With people working and meeting online as well as onsite (i.e. at the office), we find ourselves more and more in sessions where one part of the participants are joining remotely, and another part as a group in one location. Meetings, workshops and events taking place in this set-up are ‘hybrid sessions’.

Whenever a group of people come together, to work or learn the facilitator is the person who guides the process, empowers people to do their best work and who keeps the goal of the gathering in sight. To make the experience smooth in a hybrid setup here come our top 4 tips to lay the ground for success.

1. Tech choreography

The essence of this step is to figure out where all the tech bits must go in order for the session to be fully accessible for both online and offline participants.

• External Camera(s)
  In order to be flexible and adapt to different room layouts, the camera or cameras should be movable. Consider a camera with a build in mic.

• External Mic & Speakers
  Their placement is depending on the size
  of the onsite room and the number of participants. Consider a 360° mic to make sure everyone is heard.

• Screen
  A screen (or a strong projector) to ‘bring in’ the online participants to the onsite room.

• Cables & Converters
  There will be many cables and converters needed, make sure to tape these to the floor.

2. ONSITE ROOM SET UP

There are many different ways to set up a room for hybrid workshops, classes and sessions. We recommend sketching these out upfront to make sure the space is set-up accordingly. Below are some examples of how we do it.

3. Hybrid presence

To keep things smooth online and onsite, have a facilitator for each space. This enables you to have synchronised as well as separate focus moments.

• Onsite Facilitator

1. Tech set-up

2. Room set-up

3. Hosting

4. Guiding the group

5. Providing materials

• Online Facilitator

1. Sharing slides

2. Hosting

3. Providing online tools

4. Managing chat

5. Creating breakout rooms

To keep track on each others activities and communicate with one another in between we use Whatsapp and Google Sheet (session design overview) but find your own magic combination that works for you.

4. Breakout moments

Ask participants to bring their laptops to enable more intimate hybrid conversations with participants from online and onsite join in smaller groups in virtual breakout rooms.