Giving a workshop: some find it a nightmare, others get excited about it. In some workshops, the audience sits bored looking at their phones and leave none the wiser, while in others they applaud and leave with concrete actions. Which group do you fall into? To help you deliver better workshops, I put this together! Let’s start right away.
Know your Audience
A workshop is working with your audience, so you will first need to get to know the people you expect at your workshop. There is quite a difference in whether you are in a tent on a scouting ground, or at an expensive conference attended only by managers. And there’s a lot in between.
If you know your audience already has prior knowledge of your topic, you don’t need to start at the basics and explain all the terms. If your audience is new to your topic, you will have to start at the basics. A workshop that dives straight into the depths without first explaining the basics may feel like a distant show to many participants.
Your audience also has certain characteristics. If you have 30 young people sitting in front of you, they will more easily grab their phones to start up a Mentimeter or Kahoot. Are you dealing with over-65s? Then a quiz with pen and paper is more convenient and that phone is just a clumsy thing. So you also have to adapt the tools you use to your audience.
What is your goal?
The starting point of your workshop is your goal. What do you want to achieve? What knowledge do you want participants to leave with in the end? A well-chosen goal can make your workshop a success, a poorly chosen goal turns a workshop into a disaster.
Bear in mind that leaving after a one-hour workshop with three takeaways is already quite an art. So above all, keep your goal small and manageable. Participants can become overwhelmed if you overload them with information. Realize that you are the specialist and have spent days, weeks or maybe even months studying the material. Your workshop participant does not have that and needs to leave with the most important information within one hour. So focus!
Also, keep your workshop focused on the goal you have in mind, and leave out unnecessary details. If a course participant asks a question, you can briefly reveal the nuances, but realise that for most of the group, that is not valuable.
A workshop is an ideal place to generate more interest among participants. Convey your passion for the topic. If they start looking for even more information after your workshop, then your workshop is a success! Stay available for questions after the workshop so you can fill the initial information need.
Interaction
Ok, it’s a workshop, not a presentation! Preferably leave your beamer, screen and laptop at home. Opt for interaction. The internet is full of ways to get your participants talking to each other about different topics.
Of course, it sounds super fun to ask a question in between sessions (raise your hand if you have already raised your hand at a workshop!) but that is only marginally interactive. Some people swear by working methods like liberating structures, others go back to playing with Lego for an hour. Even if you let your participants make a craft, as long as it contributes to your goal, you are fine.
All this interaction has two hidden advantages.
- No need to memorise an entire presentation in preparation. No cramming for hours in front of the mirror with the latest facts, but bringing the information to your trainees in an interactive way.
- In addition, an interactive working format naturally connects more easily to the knowledge level of your participants.
The golden tip for interaction is to practice and polish. Which interactive teaching methods suit you and your target group? Which working form do you enjoy doing yourself? How can you keep it original and innovative? I understand that sticking post-its is easy, but after three workshop rounds with post-its your participants will be done with it too.
Conclusion
Make your workshop a lot easier for yourself by connecting with your audience, coming up with a clear goal and seeking interaction. At the end of a fun workshop, trainees will have learnt three things, leave excited and you will still have voice left for the next round. Good luck!
