To reflect on what didn’t work and what could be better, here is a short summary:

• First, a workshop room was planned which I usually facilitated the workshop in. The schedule later changed to a stage. I have facilitated on stage before, but not in a noisy environment. I should have prepared for that better.
• In a previous workshop, many people participated. This made me assume that our workshop will also be visited by a large crowd. I started improvising a setup on a stage, considering many people. However, only a few friends showed up.
• As I started talking, some friends brought more students in. Some stayed, others left. Ultimately, three groups formed throughout my introduction, which contains important context and sets expectations about the outcome. So I assume almost no one actually understood my intro.
• To create a space for many people, we used tables, which are not ideal for using stickies. The amount of people was actually enough to use just one wall.
• So in the end, I overpromised to a few people I trusted and respected, and underdelivered on the experience. Some of those who stayed during the workshop, liked it. But it did not result in the desired motivation to collaborate.

What went well:

• I saw two great workshops. One that used slides to guide participants through every phase of the workshop, and encouraged to speculate about the future. The other, setting the stage with an explorative narrative around a potential future with AI, mixed story/presentation with a few discussions to interact with the audience.
• School kids were very interested and motivated in joining.
• I used an intro line in my script that “I travelled all across the continent just to be here with you” which I stole from the Queens of the Stone Age, and people liked it.
• I think people appreciate my stage presence. Just need to make sure I wear appropriate clothes to be perceived more formal and not distract from the content of my presentation.

Summary and learning for next time:

• I will try to merge a narrative with interactive sessions to focus the group on an actual problem space, rather than just teaching the process.
• I will try to consider multiple working groups working on their topics in parallel. Maybe with one or multiple facilitators per group.