The Workshop Survival Guide

1. Design your workshop around clear Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes are the specific bits of knowledge, skill, or insight that your audience takes away.

Define your audience. Start by creating an Audience Profile to understand who will be attending, their experience level, and what they hope to gain. This information will guide your content selection and delivery approach.

Sharpen your outcomes. Avoid vague topics and instead focus on specific, high-value takeaways. For example, instead of "Sales 101," aim for "Sales is about asking good questions." This clarity helps both you and your attendees understand the workshop's purpose.

Cluster related ideas. Group your Learning Outcomes with supporting arguments or key ideas. This structure provides a framework for your workshop and ensures comprehensive coverage of each topic.

2. Use a variety of Teaching Formats to maintain engagement

To avoid "teaching yoga with a lecture", pick a Teaching Format which matches the nature of what you're currently trying to teach.

Essential formats:

• Lectures: For delivering "book knowledge" and extracting takeaways from exercises
• Small group discussions: For wrestling with ambiguous options and personal implications
• "Try it now" practice: For building hands-on skills
• Scenario challenges: For developing wisdom, evaluation, and decision-making skills
• Question & answer: For addressing confusion and adding flexibility to your schedule

Maintain attention. Switch Teaching Formats at least every 20 minutes to keep the audience feeling fresh and engaged. This variety helps combat Format Fatigue and maintains energy levels throughout the workshop.

3. Create a Workshop Skeleton before diving into slide design

Don't start with the slides (do start with the Skeleton).

Build the framework. Combine your Learning Outcomes with Schedule Chunks (time blocks divided by breaks) to create a Workshop Skeleton. This high-level view ensures a balanced and well-paced session.

Essential slides only. Begin with the bare minimum number of slides:

• Learning Outcome summaries
• Exercise prompts
• Resource lists
• Visual examples (if necessary for your topic)

Add flavor later. Once you have the essentials in place, you can add personality and supporting visuals. Remember that slides should serve your content, not dictate it.

4. Facilitate group formation and seating for optimal interaction

If possible, use a seating arrangement which creates "natural" groups.

Ideal setup. Aim for cabaret-style seating with 4-8 people per table. This arrangement allows for easy group formation and rearrangement throughout the workshop.

Manage difficult spaces. If faced with fixed seating, try to cluster attendees together and be prepared to manually assign groups. Design exercises to accommodate flexible group sizes (e.g., 2-3 or 3-5 people).

Proactive facilitation. Help isolated individuals find groups, and be ready to intervene with group dominators. Regularly change group compositions during longer workshops to maintain energy and expose attendees to diverse perspectives.

5. Manage energy levels through breaks and varied activities

To avoid "teaching yoga with a lecture", pick a Teaching Format which matches the nature of what you're currently trying to teach.

Honor break times. Treat coffee breaks as sacred and avoid compromising them to cram in more content. Regular breaks help maintain energy and attention levels.

Vary activities. Use different Teaching Formats to keep attendees engaged:

• Lectures for knowledge delivery
• Small group discussions for personal reflection
• "Try it now" exercises for skill-building
• Scenario challenges for decision-making practice

Recover attention. After breaks or exercises, use techniques like "talking in circles" or "borrowing goodwill" to regain the group's focus without resorting to authoritarian methods.

6. Handle difficult participants with empathy and redirection

The expert's whole issue is that they feel like they have as much (or more) right to be teaching this material as you do. Disarm them by putting them on a pedestal and including them in your teaching as someone the rest of the class should look up to.

Identify the issue. Common challenges include:

• Hostile crowds who don't want to be there
• Oblivious individuals with irrelevant questions
• Disengaged or non-participating attendees
• Experts who feel the material is beneath them
• Troublemakers causing disruptions

Tailor your approach. For example:

• Acknowledge concerns of hostile crowds and deliver value quickly
• Sideline oblivious individuals for one-on-one discussions later
• Wingman shy participants into welcoming groups
• Put experts on a pedestal by including them in your teaching

Last resort. For implacable disruptors, consider offering a refund and asking them to leave to protect the learning experience of other attendees.

7. Adapt to unexpected challenges with confidence and flexibility

The golden rule of workshop disasters is this: the audience mirrors your panic. If you're cool with it, they're cool with it.

Stay calm. Your reaction sets the tone for the audience. If you remain composed, they're more likely to follow suit.

Have a backup plan. Be prepared to teach without your usual tools or in an unexpected environment. For example, be ready to continue teaching outside if there's a fire alarm.

Reduce vulnerability. Take proactive steps to prevent common issues:

• Bring your own essential equipment (e.g., adapters, backup slides)
• Communicate clearly with venues about your needs
• Arrive early to check the setup and troubleshoot potential problems

8. Protect your own energy as a facilitator

Teaching all day is exhausting. And this fatigue is not something to ignore and endure.

Guard your breaks. Find a private space to recharge during coffee and lunch breaks. If necessary, bring your own food to avoid getting trapped in conversations.

Set boundaries. Communicate clearly with clients or attendees about your need for preparation time, especially during longer events.

Recognize the impact. Remember that protecting your energy isn't selfish—it's essential for delivering a high-quality experience to your attendees.

9. Continuously improve through reflection and iteration

After each workshop, run a short retrospective.

Conduct a retrospective. Spend 10-20 minutes after each workshop reflecting on what went well, what could be improved, and potential changes for next time.

Seek feedback. While formal feedback forms have their place, many workshop problems are self-evident. Pay attention to energy levels, engagement, and confusion during the session.

Implement changes. Choose a small number of high-impact improvements to focus on for your next workshop. Over time, these incremental changes will compound into significant growth in your teaching skills.

Long-term mindset. Approach teaching as a craft to be honed over years, not a skill to be mastered overnight. Embrace challenges as opportunities for growth and continuous improvement.

Last updated: November 17, 2024