Workshops & Offsites
We specialize in custom-designing and facilitating workshops and offsites — virtual workshops and virtual offsites are a particular specialty, but we work in-person, too! — to solve the challenges facing your team, while unleashing their creativity. It’s serious work, but we have a ridiculously good time while we’re at it.
Here are a few of the “off the shelf” workshops we offer, all of which started out as custom offerings.
Communicating for Influence
The problem:
- Your team is super-smart, but their ideas and insights aren’t having the impact they should.
- They struggle to make complex ideas accessible to those who don’t have the same level of expertise.
- Some team members may have an adversarial or argumentative tone that turns people off, while others may be so “soft” that they never push back and get “steamrolled.”
- They fail to connect with different audiences, so their important insights never spread.
The solution:
This program helps team members know how to connect with different audiences, and use empathy and mutual understanding to shape their message to connect with — and influence — their audience more effectively. All using Melissa’s active-learning F.U.N. Method™. Initially developed for high-level research teams at Facebook.
Unlocking Your Communication Superpower: Drawing!
The problem:
- Complex ideas are hard to communicate and understand.
- We need better tools for problem-solving.
- Retention — even with note-taking — is really low.
- Meetings are boring and easy to disengage from.
- Most people are really intimidated when it comes to drawing!
The solution:
A sketch on a piece of paper is the fastest, cheapest prototype in the world. It’s also the fastest, most effective way to communicate complex ideas, document your process, think through problems, and spark engagement along the way.
“But I can’t draw!” you say? This program will not only prove that you CAN draw, but will show you that drawing is the communication/facilitation superpower you didn’t know you have!
The Winning Presenter Process™
The problem:
- Presentations are repetitive
- It’s hard to connect with audience/clients
- You struggle to “think on your feet” when things don’t go as planned
- Winning business is taking longer than you’d like
The solution:
Initially developed for creative agencies, The Winning Presenter Process™ helps teams connect with clients and build rapport more easily, bring a fresh, creative approach to presentations, think on their feet and respond with ease, no matter what gets thrown at them, and win business faster. You can have next-level, deeper, out-of-the-box creative. And you can make your virtual presentations feel “bigger” and more impactful, too.
The Art of Virtual Facilitation 
The problem:
- How can I create an environment online that feels as close as possible to the energy we’d get being in a room together?
- Am I using the best engagement tools for the job?
- How can I make sessions that aren’t just engaging, but that exceed expectations?
- What can I do to stay personally engaged and energized, keep my own energy high and not leave the session completely drained?
The solution:
In this certification training program I’ll help you master the design, technology, and delivery so you’re confident about leading engaging and impactful virtual experiences. You’ll be able to structure meetings well in a way that facilitates engagement and responses in the most meaningful way for your participants. Learn to create memorable, standout experiences that attendees rave about because they’re so unique and different from the boring, “talking head” webinars they’re used to, and make it look (and feel) easy!
Case Study: Teaching the King of Engagement How to Engage
When C, a research manager at Facebook, came to Creative Sandbox Solutions™, her team was in need of some diplomacy skills.
They struggled to empathetically understand different audiences.
They “buried the lede,” firehosing their readers and listeners with ALL their research findings.
Their communications were filled with “research-speak”—jargon that was incomprehensible to colleagues and stakeholders.
Their tone tended toward negative and adversarial, which turned people off.
All of this meant they weren’t getting engagement from their communications, and their valuable insights weren’t having the impact they deserved.
Meanwhile, the pandemic had everyone in a funk, so they also needed a morale boost.
We designed a program, Communicating for Influence, which improved cross-functional communication, skyrocketed engagement, and boosted morale, all in a matter of weeks (and all using play-based methods).
In the span of six months, Facebook brought us in to work with five other teams. And it’s no surprise why: participants not only saw behavior change, but also said these were the “most fun meetings I’ve attended all year!”
