Photo Marianne Hautsalo

Workshops & lectures

Let's create something transformative together!

I help people and organizations to grow, to develop their practices and to operate sustainably – both socially and ecologically. The focus of my workshops and lectures is always based on your needs as a customer, so feel free to contact me and we can discuss more. Below you can find some examples of subject areas that fall within the scope of my versatile expertise.

Communication

Effective communication is the foundation of all team and client collaboration. Without smooth communication, even the best intentions and ideas rarely turn into reality.
Key factors in the fluency of internal communication include clear, collectively agreed-upon, practices and a positively charged team committed to following them. In client work, flexibility, respect, and the ability to create an atmosphere of trust are essential.
I will gladly get to know the backgrounds of your community and learn to recognize your strengths and bottlenecks. Based on the background work, I will prepare a communication workshop that is tailored for you. Together we will learn to nurture that which works and to fix whatever is leaking.

Ecology

The ecological footprint of a community extends from daily practices to significant decisions. Business, services, products, community, practices, culture, and individuals; the workshop examines all levels of the organization and assesses them from the perspective of ecological sustainability. Together, we plan the best solutions for your organization, integrating them seamlessly into daily operations, and create maintenance and development plans for the processes.
Ecology is primarily a mindset, so the focus of the workshop is on building awareness and constructively reflecting on attitudes. The workshop begins with a substantial dose of environmental research info, grounding the following discussions and collectively outlined measures in reality and giving them concrete meaning.
The era of greenwashing is over! The world won’t change unless we are ready to change ourselves.

Fact-checking

Fact-checking today is a citizen skill comparable to literacy and swimming, and preserving accurate information is a prerequisite for the continuity of civilization. The internet is our fastest way to acquire information, but it is also filled with misinformation taking various, often hard-to-detect forms.
The fact-checking workshop covers topics such as
- evaluating the reliability of information,
- recognizing trustworthy sources,
- various fact-checking techniques,
- fact-checking tools,
- critical thinking,
- recognizing the limits of our knowledge,
- and understanding how our attitudes make us susceptible.
Fact-checking on the internet is as important as traffic rules on the road. When your team masters the basics of fact-checking, you avoid embarrassing situations, erroneous statements, and communication crises.

Teamwork and leadership

Organizations expect employees to have teamwork skills without exception, but often, when starting a job, attention is focused on the task itself, and many questions related to the smoothness and meaningfulness of work can remain unanswered.
- How is trust built?
- How is motivation created and maintained?
- What is everyone’s role, and what kind of agency is associated with roles?
- Are there power structures in the team, and are they made visible?
- Do team members feel ownership of their work?
- How can issues be reported, and to whom?
- Is it even possible to be heard or change anything?
If collaboration is faltering, or motivation and team spirit need revival, it is usually worth examining the team’s dynamics beyond just the daily practices.
The team workshop ventilates the atmosphere, creates routines for more meaningful encounters between team members individually and as a group. We practice dialogue, clarify – and if necessary – create new rules and practices. Additionally, we ensure that everyone is heard, address any potential issues, and then develop solutions according to jointly agreed principles.
The workshop is carefully tailored to your needs and is based on thorough background research.

Applied Games and Gamification

What is the difference between an applied game and a gamified application? Can anything be gamified, and if so, is it worthwhile?
From children’s homework to large corporate processes, gamification and playfulness are trends that cut across modern society. Even if one does not (consciously) play games in their free time, understanding gamification is useful when working in areas such as learning, service design, processes, or management.
In addition to a general information package, this workshop is tailored to meet the specific needs of the organization, resulting in concrete gamified tools or game concepts.

Content Creation

How to stand out in the flood of social media and engage the desired audience? When viewers are asked, alongside relevant content, the presenter’s authenticity, relatability, and ownership are highlighted.
This workshop explores ways to create content that allows the viewer to really experience the topic at hand.
The experiential nature of presentation is first practiced with the participants’ favorite and familiar topics. We then generalize and apply this approach to the core topics of your organization.
The outcomes of the workshop include a refined content production process for your organization, numerous ready-to-use content ideas with roadmaps, and publication-ready content produced in exercises.

References

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”All participants found the workshop to be excellent. The workshop provided us with significantly deeper knowledge on the topic, transparency into our own organization in a way that respects employees' privacy, concrete action suggestions for improving equality, and the first version of our company's equality program, which we will continue to utilize and update. Thank you, Wanda! It’s good for us to carry on from here.”

Feedback on Zaibatsu’s DEI workshop
- Jussi Ultima, CEO, Zaibatsu Interactive

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”A superbly constructed webinar that maintained interest until the end. The exercises were extremely interesting and sparked many touching discussions. As an outcome, the realization emerged: inspiring others, inspires oneself!”

Experiential Content Creation for Digital Channels webinar
- Digimagia-hanke

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”Wanda confidently took control of the stage and the audience, enlivening the entire conference with her presentation. Her presentation sparked a lot of discussion: She not only taught academics about gamification and the practical realities of making games publishable. She also visibly inspired and excited her audience.”

Feedback on Wanda’s keynote at the Academic Mindtrek event
- Emma Varjo, Industry Co-Chair of Academic Mindtrek 2023

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”Wanda's presence is genuine and sincere; she excellently lays the groundwork for important discussions. Even in an online training session, Wanda managed to create a safe space where participants unknown to each other dared to present differing views and share experiences.”

Feedback on the Fantasy & Duty: Sexually conscious game design workshop
-Taina Myöhänen, President (2019-2022), We In Games Finland