01
Plan the session
A Session Brief, an Agenda Builder with an Activity Menu of 20 plain activities and a Prep Checklist help you design a session from the outcome.
Camderson Academy · CA-LM-016
Run workshops and team sessions where everyone takes part and ideas become decisions.
A practical, self-paced course for anyone asked to run a workshop, planning day or team session, in every role and department. Learn to set a clear outcome, design the agenda, prepare people and space, open well, draw out every voice and close with decisions and actions that have owners, with cards and templates you keep.
About 3 hours · 6 lessons · Intermediate · For every role and level · Self-paced · Tools you keep
Sessions you run can be clearer, more welcoming and more productive.
02
Open and run it
An Opening Script card, a one-question check-in and Facilitator Moves Cards give you plain words to start well and draw out every voice.
03
Close with action
A Decision Method Chooser, an Action Capture sheet, a Session Summary and a 3 Question Feedback Check help ideas become decisions and actions with owners.
Learning outcomes
What you will be able to do
Practical outcomes, each practiced in an exercise and checked in the final assessment or the capstone.
- Write a Session Brief and decide between a meeting and a workshop.
- Build a timed 2 hour agenda with activities matched to the goals of sharing, generating, deciding and planning.
- Complete a Prep Checklist for an in-person and a virtual session, with roles, access prompts and an invitation.
- Write and say aloud a 2 minute opening with working agreements and run a one-question check-in.
- Choose a facilitator move for six common tough moments and draw out every voice.
- State a decision method up front, write actions with an owner and a date, and send a one-page summary within 24 hours.
Your toolkit
Simple tools for running a session
Session Brief template
Purpose · Outcome · Participants · After
Write the purpose, outcome, participants and what happens after, and decide between a meeting and a workshop.
Agenda Builder
Minutes · Block · Goal: share, generate, decide or plan
Build a timed agenda from the outcome, with an opening, activities matched to a goal, a break, a closing and spare time, using the Activity Menu.
Prep Checklist for in-person and virtual sessions
Space · Materials · Roles · Access prompts · Invitation
Prepare space, materials, roles, access prompts and the invitation for an in-person and a virtual version of a session.
Opening Script card and Working Agreements starter
Welcome · Purpose · Outcome · Agenda · Working agreements · Decisions
Write a 2 minute opening with six parts, offer working agreements and ask a one-question check-in.
Facilitator Moves Cards
Notice · Choose · Say it plainly · Check
Choose a move for a dominant voice, silence, drift, disagreement, a senior person steering and a remote voice left out.
Decision Method Chooser, Action Capture sheet and Session Summary
Question · Method · Who decides · Actions · Summary
Choose and state a decision method up front, write actions with an owner and a date, and send a one-page summary and three feedback questions within 24 hours.
Brief it. Design it. Prepare it. Open it. Draw out every voice. Decide and close.
Curriculum
Inside the course
2 modules, 6 lessons with worked examples
01
Plan the Session
Set the purpose and outcome, design the agenda and activities, and prepare people, space and materials.
02
Run It and Follow Through
Open well, draw out every voice, reach decisions and close with actions that have owners.
What is included
Skills, tools and templates you keep and use in your work
- 6 lessons, each with a written lesson, worked examples and figures, at your own pace
- A short stand-alone example in every lesson, drawn from many kinds of workplaces
- A fillable Workbook with Try it and Reflect pages for every lesson
- Facilitation Templates (Word) for every teaching tool
- A practice tracker with live formulas, a solutions version and a reusable template
- Quick Reference Cards and the Practice Examples
- An optional visual companion PDF with every lesson figure
- Knowledge checks for every module and a 20-question final assessment
- A capstone you can build for your own team or from practice scenarios, with a rubric you use to check your own work
- Access to the Camderson Academy community
- A Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion when you pass the final assessment and the capstone
Is this course right for you?
This course is for you if
- You have been asked to run a workshop, planning session or team session and want a clear plan and plain scripts
- You want to draw out every voice and finish with decisions and actions that have owners
- You want the same simple habits for everyone on your team who runs sessions, whatever the department
It is not the right fit if
- You need legal, financial or professional advice about a particular situation, or a course that states what any law, rule or policy requires
- You want formal meeting procedure, disciplinary or investigation meetings, mediation or support groups, or a credential as a professional facilitator
- You want routine meeting skills only (see CA-LM-013) or training on a single named tool (this course is vendor-neutral)
Your instructor
Meet your instructor
Taught by Camderson Advisory
A consulting firm for practical workplace skills
Your instructor is Camderson Advisory, a consulting firm that helps organizations build practical skills for the people who do the work. In this course, your instructor helps you build everyday facilitation habits and gives you plain words for opening a session, drawing out every voice and closing with decisions.
About
About Camderson Academy
Camderson Academy is the education division of Camderson Advisory Services. Camderson helps leaders build organizations that work without them in the room. Everything we teach has been used in a real organization first.
Training a team?
We offer group enrollment for teams and whole organizations that want everyone, in every role and department, to build the same skills. Email connect@camderson.com to talk through your group.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need any experience or a previous course?
No. There is no prerequisite, though it helps to have taken part in workshops or team sessions. The examples come from many kinds of workplaces, and every exercise works for any role.
Who is this course for?
Anyone asked to run a workshop, planning session or team session, in any role or department, including coordinators, team leads, specialists, project members, learning and HR staff, managers and volunteers. Each lesson has one short, stand-alone example, and the skills fit every kind of organization.
How long do I have access?
Your access does not expire. We review the course on a regular cycle, and any updates are added for you at no extra cost.
How long does it take?
About 3 hours in total, including the written lessons, the Try it exercises, the knowledge checks, the final assessment and the capstone. Everything is self-paced.
Questions about your purchase?
Email support through academy.camderson.com.
What tools do I need?
A spreadsheet program that opens .xlsx files (Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers or LibreOffice Calc), a word processor that opens .docx files and a PDF reader. All templates and practice files are included as downloads.
Do I have to use my own work for the capstone?
No. You can build your pack from the practice scenarios included in the course. If you use your own work, leave out names, confidential details and anything that could identify a person.
Does the course recommend products or give professional advice?
No. It recommends no products or vendors, and it is general education, not legal, tax, financial, medical or professional advice. These courses support good practice. They do not by themselves satisfy any legal or regulatory training requirement. It states no law, rule or policy, including nothing about recording or photographing a session, and finishing it does not qualify anyone as a professional facilitator. Laws and rules vary by state and country and they change, so before you act on a real situation, talk with your own attorney or qualified professional. Camderson Academy is not affiliated with any organization, tool or author named in the sources.
What does the certificate confirm?
You receive a Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion after passing the final assessment and completing the capstone. This certificate confirms completion of a Camderson Academy course.
How was this course written and checked?
This course was written and edited by Camderson Advisory. Sources are listed with the date each was read. Where a source could not be opened on that date, the Sources page says so. This course teaches skills for everyday work. It is not legal, tax, financial, medical or professional advice. Laws and rules vary by place and change over time, so talk with your own attorney or qualified professional about your situation. Last updated: November 2026. Next planned review: November 2027.
Run workshops and team sessions where everyone takes part and ideas become decisions.
Self-paced, about 3 hours, with a Workbook, templates, Quick Reference Cards and a practice tracker.
This course earns a Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion. This certificate confirms completion of a Camderson Academy course. This course is general education about everyday skills for planning and running workshops and team sessions: setting a purpose and outcome, designing an agenda and activities, preparing people, space and materials, opening a session, drawing out every voice, reaching decisions and following through. It is not legal, tax, financial, medical or professional advice for your particular situation, it does not promise any particular result, and it does not replace your own organization's policies, procedures or the people it names to answer questions. It does not cover formal meetings or governance, investigations or disciplinary meetings, mediation, or sessions about health, and it says nothing about what any law, rule or policy requires, including anything about recording or photographing a session. Ask your organization's policy owner. Laws and rules vary by state and country and they change, and what is true for one employer or place may not be true for yours. Before you act on a real situation, talk with your own attorney or qualified professional, and use the Questions page at the end of each lesson. Where a lesson names a source, it says what the source said on the date we read it. These courses support good practice. They do not by themselves satisfy any legal or regulatory training requirement. Finishing this course does not qualify anyone as a professional facilitator. Examples and numbers are illustrative, and all people and organizations in the examples are fictional. Camderson Academy is not affiliated with any organization, tool or author named in the sources and does not endorse any product.