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Hi, and welcome to Try AI for Growth, a baby podcast out of Make Space for Growth. Here, I share short and perhaps surprising stories of how I’ve used technology to tackle everyday challenges—at home, at work, and in business. I’m your host, Sara Vicente Barreto, and today, I want to share an exciting and creative story of how AI helped me enhance a meaningful vision board workshop. Whether you’re curious about how to bring focus to your personal goals or host a workshop that inspires others, this episode is for you!
The Backstory
I did my first vision board in 2021, at a time where we all thought it was awesome to get together on Zoom with a glass of wine and a screen sharing with Pinterest images. Whilst it was enjoyable in concept, last year, I decided to do a real Vision Board workshop and saw immense value in it. I was not planning to repeat it so soon, but one of my friends who was part of it called me up on Christmas Eve challenging me to do it and almost forcing me to decide on a date on the spot (it worked!). With that, I invited a few people on the brink of New Year’s Eve and decided to give it a thought a few days later.
Now, you may have realised already that I like to change things around and there is rarely a workshop or framework that I leave untouched for very long. And it was the same with this workshop. I had an agenda and structure from 2024, and as I said, it had worked well, but I wanted more. I wanted the workshop to be deeply intentional and more structured, while also leaving space for creativity and fun. For me, vision boards are more than just a collage of pretty pictures that you can put on display —they’re a way to map out dreams, set clear intentions, and bring focus to your goals. They are also a mechanism for self-discovery.
My friend the AI
I started off thinking I only wanted a few inputs. First, I provided my invitation and asked for a review, as well as suggestions of additions of things that would be helpful for people to know. That was simple enough, and not a big innovation in the use of AI. But as I developed the agenda further, I started going deeper and using AI to put it all together. How?
Quick inputs
One of the exercises of the workshop was to think ahead of words of the year to have perhaps a few as guiding north at the beginning of the exercise or even use some to illustrate the board. For this, I asked ChatGPT to prepare a page with 50 inspirational words that could be used as word of the year. And given the ease of it, I just doubled down and asked for 100. Quicker than Google and directly into a downloadable word format, organized in columns and ready to print.
Critical Brainstorming Partner
I then decided to go a step further and share my agenda with ChatGPT asking for suggestions for different dynamics or reflections to add to the day. I was not very specific in my prompt, so I was wondering if it was going to be effective. Here is what I got back:
- For my meditation part of the agenda, it suggested the types of meditations and visualizations that could be helpful to set the scene. I almost asked if it could suggest a few links from Headspace but I ended up selecting one myself;
- It then suggested I introduce a journalling prompt before the exploration stage, to allow for a moment of self-reflection, alongside my initial guidelines. It shared this idea along with suggested prompts for me to choose from;
- For the exploration and collage moments, it suggested a silent collage moment (which I ended up not doing) and also the types of music that could go alongside it. Again, I wonder if it would have provided me with Spotify playlists;
- It gave me alternatives to the dynamic I had prepared for lunch, even though I had not really asked for that. I did not take it but kept it for further reference;
- It suggested a closing journalling moment that I had not thought of, and even though we ran out of time to do it I still think it would have been fun.
Execution Partner
As I often speak about here, I never stay with the first answer. So I had quite a few more additions to ask. I decided I wanted to have some prompts to encourage people along the way, so I asked it to give me sample prompts that I could use to enhance the idea of reflection, the appeal of the images and the process.
“Can you provide examples of reflection questions to help participants identify their goals?”
I got some pretty good stuff, like “Imagine you are designing the cover of a magazine for your life in 2025. What would the headline be?” or “What images or words make you feel excited or at peace? Don’t overthink—just collect what draws you in.”
So I kept going. I then decided to completely change the lunchtime dynamic with one I had in a retreat at New Life this summer, so I asked to have a few reflection messages that could be shared or discussed as a group to get a break from all the cutting and glueing but still get meaningful conversations. Here is my favourite prompt from the 8 I requested:
“Describe a perfect day in your ideal future. What do you see, hear, and feel?”
ChatGPT
Finally, I decided to be lazy and asked ChatGPT to create my participant agenda, facilitator agenda and lunchtime prompts into Word documents I could download and brand per my needs (I could probably have given it the branding straight away but I was in content mode, not format mode at the time).
To wrap it all up and based on the agenda and the goals, I asked it to draft me an evaluation form to ask the participants for feedback after the workshop. It was pretty close to the final version I used!
Unexpected Bonus Ideas:
ChatGPT did not just execute my requests. It went above and beyond in adding suggestions for moments of reflection, with specific suggestions on how to incorporate them, it completed my environment with suggestions for music and quotes and it even helped with logistics reminding me to add a few materials to my list. I felt more prepared than before and it took much less time than if I had done it on my own. I don’t know that I would have thought of all the ideas myself.
Lessons Learned:
As usual, I took a few lessons away from using AI in this process:
- The Power of the Prompts: I initiated the conversation with a fair amount of details on what my goals for the session were and how I planned to structure it based on my experience from the prior year. This helped provide transparency on my goals and allowed the AI to complement it with great tailored suggestions, especially in the face of some of my vague requests.
- AI as a Creative Partner: Designing a workshop is as much an art as it is a science. With AI, I was able to combine structure and creativity effortlessly, bringing ideas in and out with ease.
- Flexibility and Adaptation: While AI provided a great starting point, I adapted its ideas to fit my style and the group’s needs. I did not take its word for it, even though some of the quotes were spot on!
What You Can Do
If you’re thinking about hosting a workshop or seminar —or any other educational session—here’s how you can use AI:
- Be Clear on Your Goals: Explain what you are trying to achieve and what you have so far
- Ask for analysis: Get the AI to revamp your structure, add ideas and complement your thoughts
- Get Specific: Refine your prompts by asking for examples, exercises, or questions.
- Personalize It: Tailor AI’s suggestions to fit your audience and goals.
- Add a Special Touch: Ask for creative extras like group activities or mood-setting tips.
A session to repeat
Preparing for this vision board workshop reminded me how AI can elevate even the most personal and creative tasks. Whether it’s brainstorming reflection questions or planning logistics, AI saved me time, sparked ideas, and helped me create something truly meaningful.
If you’ve used AI for workshops or creative projects, I’d love to hear your story! Share your ideas or questions, and let’s keep learning together.
Thanks for joining me for this episode of Try AI for Growth. Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share your thoughts. Until next time, keep experimenting and keep having fun!