Turn Your
Wisdom Into A Workshop
Copyright © 2004 Suzanne Falter-Barnes
The Technical Revolution has done a lot
for us -- we merely have to pick up a phone or send an email to conduct
business. Yet, there still is no substitute for live, personal appearances
when you want your teaching to count, and that’s why I love workshops.
Your participants benefit from the short-term intensity of the experience,
and you benefit from actually seeing your principles and exercises in
play.
If you’ve got the solution to any problem that’s out there, you can
deliver it in workshop form. Here are some steps I’ve developed in my
years of designing and delivering self-help workshops:
1. Put together a workshop people actually need. What’s the biggest
problem your target market faces – and what do you know about solving it?
This is the key to filling your workshop. Find the problem you are
uniquely qualified to solve. Do not rely on vague promises like “improving
your life” or “boosting your creativity”. Offer us something we can really
use, such as “How to Create More Time for Your Dream.”
2. Decide where and how you’ll lead the workshop. Basically, you have a
choice: you find a location and hold the workshop yourself, or you pitch
and sell it to a larger venue, such as an adult ed learning center. If you
hold the workshop yourself, you will have a bigger job, but you
potentially could make much more money. If someone else holds it, your
audience may be more certain … or it may not. Also, it may be hard to
place your workshop with a larger venue if you don’t already have a track
record doing such – unless your idea is so ‘killer’ that learning venue
can resist. There is no ‘right’ answer here. Test the waters to find the
best solution.
3. Choose a great location. Nothing is more depressing than a workshop in
a dimly lit church basement painted an institutional green. Instead, look
for a sunny, fresh environment that makes you (and them) feel good. When
holding your own workshop, look for inns or even B&B’s that have a meeting
room or living room available. Often such places will provide a room for
free if they are catering your event. For shorter workshops, look to grand
old libraries that have seminar rooms, or churches or temples that have
recently renovated or offer more upscale facilities.
4. Plan the day around food. Believe it or not, this is key. A workshop
has to have an air of retreat to it, or it won’t have nearly the impact
you want. That’s why I like to hold longer, full-day workshops that
include a nice lunch and afternoon tea and cookies. This gives your
participants the sense that they’re really getting away from everyday life
and nurturing themselves, which facilitates breakthroughs. At the same
time, you can offer more benefits, and thus a more valuable workshop
package.
5. Structure your day with lots of play. Give these folks some things to
do that get them out of their usual routine, right off the bat. In my own
How Much Joy Can You Stand? workshops, I have people come to the event
with a ‘no-name’ tag – something they can comfortably wear that expresses
their essence without using their name. It’s a fun way to get everyone on
level playing ground. This sort of hands-on exercise can be used at least
two or three times during the day to make your points more effectively. To
create exercises, simply think about what sorts of activities would really
move you to have fun, and think outside of the usual box.
6. Combine teaching with feedback. Don’t just preach; ask. During your
lecture time, take occasional breaks to ask for their ideas, observations,
questions, etc. You can also drive home points by creating
front-of-the-room lists on a flip chart, or by having brief writing
exercises, which they can share from afterwards. I like timed writing
exercises, quick top of the mind lists, and written responses to
questions.
7. Don’t be afraid of group meditations. If you’re doing work that is at
all spiritually attuned, guided meditations can be fantastic tools. Most
people will give them a try, even if they’ve never done so before. Be sure
to speak clearly throughout the meditation, and urge people to sit on
cushions or chairs, but not recline. Some may be willing to share what
they observed, which is often quite powerful.
8. Let them guide you. Sometimes you need to put aside your plan for a
while, and let a powerful group conversation take over. Be sure to design
your day with an extra half-hour to hour (if it’s a full day) for such
tangents to develop. That way, you won’t be a slave to the clock, and can
allow for spontaneous insights to occur.
9. Start with a group of friends … and get evaluations. Your very first
workshop can always be held with friends, or your R&D group, right in your
own living room. Offer it for free, in exchange for detailed feedback on
what worked, and what didn’t. Then be sure to have the evaluation forms
ready to fill out at the end of the workshop – before anyone leaves. In
your evaluation, also include a place for enthusiasts to leave glowing
testimonials, for use in your promo materials. (Include a request for a
signed okay for use of their name and quote in your form.)
10. Experiment. You’re going to get a lot further leading workshops if you
can view this aspect of your career as a grand experiment. Some things
will work; some things won’t. Your job is to find out which is which, so
your workshop becomes the very best it can be … and that’s the best way to
fill them up!
Want to learn more about how to lead your
own creativity workshop? Go to
http://www.howmuchjoy.com/facilitatorsworkshop.html. Suzanne
Falter-Barns is the author of How Much Joy Can You Stand? and Living Your
Joy. (Ballantine) You can learn more in her free ezine, The Joy Letter,
which brings you a crisp, fresh burst of inspiration for your dream every
week or two. Sign up at
http://www.howmuchjoy.com/joyletter.html and receive her valuable
report, “Thirty-Five Guaranteed Time Savers”. It helps you create time to
finally live your dreams.
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