What are the best practices for conducting a communication lessons learned session?

1. Understand the training needs and requirements 2. Who are your stakeholders in this case? 3. Do a need gap analysis - what they know, and how much they need to know.

The best strategies emerge from great communication—but what happens when things go wrong? Lessons learned sessions can transform failures into future wins. Here’s how: 1️⃣ Start with Psychological Safety: Create a judgment-free zone. Teams must feel safe to share openly to uncover real insights. 2️⃣ Frame the Session Around Outcomes: Focus on what worked, what didn’t, and why. Use guiding questions to keep discussions on track. 3️⃣ Capture Actionable Takeaways: Ideas without action are useless. Document the lessons and assign accountability. Pro Tip: Tools like Miro or Notion are great for visually mapping discussions and decisions. The secret? Turning lessons into strategies that drive continuous improvement.

1. Focused Retrospective: Conduct a focused review of communication events, aiming to pinpoint both successes and areas for refinement. 2. Insightful Pattern Recognition: Analyze communication data and feedback to identify recurring patterns and trends. 3. Practical Action Planning: Translate lessons learned into practical, actionable steps for improvement. 4. Adaptive Learning Cycle: Establish a continuous learning cycle, where lessons learned are integrated into ongoing communication practices.

Prepare a detailed agenda and gather all necessary materials in advance. This will help participants understand the context and objectives, ensuring a more productive and focused session. When preparing for a lessons learned session, I create a detailed agenda outlining the topics to be covered, the goals of the session, and the expected outcomes. I also prepare materials such as data reports, feedback summaries, and any relevant documentation that will help participants understand the context. Well-prepared materials facilitate more informed and productive discussions.

Facilitation: Start with clear objectives and ground rules to create a respectful atmosphere. For instance, use icebreakers to engage participants. Encourage Participation: Use open-ended questions to stimulate discussion. For example, ask, "What challenges did you face during the project?" Acknowledge Contributions: Recognize participants' input to foster a collaborative environment. Thank individuals for sharing their insights. Manage Conflicts: Address any disagreements constructively by guiding the conversation back to the agenda, ensuring everyone feels heard. Follow-Up: Summarize key findings and share them with participants, outlining actionable steps for future projects.

Be sure to incorporate time for both thinking and sharing. Those who are naturally extroverted can easily take over the conversation. However, if you plan time for individual thinking before responding to a question, you may get a better result.

Don't forget to establish that there are no right or wrong answers, similar to a focus group. Make sure you reinforce that the session is a safe place for sharing. Encourage talking about the 'elephant in the room.' I remember one session in which we made large posters about outing the elephant that said, "Jumbos and Dumbos Welcome Here" with great graphics of elephants.

1. Template - consider a dashboard view for leadership and a deeper dive for the core project team. Mix hard data/insights with softer outcomes - as you might have limited data points. 2. Summary - with alignment to the origional objectives, ensure you note each achievement and missed opportunity. Example: tier 1 media coverage, message alignment, stakeholders connected with and actively participated... 3. Future proof - provide well thought out lessons learnt, opportunities for future projects.

Share the results of the session with all participants and relevant stakeholders. Schedule follow-up meetings to discuss the findings and develop action plans for implementing the recommended improvements. After analyzing the feedback from a lessons learned session, I share the results with all participants and relevant stakeholders through a detailed report. I also schedule follow-up meetings to discuss the findings and develop action plans for implementing the recommended improvements. Sharing results and following up on action plans are crucial for maintaining stakeholder engagement and achieving meaningful outcomes.

1. Ensure the training is two-way, and interactive in nature. Engage with the trainees by talking and discussing topics. 2. After each topic or slide, ask a question/do a poll to know whether audience is with you on the understanding. 3. Do a survey on the topic you've taught. What more would they like to know. 4. Ensure your learning material is filled with real-life examples or at least the communications from within your organization to make the trainees understand the differences. 5. Keep your slides or videos as short and crisp as possible. The lesser the text, the better your interaction with your trainees.