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W H Y W O U L D YO U G I V E A W O R K S H O P ?
W H E N W O U L D YO U WA N T T O C O N D U C T A W O R K S H O P ?
H O W D O YO U C O N D U C T A W O R K S H O P ?
F O L LO W- U P
You've probably been a participant in a number of workshops. You may have
been at a folk festival where a famous performer held a guitar workshop and
demonstrated some of his techniques. You may have been at a conference
where there were workshops on surfing the internet, or on selling to reluctant
customers. There are workshops on subjects ranging from cake decorating to
treating schizophrenia, all of which are limited in time, meant to teach
practical skills or techniques or ideas, and conducted by people like you.
Now it's your turn to conduct a workshop. You may be training staff or
volunteers for a new organization, presenting at a conference, or trying to
show the world this terrific new method your organization has developed.
Whatever the case, you're going to have to entertain, educate, and edify a
group of people you've probably never met before. That may sound
frightening, but running a workshop is really very much like anything else: if
you prepare well, stay relaxed, and respect the participants, it'll go fine.
WHAT IS A WORKSHOP?
There are probably as many answers to this question as there are workshops
and workshop presenters but, in general, a workshop is a single, short
(although short may mean anything from 45 minutes to two full days)
educational program designed to teach or introduce to participants practical
skills, techniques, or ideas which they can then use in their work or their
daily lives. Most workshops have several features in common:
Especially for people who work together, a workshop can help to create
a sense of community or common purpose among its participants.
Is this material out of their field? Knowing the context of participants '
experience can help you understand how to present material.
In reality, any group can either be very quiet or very volatile, extremely
apathetic or extremely responsive, or (most likely) somewhere in between. It
depends to a great extent on one or two individuals who set the tone,
whether or not the group is one whose members all know one another. What
kind of group you have has a lot to do with what kind of workshop will be
successful. If the group is very quiet, for instance, discussion may be deadly,
but activities based on movement may work well. If the group is
argumentative, you may be able to take advantage of that by splitting
people up into small groups and having them hash out made-up problems on
the topic. Understanding that you can't predict will help you to plan for
several different possibilities.
Do they know one another and/or work together? If so, you can
perhaps dispense with introductions (it depends on how well they know
one another), and can plan a workshop that speaks to common
concerns.
Will they come in with a particular attitude toward the workshop? They
will if you're offering material that flies in the face of what they think
they know is true. Are you introducing a new concept or method that
conflicts with what they've already been doing or with their previous
training? If so, the first thing you have to address may be their hostility
or skepticism. On the other hand, they might also be biased in your
favor if you're offering what seems to be a solution for a difficult
problem.
Under what circumstances are they attending this workshop? Did they
choose it from among several possibilities (as at a conference)? Did
they request it? Is it a requirement of their job, or to fulfill requirements
for certification, licensure, or some other credential? Is it part of their
job (training, retraining, or staff development, for example)? Is it to
learn something they absolutely need to know to do their job properly?
Each of these reasons implies a different attitude, a different level of
interest and commitment, and a different approach on the part of the
presenter.
Consider the workshop size. If the group is an ideal size for most
purposes (about 8-12) you can arrange activities that involve participants as
individuals, in small groups (2-4), and in the whole group. If the group is
larger than about 15, you'll probably want to split it up for many activities. If
it's smaller than 7 or 8, you might be better off having the whole group work
together for most of the workshop.
The reason 8-12 is an ideal size is that it's small enough so that everyone
has an opportunity to have his questions answered and to get some
individual attention from the presenter, but still large enough to generate
some lively discussion. If the group is larger than 15, the voices of some
people, usually those who are quieter, tend to get lost; if it's smaller than 6-
8, there may not be enough opinions, questions, and ideas flying around.
Consider the time available. Workshops can run from as little as an hour
or less to as much as a day or even longer. It 's important that your goals for
the workshop match the time available. This means not only planning out
your presentation to fill the time appropriately, but also matching the
amount of material you'll cover to the time available. Especially if it's all new
to participants, they'll need lots of time for clarification, questions, etc. in
order to understand it.
A general rule about time is that you should try to block out the time for
each part of the workshop in advance. Rehearse different parts to see how
long they'll take, or how long you want them to take (e.g., if you're going to
ask people to write about something, try it yourself and see how long it takes
you). You'll seldom be 100% accurate, but you can come close, and you'll
then have an outline of the workshop and a reasonable sense of what you
might expect to do in the time you have.
Short workshop: 45-90 minutes. A workshop this short is even shorter than it
seems. People may be late by between five and fifteen minutes, and you'll
lose more time if you're distributing materials, using equipment, etc. That
means you'll have to ruthlessly pare the material you want to present down
to what's actually important. Although it's always wise to overprepare (see
Preparation, below), the reality is that you seldom get to everything you
expect to do. A workshop of this length is probably best used as a means of
introducing and discussing a new concept or an issue of concern. It makes
little sense to try to teach a specific skill unless it's very limited. If it can be
learned in five or ten minutes, and practiced in the same amount of time, it's
worth a try. If it's any more complicated than that, you need a longer
workshop.
If a particular skill or technique or method is really important for participants
to learn in order to do their jobs, or - especially - if its incorrect use will have
serious consequences (as in the case of many emergency medical
procedures), it is probably unwise to present it in a workshop this short. That
could lead to participants believing they know more about the topic than
they actually do, and causing real harm as a result. Use your common sense
and be guided by what's really possible.
Medium-length workshop: 90 minutes to 3 hours. At this length, a workshop
can begin to address ideas and concepts in some depth, and teach some
skills. Some considerations about a medium-length workshop:
Vary activities. This type of workshop is more than long enough for
participants to get bored or overwhelmed. Two or three consecutive hours of
a talking head can send many people out the door screaming for fresh air.
Breaking up the time by involving participants in a number of different kinds
of activities is far more conducive to their learning than asking them to sit
still and do one thing for the whole time.
Attention span: Studies have shown that most people start to lose
concentration after 20 minutes to half an hour. By the end of an hour, their
level of attention has fallen by more than 50% (and in some cases by a great
deal more than that). Attention can be renewed by changing activities,
changing topic, changing methods of presentation, etc. Even the short pause
in the workshop caused by moving from one activity to another is enough to
refresh people and keep them interested.
Vary the seriousness of the material. Interspersing activities and ideas
that are fun or humorous with others that are more serious can not only keep
participants awake and on their toes, but can aid learning as well.
Plan a break. This will speak to the attention-span issue and allow
participants a chance to get coffee, go to the bathroom, etc. without
disturbing the flow of the workshop. But also be aware that breaks always
take longer than planned. Add another five or ten minutes onto the time that
you ask people to take? you can be sure that by the time everyone wanders
back into the room and settles down, they'll have spent at least that much
extra time.
Even a long workshop isn't as long as you think, carefully reflect on the
amount of material you can present adequately in this length of time,
and on the amount that people can actually absorb. You might use the time
to present a relatively small amount of material in a number of different
ways, so that participants will leave with a clear understanding of it. Or, you
might select what people really need to know about your topic and
concentrate on that, trying to give them enough so that, even if they don't
fully comprehend it, they will be intrigued enough to follow up on their own
and learn more.
In addition to considering how much is appropriate for the amount of time
you have, think about how much you know about the topic. Sometimes, the
most successful workshops are conducted by presenters who know only
slightly more than the participants. In those circumstances, presenters aren't
as apt to try to fit in too much or get too technical. Remember how long it
really took you to learn this stuff, and to become comfortable with it: it may
have been months, or even years, before you understood it completely. Try
to recall your introduction to the topic and what you really absorbed, then
plan your workshop.
Participants need time to talk and connect with one another. The
opportunity to get to know others and to exchange ideas is one of the main
values of a workshop for many people, and shouldn't be shortchanged.
Long workshop: over 3 hours. A long workshop has some drawbacks, but it
does allow you to present material in some depth and to conduct a number
of activities. Six concentrated hours of work a day is about as much as most
people can deal with. Be sure to allow for plenty of breaks, both because of
the need to stretch and use the bathroom, and because of attention span.
Some thoughts about long workshops:
You can go into more detail on specific issues. Here's where you have
the opportunity to follow group interest, to explore ideas that are
relevant to participants' particular situations, or simply to present ideas
in greater depth.
You can allow longer blocks of time for activities and single topics. It's
important, however, to be aware of the need for breaking up long
segments of the workshop. You have to be aware if participants' eyes
start to glaze over, and be prepared to switch quickly to something
else (particularly something active and fun) if that happens.
You can allow more time to practice new skills and more time for
discussion about activities. Perhaps the greatest advantage of a long
workshop is that it can allow participants the time to reflect, both
individually and with others, which is a crucial part of the learning
process.
You can allot more time to and follow up on participants' questions. (It
can be tempting, on the other hand, to get into a conversation with
one participant about her interesting question while the rest of the
group goes to sleep. Be careful to guard against that tendency.)
You can present both the context and the specifics of the topic (e.g.
characteristics of the HIV-infected population and techniques of
community AIDS prevention).
You can provide or encourage food and drink. It helps keep people
alert, sets a relaxed and friendly tone, and sustains interest over the
long haul by eliminating the need to think about being hungry or
thirsty.
It's harder to estimate how long workshop segments will take in a long
workshop because presenters tend to let activities go on if they're
going well (after all, there's plenty of time), and often find that they
can't get to much of what they planned. You need to decide whether
you want to stick to your plan and, thus, limit activities to
approximately the time you planned for them, or to go with the flow,
and let things go on longer if participants seem to find them important.
Neither of these options is the "right" or "wrong" way: it depends on
the needs of the group and the presenter. Checking in with the group is
usually a good way to decide which way to go.
Consider the purpose of the workshop. Workshops are given for many
purposes, and each implies some specific methods of presentation and other
details. Some common purposes and their implications:
Teaching participants a skill which they then might have to use or will
use in the future (a first aid workshop for child care workers, for
instance). This kind of workshop will generally be light on talk and
heavy on activity. If people are going to use what they're learning, it's
obviously important for them to practice it, and that is probably what
you'll want the workshop to focus on.
Giving participants a chance to practice and receive feedback on
techniques and concepts they already know. Again, the emphasis here
is likely to be on action, on actually doing whatever is under discussion
and getting advice and reflection on their performance from the
presenter and others in the group.
Teaching participants a new concept that they can then apply to their
work (for instance, a workshop for street outreach workers about how
gangs act as substitute families for their members). The presentation
here might be more discussion oriented, since people will need to
assimilate the new ideas and talk out how they connect to and might
affect what they do.
The more creative you can get here, the better. Activities in which
participants work with physical objects are often great learning tools. There
are the obvious ones (workshops for elementary math teachers always
include lots of "manipulatives," things to demonstrate math concepts with,
like ping pong balls or Cuisenaire rods ), but there are an infinite number of
options. The author attended a terrific workshop on multiple intelligences
that involved small groups designing and building villages out of legos and
other blocks. Think as outrageously as you can.
Things to take home. Make sure participants get print copies of any
overheads or slides that contain important information, as well as
some summary of the main point(s) of the workshop, and anything else
you think might be important. It will help them to remember later what
the workshop was about, and will assist them in passing the ideas on
to others.
Time to talk to, socialize with, get to know, etc. the other participants.
Much of the value of a workshop is in the experience of learning
together and forming a community of learners. The shared experience
can often lead to professional collaboration and can cement and enrich
the learning that goes on.
P R E PA RAT I O N
Now that your planning is done, you need to prepare for the workshop.
Planning is about the delivery of the workshop itself; preparation is about
logistics, making sure you have the actual stuff and time you need to make
the workshop a success. That means both putting together whatever
materials you'll be using and getting whatever information is necessary for
you to do the best job you can.
Find out about the space you'll be using, if possible. If the space is
your own, you can choose the room or place that would be best and set it up
beforehand. If you're being assigned space in another facility, you may be
able to request a particular type or size of room, or may be able to get it set
up in a certain way (chairs in a circle, comfortable furniture, etc.). You need
to think about how you'll use the space: Will people need to move around a
lot? Will there be bulky equipment to move around? Do you need a screen or
a blackboard or whiteboard? The more you can learn about the space and
the more you can set it up for your needs before participants arrive, the
smoother your presentation will go.
If the role you intend to assume is that of facilitator rather than authority
figure, you'll want to make the space as welcoming and informal as possible.
Sometimes that simply can't be done; a school classroom with desks bolted
to the floor (yes, they still exist, although there aren't many of them) isn't
particularly flexible, for instance. But where you can, arranging chairs in a
circle or similar configuration, where everyone can see everyone else and
there's no head of the table, can do a lot to set a tone as soon as people
walk in.
Bring everything you need. Don't assume any of it will be there unless
you've specifically arranged for it (see no. 3 below). Even then you can't be
sure.
Make and collate at least twice as many copies as you think you'll need
of any printed material you want to hand out.
Don't forget about food, coffee, etc., if you're providing them or having them
provided. You either need to arrange beforehand to have what you need in
the room when you get there, or your coffeemaker, coffee, creamer, paper
cups, etc. should be in your back seat along with everything else the night
before. (Get the doughnuts fresh in the morning.)
Arrange well beforehand for any equipment you'll need (overhead
projector, VCR and monitor, computer, etc.) or plan to bring it yourself. (If
you're bringing it, make sure you have a backup in case the one you're
planning on isn't working.) Make your arrangements well beforehand (in
writing as well as verbally, if possible ), and check a day or two before the
workshop to see that everything is in order. Get there early enough to check
on it on the day of the workshop. Assume that if anything can go wrong, it
will, and that, even if it's not your responsibility, you'll have to fix it anyway.
Make materials and hand-outs as attractive and interesting as
possible so that participants will return to them.
Easy-to-read charts and graphs are useful for a lot of people (although
not everyone), as are pictures.
If it's appropriate, organize printed material so that it's easy to read
and digest. Outline form, bullets, and the use of color or pictures can
all be helpful here.
Try to keep the amount of material you hand out under control, unless
it's a situation where people really need and want a lot of information
(state regulations, for instance, which they may need as a reference
over time). It can be helpful to print different handouts on different
colors of paper so that both you and participants can easily keep track
of them ("Turn to the blue sheet?").
Actual "things" people can take home (AIDS ribbons, miniature model
breasts for practicing self-examination) can serve to keep the learning
of the workshop in their consciousness.
Your command of the material (i.e. how well you knew your stuff).
How well you were able to set and sustain a comfortable tone.
There may be other specific questions you have about your particular
workshop. Just be sure to keep it short enough so that people will actually fill
it out.
Finally, get a good night's sleep the night before and allow yourself
plenty of time to get where you're going, so you don't feel rushed and
frazzled. If the workshop is far from home, and you have the option of
staying somewhere near it the night before, take it. If you have the time to
relax before the workshop, you'll be more relaxed in the course of it as well.
I M P L E M E N TAT I O N
Planning and preparation are done. You're incredibly organized; you have all
your handouts color-coded and arranged in the order you want to distribute
them; you have activities planned down to the second, with plenty of extras
if they don't fill the time completely; you have the room arranged so it will
welcome participants and work for the activities you have planned. Now all
you have to do is actually pull it off.
A workshop, especially a longer one, has distinct phases. There is the
introduction, which covers the time from when the first participant walks into
the room to when the first topic-related activity begins; the substance of the
workshop includes the presentation and activities; and closure involves
review, reflection, evaluation, and ending. We'll discuss each of these, with
some ideas about how to make them go smoothly.
Introduction
This part of the workshop will let people know what their experience is going
to be like. By the time the workshop actually starts, participants often have a
strong inkling about whether they're going to like it or not. Thus, it's
important to set a positive tone and to make people feel comfortable and
interested; to give them some familiarity with you and with one another; and
to make sure that they know what 's coming in the rest of the workshop.
Setting the tone. There are some steps you can take to make participants
comfortable as soon as they walk in, and to establish the workshop as a
community of learners.
The space. We've already discussed setting up the room so that people
face one another, so that there's no obvious place of authority, and so
that the environment is as comfortable physically and psychologically
as possible.
Music. Depending upon the nature of the workshop, you might consider
having music playing as participants enter, either to establish calm or
to generate energy. Music also tells people that this is likely to be a
relatively informal experience. (The concern here, of course, is that
people's tastes in music vary widely. Music that you play as a calming
influence may set some participants' teeth on edge. Music you play to
generate energy may just annoy some people. It's a risk you take,
unless you know the group well.)
There may be circumstances under which you might not want to make
people comfortable. At a conference, a workshop called "Separate Tables"
divided participants up as they came in, with the majority asked to sit on the
floor. A small number were seated at an elegantly appointed table and
served an appetizing meal. The others about 20? were given a loaf of bread
and told to divide it up. The workshop continued in this vein, with the floor
sitters eventually protesting their treatment. The point, of course, was to call
attention to the lack of comfort that most of the world's population
experiences every day, as compared to the position of those in the
developed West.
Personal introductions. Especially if your workshop involves a lot of hands-on
and group activities, it will go better if people are comfortable with one
another. If you've started a conversation as they walked in, many
participants may already have talked to others that they didn't know, but it
still makes sense to introduce yourself and everyone else.
You might start by introducing yourself with a (very brief) explanation of why
you're conducting this workshop (experience you've had, your familiarity
with the topic, etc.). This shouldn't take more than a minute or so. Then, you
might use a technique or game to introduce the members of the group to
one another (you can also take part in this activity, if you think it will be
helpful to your purpose).
Agenda and plan for the session. It's helpful to either hand out, or to have
visible in the room, and to go over with participants, an agenda for the
workshop. If the workshop will be interrupted by meals, breaks, etc., a plan
for the session or day would be helpful, as well. Previewing the agenda and
asking for feedback on it ("Can we spend more time on actually using the
materials?") serves several purposes:
It lets participants know what will happen when lunch is (at 12:30, for
example) and eliminates a certain edge of antsiness and anxiety that
they often have when they don't know the plan.
This is also the time to ask people for their expectations for the workshop,
which can be recorded on newsprint or in some other way, and reviewed at
the end of the session. If most participants' expectations are significantly
different from the presenter's, there may be room for some adjustment at
this point as well.
If it's necessary for participants to reveal details of their personal lives, for
instance, or if the topic of the workshop is particularly controversial, after
previewing the agenda would be the time to ask the group to develop ground
rules for the session. A few simple norms, such as keeping disagreement
away from the personal and respecting confidentiality can make all the
difference in participants' willingness to engage with others, and with the
ideas under discussion.
S U BS TA N C E O F T H E W O R K S H O P
This is the real meat of what you're doing, the reason why you showed up
this morning. What you actually do depends on your own planning, of course,
but there are some general guidelines, some of which have already been
mentioned, that can make your workshop more effective and enjoyable.
Keep track of time. This doesn't mean that you should be a slave to
your agenda, but rather that you should be aware when you're
deviating from it. In a lot of instances, it might make sense to ask the
group how they'd like to use their time: "We're running way over on
this activity. Is that OK with you, or are there other things that are more
important to you that we should get to?" If you think what's happening
is really important and shouldn't be interrupted, don't be afraid to say
so.
Giving time markers every once in a while ("In 20 minutes, we'll be stopping
for lunch") can keep participants going ("I'm hungry, but I can certainly wait
20 minutes"). It will also help you be aware of where you are in the session
so that you can, in fact, get people to lunch on time (this may be a major
concern, depending upon the facility where the workshop is being held) and
conclude the activities with enough to time to close out the session properly.
Although researchers have come up with a number of models for the ways in
which people absorb information, none would disagree that individuals differ
in their preferred methods of learning. Some people take in new information
better through their eyes, others through their ears, others through their
fingers (i.e. by doing things with their hands). Some people like to deal with
the details of an idea, others with the overall concept. Some learners are
systematic and logical, others are intuitive leapers. Still other differences
include individual vs. group learning, and fast processors vs. slow and
thoughtful ones. Varying activities in a workshop lecture /slide presentation,
group problem-solving, building models, etc. can speak to at least most of
the learning styles of participants, and create a more nearly complete
learning experience for everyone.
Try to be, and to make your activities, entertaining. Humor is an
extremely important tool, even when your topic is not humorous at all.
(The TV show MASH, about Korean War surgeons who dealt with
horrible deaths every day, illustrated how black humor could help to
keep people sane in an intolerable situation.) It can not only set a tone
that makes learning more fun, but can serve to underscore important
points as well.
A college geology instructor on a field trip with his students pointed out a
formation and stated, "This is called a pluck." Then, tripping lightly over to a
dead crow on the ground, he pulled out a feather, and said, "This, too, is
called a pluck." No one in the class ever forgot what the geological term
"pluck" meant.
Allow ample time for reflection and discussion in all activities. People
often need to think and talk through their experiences or new
information in order to understand them. It's also important that
participants have a chance to be heard about what they think and
what they've learned. If they can share it aloud, it gains more
importance and legitimacy for them. Even if the workshop content has
been understood, it hasn't really been learned until it's been
assimilated into the learner's understanding of the world. Reflection
provides the vehicle for this assimilation.
C LO S U R E
In the final phase of the workshop, you'll need to wrap things up and give
participants a chance to react to what they've just been through. You may
want to go through some formal activity for this purpose, or you may want to
just throw out some questions and listen to what people have to say.
Sum up and review agenda. Restate the major points that the
workshop covered and revisit the agenda to identify any areas you
didn't get to. Depending upon their importance, the group's interest,
and actual possibilities, you could hand out or offer to send people
material or a bibliography on those areas, or to hold another workshop
to cover what you missed
Ask for feedback on the ideas, techniques, methods, etc. that you
presented. Pay attention to participants' challenges and concerns
about the material. It may be totally new to them, and may fly in the
face of everything they've learned so far. They'll need time to digest it.
Don't get defensive if they don't agree with everything or anything
you've been promoting. You may have doubts about some of the
material, too, and it's OK to say so. The purpose of a workshop is
learning, and that rarely comes without some internal conflict.
If you can find a way to record all this review, summing up, and feedback, it
will prove extremely helpful to you in developing other workshops, or in
revising the one you just conducted. A tape recorder is one possibility.
Newsprint or something similar is another.
Collect evaluation forms. Make sure you get one from everybody, it
should take less than a minute to fill out, unless people have complex
comments (the best kind, because they give the most specific
feedback).
F O L LO W- U P
After the workshop is over, there are still a few loose ends to tie up.
Go through the evaluations and your feedback notes soon after the
workshop, so that it's still fresh in your mind. What do most people
think you might have done differently? What areas seemed particularly
strong or particularly weak? This is the moment to think about what
you'll change the next time you conduct a workshop, and there should
be a next time. Start planning now!
IN SUMMARY
In order to conduct an effective and successful workshop, you need to
address its planning, preparation, and implementation. As you plan, consider
the workshop's audience, its size, its length, its purpose, and your
presentation options. Preparation includes logistics (managing the physical
items involved, materials, equipment, etc.), and preparing psychologically as
well. Finally, the implementation of the workshop includes attending to all
three of its phases: introduction, substance, and closure. And don't forget to
follow up, both by fulfilling any promises and using feedback to redesign or
change parts of the workshop so that your next one will be even better.
Online Resources
How to Develop a Workshop and Presentation Tips. Thorough tips
complete with step-by-step guide as well as timing suggestions for one
workshop session. Various PowerPoint (.pptx) presentations can be
downloaded.
How To Kit: Facilitating a Workshop, from the N.W.T. Literacy Council. It
was developed to help organizations celebrate National Family Literacy Day,
but there is helpful, general information as well.
Twelve Tips for Conducting Effective Workshops by Yvonne Steinhert,
Ph.D.
Print Resources
Bobo, K., Jackie K., & Steve M. (1991). Organizing for Social Change: A
Manual for Activists in the 1990s. Cabin John, MD: Seven Locks Press.
Chapter on "Designing and Leading a Workshop," pp. 124-131.
Coover, V., Ellen D., Charles E., & Moore C.(1977). Resource Manual for a
Living Revolution. Philadelphia: New Society Press. Chapter on workshops,
pp. 161 ff.
The following items contain exercises and New Games that might be
helpful.
Bag of Tricks (quarterly). Available from Karl Rohnke, P.O. Box 100, Hamilton,
MA 01936.
The Bottomless Bag Again. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Co., 1991.
Funn Stuff, vols. I, II, and III. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Co., 1996
(vols. I and II) and 1998 (vol. III).
Le Fevre, Dale N. More New Games.
The New Games Foundation. New Games for the Whole Family.
Rohnke, Karl. Silver Bullets. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Co., 1984.