This drama-based workshop builds confidence to challenge inappropriate behaviour and support inclusion.
Allyship & Being an Active Bystander....
How does this course help your business?
Allyship Training That Helps Employees Speak Up with Confidence
Allyship & Being an Active Bystander is an interactive, engaging drama-based course for all employees, supports your organisation to build a culture where people feel more confident to challenge inappropriate behaviour, support others and act with allyship.
Many employees want to do the right thing when they witness harmful behaviour, but in practice they may feel uncertain, nervous or worried about making things worse. This course helps learners understand what it means to be an active bystander, recognise problematic behaviours such as microaggressions, discrimination, harassment and inappropriate “banter”, and explore safe, practical ways to respond.
Through realistic drama scenarios, learners see the impact that silence can have in allowing poor behaviour to become normalised. They also develop greater confidence in how to step in, speak up or seek support in a way that is constructive, appropriate and aligned to your organisational values and policies.
Watch our Allyship & Being an Active Bystander Video
WHY THIS COURSE?
Most people aren’t passive bystanders because they ‘don’t care’. More often, they stay silent because they’re unsure whether what they’ve seen is serious enough, or they fear conflict, or they do not know how to intervene effectively.
That hesitation can come at a cost. When inappropriate behaviour goes unchallenged, it can become accepted as part of the culture, damaging trust, belonging and psychological safety. It can also leave individuals feeling isolated and unsupported.
Our Allyship & Being An Active Bystander course enables organisations to give employees practical tools to notice harmful behaviour, understand its impact and take appropriate action. It helps turn good intentions into meaningful action, strengthening inclusion, accountability and respect across the workplace.
What does it cover?
Our Allyship & Being An Active Bystander course explores what it means to move from passive observation to active intervention.
Learners consider the role of the bystander, the difference between passive and active responses, and the influence that bystanders have on workplace culture. We explore problematic behaviours including microaggressions, discriminatory remarks, exclusionary language and inappropriate workplace banter, helping learners identify the red flags and understand the impact these behaviours can have on others.
The course also focuses on the barriers that can stop people taking action and explores practical intervention strategies to overcome these.
Finally, the course looks at accountability and allyship in practice, helping learners reflect on how they can contribute to a more respectful, inclusive culture where concerns are addressed early and supportively.
How do we do it?
In our Allyship & Being An Active Bystander course, our expert trainer works with our professional actors to bring challenging workplace situations to life through realistic drama-based scenes.
These scenes are designed to reflect situations employees may genuinely encounter, such as overheard comments, inappropriate humour, subtle exclusion, problematic assumptions or remarks that are dismissed as “just banter”. We use these scenes as a jumping off point to explore and discuss the impact of remaining passive, and to explore what effective intervention could look like.
Using facilitated discussion, drama scenarios, forum theatre and practical models, learners build confidence in how to challenge behaviour safely and constructively. We also explore how accountability can be handled in a supportive way, using simple frameworks to help learners give feedback and address issues without escalating conflict.
As with all our drama-based learning, the scenarios can be tailored to your organisational context, your policies and the kinds of challenges your people face, making the learning feel relevant, practical and memorable
Learning Outcomes.
Our Allyship & Being An Active Bystander course supports your organisation to build a more inclusive and accountable culture by helping employees recognise inappropriate behaviour and feel more confident to respond.
By the end of the course, learners will be able to…
- Explain the role of an active bystander
- Recognise problematic behaviours in the workplace
- Identify appropriate intervention strategies and feel more confident to use them
- Reflect on their personal role in moving from observation to intervention
Why is this course important?
Creating an inclusive culture is not just about setting expectations — it is about giving people the confidence and practical skills to act when those expectations are not being met.
In many workplaces, harmful behaviour can be overlooked because it appears subtle, is dismissed as humour, or happens in situations where people feel unsure how to respond. When that happens, silence can unintentionally reinforce the behaviour and signal that it is tolerated.
This course helps employees understand that allyship is not passive. It equips them with practical ways to intervene, support colleagues and challenge harmful behaviour more confidently. By strengthening active bystander skills across your organisation, you help create an environment where people feel safer, more respected and more able to contribute fully.
The training was well paced and interesting. It didn’t focus on the obvious or patronise us by assuming we were coming to the training from a blank slate. It was interactive, pitched at the right level, and the trainer was warm engaging, friendly, knowledgeable, and organised. I learned a lot and have loads to reflect on. Thanks!’
HOW DO WE DELIVER IT?
FACE TO FACE
IN THE TRAINING ROOM
LIVE ONLINE
VIA OUR VIRTUAL
CLASSROOM
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT Allyship & Being an Active Bystander
Who is this course for?
This course is suitable for all employees. It is particularly useful for organisations that want to strengthen inclusion, respect and accountability across teams by helping people feel more confident to challenge inappropriate behaviour. If you’d like a version specifically for managers & leaders, we can tailor the context and focus.
Is there role play?
No, we don’t do role play. Our drama-based approach uses realistic workplace scenarios to make the learning engaging, practical and memorable. Learners aren’t put on the spot; instead, they observe, reflect and explore different ways of responding in a safe, supportive environment
Can the training be tailored to our organisation?
Yes. We can tailor the scenarios and discussions to reflect your organisational context, your people, the situations they face and your internal policies and processes. This helps make the learning feel more relevant and immediately applicable.
What is drama-based learning?
Drama-based learning brings workplace challenges to life through realistic, facilitated scenarios. It gives people the chance to see situations in context, reflect on impact, and explore how different responses can change outcomes. It’s immersive, interactive and designed to make learning stick.
Does this course help create a culture of accountability?
Yes. In addition to bystander intervention, the course explores how to hold one another to account supportively and constructively. Learners are introduced to simple feedback models that help them describe behaviour, explain impact and suggest a better way forward, strengthening trust and respect rather than blame.
Why does active bystander training matter?
Active bystander training helps people feel more confident recognising inappropriate behaviour and responding in a constructive, safe and supportive way. Rather than leaving responsibility with the person affected, it encourages everyone to play a part in creating a respectful, inclusive culture where harmful behaviour is less likely to be ignored or normalised.
how good are WE?
THE ted Learning Guarantee!
We have been delivering highly impactful drama-based learning for over 13 years.
If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with the learning we provide in the room or virtually and the learner feedback reflects this, we will put it right.
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