Leanne on Demand Daily with Leanne Hughes

🌴126. Lessons from a 5am workshop


Listen Later

Last week I ran two virtual workshops for a global client—one at a beautiful 1:00 PM time slot (bless), and the second... at 5:00 AM. Yep. Coffee was very involved.

In this episode, I’m sharing the behind-the-scenes of how I prepped and delivered these sessions—specifically when you're working across time zones, with translators, in hybrid tech ecosystems (read: Zoom vs Teams drama), and with super smart internal collaborators.

Some key things we dive into:

  • Why I insisted we run it on Zoom (and the meme that went viral because of it)
  • How I briefed translators and slowed my pace for clarity (yes, I needed a post-it to remind me to slow down)
  • The exact run sheet I shared, and why it was 70% fixed / 30% “go with the flow”
  • How I collaborated with an internal legend (shoutout to Liz!) through voice notes to redesign the experience completely
  • Why I believe the best facilitators are editors first
  • The magic of having a Zoom producer who’s been in your corner for years
  • How I used an AI tool (Sora) to create character-based case studies for the workshop

I also threw participants in the deep end with a live challenge: What if your CEO emailed you to say they’re attending your workshop next week? Would you redesign it? (Spoiler: You probably would.)

If you’re designing any kind of learning experience—especially for a global audience—I hope this gives you some useful ideas to bring more clarity, connection, and creativity to your sessions.

Catch you tomorrow!

Sign up for free for my best articles every week: Work Fame.


Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.com


P.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help:

  1. Watch My 2025 Speaker Reel: Let's energise your next event.
  2. Get My Book: Design your workshops fast using The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. 


Let's connect on all the channels:

Leanne Hughes on LinkedIn

Leanne Hughes on Instagram

Visit my website: leannehughes.com

Email me: [email protected]

Would you like to deliver your own private podcast feed to your audience? Sign up for a free trial today at Hello Audio.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Leanne on Demand Daily with Leanne HughesBy Leanne Hughes