Most people start planning a workshop by dropping activities onto a board. An icebreaker here, a brainstorm there, a How Might We and some dot-voting to tidy things up. Two hours, looks solid. The problem is, you've just picked the words before you know what you want to say.

In this episode, I'm talking about the step that sits between your intent and your agenda — the one most facilitators skip entirely. Critical questions are the scaffolding that holds your activities in place, and without them, you're building on hope rather than structure. I'll walk you through the five steps I use to find, test, and sequence them so that by the time you're thinking about activities, every single one has a job to do.

If you've ever stood in front of a room wondering whether the pieces are actually going to connect, this one's for you.

In this episode:

- Why choosing activities first gives you an agenda with very weak foundations

- How to find the questions that only your collaborators can answer

- Why not every question belongs in the room — and how to figure out which ones do

- How to stress-test your questions against the people you've invited

- Why the right sequence isn't always the tidy one

Links and resources mentioned:

Issue #9 — The road to a valuable workshop

Find out more about facilitation coaching

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit facilitationstudio.substack.com