Congratulations on designing your first Makeshapes experience! While the platform is built to do the heavy lifting, your hosts are the essential drivers who bring the group together and encourage the social learning magic.
Because Makeshapes is designed for scale, your hosts might range from professional facilitators to leaders or peers who have never hosted a training session before. This guide will help you create a tailored onboarding plan to ensure every host—regardless of their experience level—feels confident and prepared.
1. Define your host profile
Before you decide on your onboarding approach, consider who will be hosting. The "best" onboarding depends on their existing skills and the complexity of your session:
Host type: Is this a dedicated trainer, a team leader, or a peer-to-peer champion?
Confidence level: Are they comfortable with technology (e.g., MS Teams/Zoom)?
Time capacity: How much prep time can they realistically commit to?
Key design tip: If your hosts have low confidence or time, ensure your experience design relies more on audio instructions and pre-recorded media to carry the load.
2. The multi-level onboarding toolkit
We recommend a "tiered" approach to onboarding. You can pick and choose the elements that fit your specific rollout:
Level 1: The "Self-service" essentials (Minimum requirement)
Welcome comms: Send a clear communication with the session link/s and basic instructions for hosting along with self-service links for learning more
The Host Quickstart Guide: A one-page PDF or Link to our Host Quickstart Guide with simple steps for hosting and being prepared.
The preview link: Encourage hosts to "take the experience for a spin" beforehand using the preview mode to build muscle memory.
Level 2: The "hands-on" support
"Experience It first" session: Run a live demo where prospective hosts participate in the session as learners. This is the best way to understand the experience and what to expect.
Bespoke "Walkthrough" videos: Create a short recording (using tools like Loom) that is specific to your content. Show them exactly what they will see on screen and highlight any tricky transitions.
Level 3: The "Deep dive" (For critical or high-stakes rollouts)
Co-facilitation: For the very first session, have an experienced designer or "super-host" join the session to support the new host.
Drop-in Q&A:: Set specific times during a large rollout where hosts can pop in to ask questions or share feedback after their first few sessions.
3. Key hosting principles to emphasize
When onboarding, remind your hosts that their job isn't to be the "Sage on the Stage." Their role is to:
Trust the platform: Makeshapes guides the group. The host's main job is often just clicking "Next" and helping the group follow the platform delivered instruction.
Focus on the human connection: Since the platform delivers the content and instruction, the host is free to focus on supporting the group, encouraging participation, modeling vulnerability and managing the group's energy.
Stay Flexible: Timers are guides, not hard rules. Hosts should feel empowered to pause for a great discussion or speed up if the group is ready to move on.
Example communications: Host welcome & kick-off
To help you get started with your rollout, here is a draft for the Host Welcome Email.
Subject: Action Required: Your upcoming [Experience Name] hosting details
Hi [Host Name],
You’ve been selected to host an upcoming [Experience Name] session!
We are using a platform called Makeshapes to run this. The great news is that the platform is designed to handle the content, instruction and the timing for you. Your primary role isn’t to be a "trainer," but to act as the host—creating a safe and welcoming environment, and encouraging conversation.
1. Access Your Session
To get started, please use the links provided below:
Live Link: Use this to conduct live sessions with your group.
[Link Here]
Preview Link: Use this to preview the experience or take it for a test drive.
[Link Here]
2. Getting Prepared (The 15-Minute Plan)
We know you’re busy, so we’ve kept prep to a minimum. Please complete these three steps before your first session:
Host Quickstart Guide: Check out the Host Quickstart Guide and watch the "How to Host" Video (2 mins) for a quick visual tour of the host and participant experience.
Run a tech check: If it's your first time hosting, use this link here to run a tech test and ensure your browser and internet speed are up to scratch. For the best results, run this check on the same computer and internet connection you'll be using on the day.
Take a "Test Drive": Use the 'Preview Link' provided to take the experience for a 'Test Drive' to get a sense of what to expect and ensure there are no surprises during the live session.
3. On the Day
Please log in to your session 10–15 minutes early to test your audio and video. If you are hosting virtually, ensure you understand how to share your screen and audio.
Questions?
If you have any technical questions or want to walk through the flow, join our [Office Hours/Drop-in Session] on [Date/Time] or reach out to [Program Manager Name].
We’re excited to see you bring this experience to life!
Best regards,
[Program Manager Name]
[Company Name]