Time is of the essence when it comes to the ‘post-production’ process. Partially to ensure that you can build on the momentum generated by the workshop, but also to make sure that you do this whilst the memories of the event and the discussions it generated are still fresh.
It’s amazing how rapidly your recollections of the day and its discussions can diminish and even with an array of flipchart papers, Post-it notes and other notes to consult the detail can soon start to blur.
When looking to ‘write up’ the outputs from the day it’s important to resist, so far as possible, the temptation to impose your own interpretation on the day and its conclusions. Remember, what counts are the views of the participants as expressed during the workshop and it will be in no one’s interests to try to reinterpret these on a whim.
Tip
Try and schedule time the day after the workshop to start the process of reflection and production of outputs. This is especially worth bearing in mind if you are scheduling a series of events when it can be especially difficult to recall the detail of which discussion took place and when without a pause for reflection between each workshop.