Worldbuilding can replace traditional curriculum planning

We've vastly underestimated the power of worldbuilding for serious work.

(4 formats to get you started)

Even in 2025, most workshop hosts build their workshops like a lecture — curriculum-first. Content-driven info dumps.

What would happen if, instead of teaching content, you built an experience?
What if your workshop felt like a world to explore — layered, immersive, and full of depth?

What if people didn't just sit through your sessions... what if they stepped into a world?

My hope for all radical entrepreneurs is that we will completely replace information-heavy workshops with well-rounded and robust worldbuilding experiences.

Right now, many workshop hosts (radical or not) pack their sessions with as much content as possible, thinking that more content = more value.

I get it. You have important things to share. What you know can really help people, and you want to make sure people walk away with as much of that goodness as possible.

That instinct makes sense. And it’s really kind and generous.

There is, however, a problem with that: when people don’t have time to process, consider, and apply what they’ve learned, the learning fades. Fast.

Even if they loved your session, they’re likely leaving it overwhelmed. Some are probably struggling to connect the dots, feeling like they “should do something” with all this stuff… but having no clue where to start. The longer they go without implementation, the less likely it is to happen.

And let’s be real: the second they leave your workshop and start scrolling Instagram, their short term memory fills up with all sorts of irrelevant distractions, and the brilliance you shared disappears into the ether.

It's not your fault.
It's not their faul either.
It's just how brains work.

Unfortunately, we’ve been indoctrinated in the content dump method for years.
Curriculum-first models were designed for efficiency – assembly-line, industrial learning to create assembly-line, industrial workers. Learning isn’t just obediently absorbing facts; it’s an active process of questioning, connecting, and unlearning old patterns. Worldbuilding shifts us away from passive consumption and into active exploration.

If your goal is transformation — real, world-shifting, paradigm changing, life-altering transformation —

sharing information isn’t enough. You need folks to engage with it, remember it, and — ideally — act on it. In the session.

There are plenty of ways to make your message stick.
My favourite? Worldbuilding. 🌍✨✨

Instead of firehosing people with content, I propose inviting them into a new world.

A world where small details connect and build off each other. Where your guests feel like they’re inside of something bigger than just a Zoom call or slide deck. Something special.

That’s where the 8 Worldbuilding Elements come in. They help you craft a workshop that’s rich, nuanced, and sticky — so that people experience something they’ll remember.

The big mental shift i’m asking you to make is from:

"I’m teaching information, and that’s enough. "

"I’m building a whole new world they’ll explore and add to."

Don’t worry, I’ll say more about these Elements as we go, and give you a streamlined alternative at the end.

But there’s one more crucial detail: you can’t build a revolutionary experience using the same old, status-quo methods.

Even before you step into the room, the way you design your workshop is either reinforcing the status quo or breaking it. Sitting alone at your desk, mapping out content in neat, linear sequences? That’s industrial-era thinking.

Designing isn’t an assembly line, either.

You’re making your workshop a better experience for your guests. Let’s make the planning process a better experience for you.

And don’t worry – I’ve got some ways of doing it that are easy to add to your repertoire. Oh, and you could totally use these ideas in a session, with your workshop guests!

I’ll offer you four formats you can use to dip your toes into the process of worldbuilding. I like (and use) all four:

Visual & creative = mini-zine

Collaborative & low-barrier = shared Google doc

Tactile & modular = box of index cards

Verbal & unfiltered = voice notes

Incorporating activities and concepts such as art, non-linear mapping, collective idea-storming, and stream-of-consciousness capturing will help you match the world you’re trying to build.

Choose your own adventure! Pick the format that feels most natural, or try ‘em all and see which sparks the most ideas..

🖍 Mini-Zine

Visual & Creative

First up: zines. A very countercultural format. Why? Because: it’s hard for “the powers that be” to stop self-publishing. Definitely worth knowing how to make a zine so you can share information widely and easily with your community if there’s ever a censorship ban that affects you or the media you use.

Want a less ‘doom-and-gloom’ reason?

It’s an opportunity to be a little more creative than more traditional formats — you can use a mix of words and images. Add colour! Use stamps! We’ll do a mini-version to keep it quick and compact.

Here’s what you’ll need:

A sheet of 8.5” x 11” or A4 paper
Scissors
Pencil or pen
Optional: Colouring tools like markers and highlighters are highly encouraged. You could also make a collage using magazines, or finally use the beginner’s watercolour set you got as a gift back in 2013.
Anything goes.

The Process:

1. Fold your piece of paper into 8 sections, cut a slit in just the middle section (like a tissue box) and fold into pages. Beautiful, succinct instructions (and a visual!) for folding have been created by 42Street.

2. Label each of the 8 pages with a different Worldbuilding Element. One per page.

3. Quickly sketch images or jot down ideas directly onto the page using these prompts:

Religion

Core beliefs. Celebrations and rituals

History

A timeline of experiences. Stories.

Life Forms

A connected web of people. Resilient systems.

Society & Culture

Social Dynamics. Norms. How we relate.

Politics & Power

Distribution of influence. Decision-making.

Magic & Technology

The processes of transformation. Activities.

Language

Words. Frameworks. Concepts.

Environment

Atmosphere. Vibe. Setting.

4. Add any visual flourishes that illustrate your point or make your heart happy.

5. Fold it up and you’re done!

Making a mini zine lets you see how all the elements connect without overthinking. You’ll have something physical you can hold, and flip through later. You can even make copies and share with people if you want.

Hopefully creating a mini-zine will help you realize worldbuilding doesn’t have to take years or be super cerebral. It can be quick, creative, and fun!

It’s best suited for when you want to distill down complex ideas to something small and digestible. Or… when I just want to be a little artsy and am sick of staring at a screen.

I use it when I want to quickly plan out a proof of concept. For building a quick outline of a world I’m probably only making a day trip to, if you catch my drift.

📝 A Google Doc

Collaborative & Low-barrier

The next format I’ll share with you is using a Google Doc (or similar option of your choosing). I like it because it’s simple to get started, you can add structure as you go, and it’s easy to share with other people.

Great if you’re collaborating with a co-facilitator, have a coach or consultant who’s supporting you, or you want friends to share their thoughts.

All you need:

A Google Doc (or any digital note-taking tool)
Other humans involved in the project

The Process:

Open a new document.
Create a heading for the Worldbuilding Element of Religion.
Freewrite on the prompt below, or write whatever comes to mind as it relates to the belief system of your workshop and world. Quick and low pressure. Jot notes are fine.

Religion

What beliefs and rituals do you want to shape your work?

4. Add some space (maybe a page break?) when you’re done. Repeat by adding a heading and then freewriting for each of the remaining 7 Worldbuilding Elements.

History

What stories and experiences brought us to the moment we’re now in?

Life Forms

How is the movement made more resilient by people?

Society & Culture

How might we explore and reimagine the ways we interact with each other?

Politics & Power

How are decisions made in your workshop?

Magic & Technology

What techniques and tools support change and transformation?

Language

How do you get across ideas and concepts?

Environment

What can you see, hear, and feel in this world?

5. To keep things organized, you can make a lil Table of Contents for your Worldbuilding doc.

Eg. Highlight a title, then choose Format > Paragraph styles > Heading 1 (or whichever one you want) > Apply Heading 1

6. Share it with whoever’s needed, and ask them to add their ideas, or highlight the things they love most. If they’re co-facilitators, I’d let them edit directly. If they’re supporting you, maybe have them add comments so you can choose what to keep.

Return back and expand on each section whenever you have additional ideas you want to add. It’s a flexible, low commitment way to start worldbuilding! And a clear, structured foundation that can grow with you.

This method is great if you’re building a world with others. You can easily share the document, the structure is easy to skim, and you can revise collaboratively.

📇 Index Cards

Tactile & modular

Index cards are awesome because they help break the spell of linear thinking. Each idea gets its own card. You can capture ideas one at a time, as they come. Eventually it’ll build into a mind map of concepts. A web of your thoughts.

You’ll need:

A stack of index cards
A pen, pencil, or fine-tipped marker (ideally with no bleed-through)
A box (or binder clip) to keep ‘em together
Optional – section dividers for your box

The Process:

Once you’re ready, here’s what I’d do:

1. Sit with the vision you have for your workshop, and the future world you wish existed. If closing your eyes helps, go for it!

Jot down any ideas that come to mind, one per index card. We’re aiming for volume here – try to make at least 20. If you want to take it slow and do it over the course of a few days, that’s totally fine.

3. Once you have at least 20 individual ideas, sort them using this shortcut:

First, decide if the card primarily focuses on WHY, WHO, HOW, or WHAT. Then match it to one of the two related Elements:

WHY?

Religion

Any beliefs, celebrations, and rituals that really matter.

History

Stories and experiences that got us here.

WHO?

Life Forms

The web of people (and non-humans!) involved or impacted.

Society & Culture

Ways people treat each other, connect, meet needs.

HOW?

Politics & Power

Decision-making dynamics and level of collaboration.

Magic & Technology

Tools for transformation. Activities. Formats. Modalities.

WHAT?

Language

Words, ideas, frameworks, and key concepts.

Environment

The vibe, the atmosphere, and set design.

Sorting is flexible, so don’t stress about it… you can always move things later! That’s why it’s so great that there’s only one idea per card. You can shuffle and rearrange them as needed.

Once you’ve got a few cards in each section, try looking at one Element at a time. Seeing all your ideas together can reveal themes or connections, and spark entirely new ideas.

This method is perfect for workshops that will evolve over time — a world you know you’ll be returning to. If you like rearranging, experimenting, and making connections on the fly, index cards help you visualize everything without committing too soon.

🎤 Voice Notes

Verbal & unfiltered

If you think better by talking things out (most of my clients do!), voice notes might be your best bet.

If you have a system for cataloguing voice notes, great. Do that. I don’t, so I use voice notes as a starting point to get ideas out. Then crystallize the ideas in one of the other 3 formats. For example, with clients, they send me voice notes (stream of consciousness-style) on our Dream Day. Then, we organize their thoughts into the corresponding sections of a Google Doc (the Dreamworld Codex).

What you need:

A voice note app like Voxer or Signal.
A secondary tool, OR an organizing system
Optional: transcription service

The process:
1. Open the app, hit record and start talking about your vision!

2. To keep things focused, use The Prism of ACES. It’s a simple framework to help you explore the Elements of Worldbuilding in pairs.

(It’s the Why/Who/How/What format I touched on for sorting your index cards!)

(con’t) I like to address these four sections with four separate voice notes, so it’s easier to refer back to them later. Use the questions offered here as starting points if you’d like.

Authenticity is about your truth.
(Religion and History – WHY)
Why do you believe this work is needed?
Why do you think we’re headed in the direction we’re going?

Community is about decentralization.
(Life Forms and Society & Culture – WHO)
Who else has ideas that relate to this?
Who (and what) can make it easier for people to get their needs met?

Engagement is about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.
(Politics & Power and Magic & Technology – HOW)
How can guests contribute to the session?
How much variety is offered in the ways to interact?

Substance is about learning and unlearning.
(Language and Environment – WHAT)
What ideas are layered into each other?
What kind of conditions do I think will best support their transformation?
1. Ask yourself: “Is there anything else? What haven’t I said yet?” and keep riffing.
2. Once you feel like you’ve gotten everything out, listen back and capture the gems. (In a mini-zine, on index cards , etc)
This works especially well if you’re a “verbal processor” who gets clarity by speaking. If you find writing too slow or overwhelming, voice notes let you capture ideas in real time—without overthinking.

Four ideas for you to choose from! All of them will help you build a world.

Worldbuilding helps change your workshop guests— and it also shifts you as a facilitator.

Leaning into the worldbuilding process unlocks new layers of creativity and depth. It forces you to think beyond content and into experience. And if we want to create less stuffy workshops, why not do it in less stuffy ways? 😉

A mini-zine, for example, is creative, artsy, and tactile. It lets you engage with the material in a way that feels more personal and playful.

Index cards? They’re non-linear—allowing you to map things out in a more dynamic, flexible way..

A shared Google Doc? Low barrier, yes—but also collaborative. It lets you practice allowing other people to shape the world with you, rather than you trying to control it all by yourself.

And voice notes? They’re unfiltered. They let your ideas flow naturally, without being stuck in a rigid structure.

By using these alternative processes, you’re stepping away from the old-school curriculum grind and embracing something a little more… rebellious. You’re creating something vibrant, not just a lecture or a list of facts.

This change is beneficial for the workshop guests and you, too.
More freedom to play. More freedom to iterate. More freedom to create some magic.

Bored of the status quo and want to shake things up?

Here’s your first step: Pick one of the formats above, and give worldbuilding a whirl. Start small with a mini-zine, or recording a few voice notes.

No need to overthink it (easier said than done, I know). The point is to try something new, and to see what creativity and nuance emerges when you give yourself some space to do things differently.

Dreaming up the world of your workshop is so clarifying, and helps you avoid a struggle when it’s time to design the session. I literally will not work with someone without Worldbuilding together first – I do this with all my clients – it’s that important.

If you want more support on crafting your own worldbuilding experiences, I’ve got resources that’ll help you dive deeper into this playful, powerful approach. You can start by exploring my Workshops as Worldbuilding course (perfect for facilitators like you, who are ready to spark creativity and engagement).

Or if you’re feeling the need for something more one-on-one, my 1:1 ‘Dream Day’ Intensive is all about co-creating with you—shaping your workshops into worldbuilding experiences (it’s a hybrid of Voice Notes and Google Doc).

Regardless of whether or not you want my support, I hope you’ll give worldbuilding a shot. Shake things up. Create a fresh and dynamic world for people to step into and experience.

Start with a
Dream Day

Before you design your workshop, it helps to have a map to the world you’re building. The Dreamworld Codex serves as your personal map.

During your Dream Day, we’ll spend a full day voice-noting back and forth, filling in that map with the 8 Elements of Worldbuilding. I’ll be right there as your co-navigator, helping you bring your vision into focus, uncover hidden pathways, and chart new terrain.

Super casual, super daydream-y, and full of clarity. By the end, you’ll have a world ready to bring to life.

Currently a $500 CAD investment.