Encouraging participation

Assign facilitators to manage participation

• Give facilitators a microphone to pass to participants who wish to speak. This ensures they can be heard by everyone, including those with hearing impairments, and also reduces interruptions by other participants.

• Instruct facilitators to select participants who have not yet spoken or who are underrepresented to have priority during question breaks. It is okay to wait for a few moments to give new participants time to reflect and raise their hands. Only after giving new participants time to speak up should facilitators pass the microphone to someone who has already spoken.

• Avoid standing microphones with a first-come-first-served approach to questions. This discourages new participants from speaking.

• Ensure that questions are prioritized over comments by explicitly requesting questions first. If a participant begins with a comment, the facilitator can request they redirect to a question or approach you after the workshop instead.

Consider non-verbal participation options

• Include polls and interactive questions that can be answered non-verbally in your content. You can do this through a chat window, comments section, raised hands, or post-it note placement on a laptop.