Imagine you're planning a leadership workshop. You want people involved, not just sitting through another presentation while checking their inbox.
So the plan includes group discussion, an exercise and a chance to share a real challenge. Good. Now ask one more question: what are you assuming people will be able, or willing, to do?
Does joining in mean speaking quickly? Standing at a whiteboard? Reading small text across a table? Sharing something personal with colleagues?
An interactive session can offer useful practice. But “everyone participates” needs more thought than “everyone takes a turn speaking”. For organisers and facilitators, the work is to make the purpose clear and give people workable ways to contribute.
This is a practical guide to planning that conversation, not a complete accessibility checklist or a guarantee that a session will meet every participant's needs.
Start with the purpose of the activity
Before choosing an exercise, write down what you want participants to practise.
“Tell the group about a mistake you've made” is an instruction. “Practise separating what you observed from the explanation you attached to it” is a learning purpose.
Those aren't the same thing. The second can be explored using a fictional situation, a routine work example or a case supplied by the facilitator. It doesn't depend on someone revealing an experience they'd rather keep private.
Here's a hypothetical example. A team receives a short customer message: “Nobody has followed this up.” Participants identify what the message actually establishes, what they are assuming and what they would ask next.
The learning task is still there. People can examine their reasoning without discussing a current complaint or naming a colleague.
When briefing a facilitator, ask: “Which part of this exercise matters for the learning, and which part is simply how we've chosen to run it?” That question creates room to adapt the format without losing the point.
Ask about access before the room fills
Don't try to work out what someone needs by looking at them. Ask early, explain the planned activities and provide a way to discuss requirements privately.
The Australian Government's Disability Gateway guidance recommends describing what will happen, asking about the support people need and not asking them to disclose personal or medical information. It also recommends being clear about available support and limitations, so people can make informed choices. Read the participation guidance.
In a workshop invitation, that could become a straightforward question:
We'll use short presentations and small-group activities. What would help you take part? Please contact the organiser if you'd prefer to discuss this privately.
Only describe arrangements you've actually made. If someone requests something that still needs confirming, say so and follow it through. A warm invitation isn't a substitute for checking that the support will be there.
Agree who owns that conversation: the event organiser, the facilitator, the venue or a combination. Otherwise, a request can sit between several helpful people without anyone resolving it.
Offer another way into the same exercise
Think back to the customer-message example. Asking every participant to stand and present their answer is one format. It isn't the learning objective.
You could give people time to consider the case, then let them discuss their reasoning with a partner or contribute through an agreed written route. If a group reports back, it can share the reasoning rather than identify whose first answer was wrong.
These are options to discuss with participants and the facilitator, not a universal solution. Writing isn't accessible to everyone either. Neither is a digital poll just because it appears on a phone.
W3C's event guidance specifically asks presenters to consider barriers in activities such as polling, arranging sticky notes and responding quickly. It also recommends making relevant visual information available through speech and using microphones for audience contributions. See W3C's guidance for accessible presentations.
The useful planning question is: can someone still work on the idea if this particular way of responding doesn't work for them?
Don't quietly replace participation with observation and assume the problem is solved. Check that the alternative still gives the person a meaningful part in the task.
Make the boundaries clear before asking people to share
A real leadership challenge can make a workshop relevant. It doesn't follow that every detail belongs in the room.
Invite people to choose an example they are comfortable discussing. Offer a prepared case if their own situation involves sensitive employee information, client details or a conversation that isn't theirs to share.
For our hypothetical exercise, the facilitator could say:
Use the supplied case, or a routine example you can discuss without identifying anyone. We're interested in the thinking, not the private details.
If the session includes recording, photography or collected notes, explain the arrangements beforehand. Don't promise confidentiality you can't ensure among a room of colleagues. Be precise about what will be captured, who will receive it and what participants should leave out.
This isn't about removing every uncomfortable question. A workshop can challenge an assumption without requiring someone to explain their personal history to the group.
Check the activity in the actual room
A plan that works on a laptop may work differently with six people around a table, other groups talking nearby and a screen at the far end of the room.
NSW Communities and Justice's event guidance asks organisers to examine assumptions about participation, including whether people can see or reach a whiteboard and whether the layout supports discussion. It also recommends inviting adjustment requests and providing information ahead of the event. Read the NSW planning guidance.
Walk through the exercise with the venue and facilitator. Where will the instructions be? How will a question reach the whole group? Who can help if the planned method isn't working?
Make the check specific to the activity. “The venue is accessible” doesn't tell you whether everyone can use the worksheet or follow the discussion.
For the wider event arrangements, the event planner resources are a useful starting point for your briefing. Participant requirements still need their own conversation.
Keep the invitation open during the session
You won't discover every issue beforehand. Build in a simple way for someone to ask for a different format or raise a problem without explaining it to the whole room.
Afterwards, ask what helped people contribute and what got in the way. Use that feedback to change the next session, rather than treating a quiet room as evidence that everything worked.
The aim isn't to make everybody participate in exactly the same way. It's to be clear about what they're there to explore, then check that the route you've offered makes sense for the people attending.
If you're planning a Leadership Mindset Workshop, share your audience, the challenges you want to work on and any participation requirements during the briefing. We can discuss the format and what needs to be arranged before the day.