How To Prepare a Workshop: Use These 6 Proven Steps
This article has everything you need to know about how to prepare for a workshop.
A good workshop is a really valuable thing. A bad repair shop, on the other hand, is the best way to quickly destroy a coach’s reputation. So what can we do to make sure that every training we prepare is the best it can be? It is actually worth using these six steps!
How to Prepare for a Workshop:
1. Identify the aims of the workshop.
Whatever the situation, the basis for setting up a good training event is to outline the exact objectives. After all, an event of this kind can’t be a more or less successful social gathering where you talk “about such and such.”
What is important here is that our goal can in fact be achieved in a certain time, place and condition. However, we need to remember that by setting goals, we are informing participants and the principal at the same time about the skills we’re going to impart.
And can we teach, for example, the use of advanced business management software in 6 hours? Very doubtful! At best, we’ll present basic issues related to this topic, and that should be our goal!
2. Adapt to the audience
The second very important step in preparing a good training course is to consider the capabilities of your audience. However, the content discussed and the media used must be closely related to the audience, their age, or their knowledge of the subject.
In addition, the amount of time the audience can devote is also important, as is determining what their real needs are. On a training course for skilled accountants, is it essential to spend several hours discussing basic issues and ideas? Certainly not!
3. Create a training plan.
The next step in preparing a good training course is to develop a program for the event itself. It should consist of a detailed list of topics and issues to be covered, in addition to topics covered in the introduction and methods of teaching or evaluation (1) Alone.
This is because such a “roadmap” will serve us perfectly in the preparation of the speech in addition to during the execution of the training, protecting us from falling into the abyss of side questions and problems. Having a preliminary sketch of our training, it’s worth thinking about it several times.
This lets you optimally organize the sequence of individual problems so that they form not only a logical whole but also correspond to the psychophysical abilities of the audience.
4. Deal with plans in real time.
It is essential that each issue we discuss is given the right time. This will let you make an initial assessment of whether, in general terms, our assumptions can be achieved in one or two days.
It’s also all the time advisable to include plenty of breaks when creating hourly schedules, and in the case of the most significant issues, also allow more time for questions and answers. This is because if we overestimate the amount of time it takes, we will all the time be capable to treat some issues more thoroughly or extend the recovery lag a bit longer.
In the opposite case, if we set ourselves too few hours and minutes for the implementation of plans, we will all the time have a major problem – whether we must let go of some problems, “cut off” the audience, or extend the training. .
5. Prepare training materials.
After our training assumptions have been made, it is time to prepare training materials. In fact, for your convenience, it is good to divide them into two categories: tools for use during the training itself and tools intended for participants.
This will allow us to all the time choose the best form of the material and adapt the content to real needs. In principle, training aids should be in the form of exercises or practical examples, while “post-training” materials (2) can contain more theoretical information, remind about the most significant issues and problems.
When setting up training aids, it is all the time a good idea to go for the most “lightweight” and accessible form. Binding photocopied files is not a good and artistic solution, and furthermore, after the training itself, it will most certainly end up in the trash. Far better is any form of multimedia or knowledge summary covering the most significant topics and issues.
6. Take care of the training room.
However, good training isn’t just a ready coach; it’s also a properly adapted and arranged space. Therefore, it is a good idea to think twice about what room layout, benches, and chairs best suit the topic to be discussed and the task to be performed.
For example, if you plan to work in groups, you should adjust the layout of the training room from the start so as not to waste time moving or “messing” office furniture.
It is also important to check whether the room used will be capable to easily display training materials or multimedia presentations, what the sound system is like, and whether it is occasionally stuffy or dark inside.
Applying the six steps above to prepare for a good training session will definitely lay a good foundation for us. But in practice, our success or failure will be determined by the implementation of the event itself. Therefore, it’s worth paying attention to every detail, practicing the speech itself first, and learning from previous experience!
I want to thank you for taking the time to read my article on how to prepare for a workshop. I actually hope that its content has been of good help to you.
