Online Workshops during Lockdown

As ever, I use the word challenge with love here as it began with many questions: How could we deliver the same experience that we had been offering ‘in real life’? How can we keep hold to the real human connection while being a small box on a screen? How is it possible for participants to even hold eye contact with each other?

I went back to the basics, to the exercises and principles of PlayWell and reminded myself of what we would want for each player to bring to each session and what they would get in return: to be playful, accepting, stay curious and encourage empathy.

Keeping these things in mind, it became a matter of logistics and to explore which games would physically work without breaking the flow, and how could they be adapted to this new environment.
Also, how could we ensure that no one would hide away and pull back from being involved by turning their cameras/mic off?

Creating an interactive workshop with introverts at the heart of it: we have found it is vital to keep the numbers small so everyone has a chance to play and participate. Keeping it to 55mins ensures we can maintain the flow and energy without the ‘Zoom Fatigue’ creeping in. By encouraging everyone to have the mic and video on helps players to feel connected. It enables the ability to respond as naturally and ‘in the moment’ as possible – without having to fiddle with the mute button.

There’s nothing stranger than watching people laugh with no sound on – so the rule of ‘staying muted’ isn’t needed here.

Following these guidelines, we began trialling the sessions and gained positive responses and feedback. From there, we launched, and the interest in what we do and delivering the sessions has exceeded our expectations.

We discovered that instead of trying to replicate what we had before in the ‘physical world’ of workshops, we have decided to focus on what new opportunities can arise from this change.

How do we still bring play to our every day – even in lockdown? Well, by the responses in our trailer from a recent session -I think we’re finding our way to do just that.