As the startup culture and ecosystem continue to accelerate, knowledge sharing via bootcamps, workshops, and coaching is gaining momentum. These sessions for interaction expose entrepreneurs and startup founders with valuable insights while also opening doors for networking and engaging with fellow founders to find inspiration and guidance. Although, while necessary, these sessions can quickly become uninteresting and fall short in terms of engagement. Gamification of workshops, bootcamps, and coaching for startups and founders becomes a game-changer in this situation.
Through skillful and tactical integration of gaming and design elements into workshops and bootcamps, these sessions can become exceedingly exciting The integration of gamification enables transforming the knowledge sharing experience into an elevated interactive session which not only keeps learners excited and engaged, but also boosts knowledge retention.
Here are several reasons that gamification helps:
- Active Interaction: Gamification includes incorporation of features such as quizzes and challenges. Taking this one step further, more sophisticated frameworks include the creation of rewards systems and leaderboards. This transforms an otherwise one-sided knowledge sharing session wherein one person speaks and others listen, into a fueled and energetic one where everyone participates. This also serves as an ideabox for startups that are looking to implement some gamification features into their platforms.
- Collaborative Initiatives: The element of healthy competition as well as collaborating to achieve mutual success is highlighted and promoted through such integrations. Learners strive to perform better from their competitors, coming up with quick solutions and modifications as per challenges posed. This further enhances analytical as well as problem solving skills which are crucial for startup founders. The duality of experience in terms of being competitive as well as collaborative are a true reflection of the startup ecosystem’s inherent nature.
- Knowledge Retention: As opposed to traditional knowledge sharing alternatives, gamification boosts the participants’ knowledge retention capabilities. Learning through example is one of the most helpful learning techniques and that is exactly what gamification entails. Not only does it capture attention for the entirety of the session, but also enhances capabilities of retaining information through the impactful visuals as well as interactive features that stay imprinted in the participants’ minds.
- Real-Life Learning: Gamification simulations designed for specific purposes such as bootcamps for startups and founders are often built from real-life situations that startups typically come across. By sharing ways and methods to deal with such circumstances, gamification helps learners face similar issues with greater confidence armed with the right knowledge. Thus, such integrations help in quicker decision-making and strategy designing.
- Measurable Progress: Through the integration of gamification, startup founders can effectively measure their progress. This enables them in identifying areas that require more refinement and strategizing accordingly. Throughout the workshop, gamification features that require participation can collect data, which can later be examined and leveraged.
Gamification is getting more and more sophisticated everyday and its applications are virtually endless. Within the realm of teaching through training sessions, workshops, bootcamps, etc., it stands as a transformative tool that must be harnessed to its full potential to benefit learners in the best manner possible.
