5 top tips for a 5 star workshop!

So you’ve figured out you can package your expertise on whatever subject is your forte, into a course or workshop? That’s great! All you have to do now is decide on how to structure it, make it easily digestible, organise it and figure out how to promote it. It might sound like a handful, but participating in a few workshops yourself and sticking to these five rules will help your through the entire process. Here’s how to create a workshop that will fill seats and get high marks! 

1. The 80/20 Rule:

The first thing to bare in mind while crafting the workshop is that you should try to keep the workshop activity and exercise based, so there’s plenty of chances for the attendees to take part. Attendees that are actively participating and asking questions are likely to bring your material to life and allow you to apply your lessons on their real-world situations and experiences. 

You can do this by turning lists into questions and getting the group to share their ideas. Use a mixture of learning pedagogy — games, exercises, case studies, talks, video etc. to keep the energy high and content fresh. This will not only make for a fun and engaging course for the participants, but will also ensure that you address the specific problems of your audience, making your content relevant and more likely to be recommended to other potential attendees.

“Tell me, I’ll forget. Teach me, I’ll remember. Involve me, I’ll understand.” — Benjamin Franklin

2. Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS)

You should also be very careful not to fall into the trap of including too much information and using material that is too advanced for your audience. If you are an expert in the subject matter and have been working in the industry for years and years, it might be tempting to try and share as much as you can about the topic, but the truth is that most beginners will find that confusing, overwhelming and off-putting. Because of this, it’s important that you don’t bite off more than you (or the participants) can chew, and that you don’t over-complicate the content.

Remember that for the attendees this might be the first time they have covered the subject matter, so keep it focused and limited to a few key learning outcomes. This starts with simple slides with less text and more images, but follows through the whole structure of the workshop. Make sure that the material you plan on using matches the amount of time you have at your disposal, as well as the amount of time you can dedicate to each participant, should you need to further explain certain points and concepts.

“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.” ― Albert Einstein

3. Choose the right space

It sounds simple but it is really important, so don’t skip the basics. Making everyone comfortable is necessary for conducting effective learning sessions, so do your best to crate a productive atmosphere. You’d be surprised how seemingly unimportant factors like temperature and humidity can affect yours and yours attendees’ concentration. To make the most of the workshop, make sure the room is at the right temperature and that it’s quiet.

You also need to provide all the necessary supplies and make sure your tech is working, so you don’t lose precious time on technical difficulties. Make sure you have enough tables and chairs, white boards, flip charts and a screen with the right connectors. Poor set up can seriously throw a workshop in the wrong direction.

4. Prepare the group

Depending on the subject matter and length and structure of the workshop, you should try to support your core presentation with other materials like study sheets, templates and examples. Even before the workshop, the participants should be aware of what to expect and what they stand to gain. Make sure you send the group a synopsis of the workshop before the session, so they can come prepared and ready to engage.

You should also have the other resources ready to share with the group after the workshop. This could include slides, worksheets and any additional content you might have that will support their learning. Eager attendees might also find lists with additional literature on the subject handy, therefore you should be prepared to accommodate the learning appetite of even your most inquisitive audience members.

“The preparation is what allows the success to happen naturally. “— Jake Arrieta

5. Rules of Engagement

In this day and age, we have the whole world in our hands and can connect via email, Twitter, Facebook, Slack etc. Connecting with your participants and drumming up engagement by answering questions on different platforms after the workshop might be a good idea. Browsing social media while at the workshop, however, is not great when you need everyone to engage and connect in the room. 

Your best bet might be to get the group to turn off technological distractions, stop browsing Tinder and lean in! An easy and simple way to stop even the most tech addicted from taking sneak peeks throughout the workshop is to factor in breaks at least every hour and make sure everyone is aware of these at the start of the session.

“Technology is a good servant but a bad master.” — Gretchen Rubin

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