Workshops are an excellent and fun way to teach people new skills or to help them learn new tasks. To be successful, workshops must be carefully planned and developed to ensure that the subject covers the load and is strengthened in a way that allows participants to use what they have learned in practice. When you approach the workshop in the right way, it will undoubtedly make a positive contribution to the effect of the event. But how do you do that?
Step 1: Determine the Goals of the Workshop
First of all, you will have to determine the specific objectives of the workshop. These will become your learning objectives. What should participants know at the end of the workshop? What should they be able to do? You can’t develop a useful workshop if you do not know exactly what you want the participants to learn and how they need that knowledge after training.
Step 2: Define Steps
Establish a list of the steps that the participants must take in the workshop to achieve each of the identified goals. These steps form the core of these workshops. If necessary, consult professional experts who help you identify these steps. Bring the objectives back to their most basic level, so that you can also include the employees who switch less quickly in the learning process. You can always speed up!
Step 3: Develop Materials for Your Workshops
You will probably need the help of your subject experts for this step. They can give you the technical information, and you can translate it into easily understandable information. Share the agenda to workshop participants. Don’t just do without an agenda. This way everyone can come prepared to the event, and the right focus is there.
Step 4: Decide How You will Present and Lead the Workshop
Decide how the material will be presented during the workshops. Will you bring the separate workshop sessions, and if so, how will the workshop sessions be built and complement each other? Will the material be presented in the first place using a presentation, or do you also want to work with a group activity or other methods? And will you use additional materials such as PowerPoint presentations, film, music and handouts?
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Step 5: Completion and Planning
Make a schedule for your workshop. Provide enough breaks to keep the participants active and prevent them from feeling restless and uncomfortable. It is best to schedule a break at least once an hour, so that people can use the toilets, just go outside to smoke or to make a phone call.
Step 6: Test Run
Do a test session of the workshop, using people with a similar background from those who attend the actual training workshop. At the end of the test training, you ensure an exact question of the participants, and you take their feedback with you in the final version.
Step 7: Evaluate and Learn
After you have given the workshops, you immediately carry out an evaluation. By collecting feedback about the seminar, you can improve when you organize it again. Ask what they liked best and in which areas you can improve the workshop. Use the feedback as a checklist for future workshops, when making workshop material or when developing other workshops.
Step 8: Prepare Course Room
If possible, please check in advance to check whether everything is there that you need or verify it in an email.
In the Course Room there should be:
- Chairs
- Tables
- Flip-over, paper, markers
- Digi-board
- Beamer, connection for laptop
- Sound equipment
You Should Take:
- Laptop with PowerPoint Presentation
- Hand-out for the participants
- Pen and Paper Folders
- Markers
- Name badge
- Participant list
- Program
- Evaluation forms
- Business cards, flyers, promotional material
- Possible example materials
- Scissors, tape, rope, stapler
- Mobile, agenda, wallet, glasses
Catering
If you are organizing a workshop, don’t forget about basic snacks and drinks. During your workshop, participants would appreciate:
- Coffee, tea, and cups
- Bottled water on the tables (welcoming)
- Fruit juice
- Lunch: sandwiches, fruit, soup
What Else Needs to be Thought about
Try to remember as many names of workshop participants as possible. This gives a safe feeling. Indicate your wishes regarding mobile phones.
If you notice that attention is weakening, take a short extra break.
If not yet known, ask for email addresses so that you can keep people up-to-date with your activities.
Use this checklist every time you have to give a lecture, workshop or presentation!