When you are facilitating large groups of participants, workshops can be run, in general, in two ways: microphone or group split.
Microphone workshops are when activities are run as one group and every participant is doing the same activity. These activities are easier to understand and explained to the whole group at once to be run without a facilitator watching each sub-group. These types of workshops usually happen when you are in a room with a sound system that allows the facilitators to be heard. They can also be run when there are a less facilitators than sub-groups.
Group split workshops are run so that the large group is split into many different smaller groups. These workshops are run separate to each other and usually do not mix up the groups with at least one facilitator to each smaller group. It is as if there are multiple workshops happening at once.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both of these types of workshops, but primarily outside factors determine which type of large group workshop you run.
This resource is to be used as an idea guide to what activities have successfully been used in microphone workshops. Group split workshops use activities as if you are running multiple workshops at once, meaning any activity can be used.
Established groups within large group
Larger ratio of facilitators to participants
Larger space allowing for separation
Smaller ratio of facilitators to participants
Big room with a sound system
Mix-up participant groups
Activities run simultaneously without a designated facilitator per group