you will be receiving printed handouts on the day. If you would like confirmation or to see them in advance, or you need them to be printed in larger font size/different paper please contact your workshop booker.
Online workshops (live webinars)
Our online workshops are designed to be delivered without the need for printed handouts. However, many of our workshops do have a fillable pdf workbook which you will be sent with your Joining Instructions, ahead of the workshop.
Different ways you can use your pdf workbook on the day:
- You could type your notes directly into your pdf workbook on the day
- You can just refer to the workbook on the screen and write your notes on paper
- If you have a printer, you can print the workbook and physically write on it.
You decide what works best for you!
Creating a safe learning environment
We understand that everyone learns differently. Therefore:
- We don’t assume we know our learners’ situations or context. We just aim to understand humanness in all of its forms, and we approach every interaction with natural curiosity and an open mind.
- We will never expect any participant to contribute in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable. We welcome volunteers who would like to contribute to the discussion but hope that everyone who wants to will share any relevant thoughts or ideas.
- When we run small group workshops, we invite participants to turn on their cameras and audio. This is always optional though as we understand that sharing video or voice might not always be doable (from a bad night’s sleep or an unavoidably noisy environment and a million different reasons in between, how you choose to engage in the workshop on a particular day is up to you!). More on this below. 😊
- We prioritise the psychological safety of our participants, holding neutral, non-judgmental positions and language so they feel it’s a safe place to learn, question and grow.
Lights, camera, action?!
We have designed our online workshops (webinar) to replicate the “human-connection” benefits of the in-person experience as much as possible. This means that where possible, we may invite our workshop participants to turn on their cameras and audio. We know that using your camera or microphone isn’t always possible or desirable for a whole host of reasons so this will always be completely optional and down to your own personal preference on the day.
For some of our larger workshops, your cameras might be automatically set to ‘off’ by our trainers, this is to keep noise and distractions to a minimum with large numbers of participants.
The same goes for contributing during the workshop. Although we encourage this, it’s completely down to you whether you feel comfortable contributing on the day.
In all instances, you will always have the option to contribute to the session via the chat function on the webinar.
Breakout rooms – what to expect
During some of our online workshops, we like to make the most of breakout rooms (smaller sessions that are split off from the main meeting), to get you chatting in small groups for an activity or discussion. Here’s what you can expect when you’re attending a workshop using breakout rooms:
- Before you enter a breakout room, we’ll give you a little time to digest the task your trainer has assigned you. During this minute or two you’ll be able to write down or take a photo of the task on the screen, and have some space to come up with a few ideas to contribute in your group.
- Your trainer will put you in a virtual room with a couple of other people from your workshop. From there you can always press a button to ask the trainer for help or send them a question. You can always press the “leave” button to leave a breakout room for any reason. When you do this, you will automatically return to the main webinar area, where you can wait for the trainer to appear (remember they may be helping out in another breakout room so may be a few minutes).
- Your trainer will always aim to let you know how long the breakout room will run and you’ll get a heads up when you have one minute left. At that point you can click the leave button and return to the main area, or wait until the minute is up and the breakout room will close on its own and send you all back into the main area.
- Your trainer may pop into your breakout room so you can ask them any questions if you get stuck or are not sure what to do next.
- Conversations that take place in breakout rooms are never recorded.
Closed captioning for accessibility
All our virtual workshops (if ran on Zoom) have the option to enable closed captions to improve accessibility for participants. These are captions automatically generated by Zoom to help you follow the conversation in the virtual Zoom room on the day.
When a participant enables closed captions, everyone in the session will be notified. The session will still be confidential, and we do not save or use the transcript generated by Zoom for any purposes whatsoever. The transcript is automatically deleted by Zoom 3 days after the workshop.
Slides and handouts
After your workshop, you’ll have access to the workshop slides to review as many times as you like, forever. This means you can relax a little more during the session and focus more on listening and absorbing all the new ideas, only really needing to take notes for those big light bulb moments instead.
You’ll be able to access the slides, any handouts and other bonus materials (including your own downloadable eCopy of the “How to be a Productivity Ninja” best-selling book over on our online Productivity Ninja Academy.
How to access your post-workshop materials:
1. Towards the end of your workshop, you’ll be asked to complete an online feedback survey. When you complete the 2-minute survey feedback for the workshop, you’ll be automatically emailed your login details. (Please check your spam folder in case the email has ended up in there!).
2. Alternatively, if you’d prefer not to fill in our feedback survey, you can email clients@thinkproductive.co.uk and we’ll send you the details, no questions asked. 😉
Additional requirements
If there’s anything else we can do to help you participate in the learning that isn’t listed here, just drop us an email on clients@thinkproductive.co.uk and we’ll take it from there.
Thank you for reading this far. We’re really looking forward to welcoming you to your workshop!