Workshop Creator - Lesson #7: Further resources for workshop success

You’re here!

It’s the last lesson in this 7-part series.

As promised, here’s a quick cheat sheet to help avoid common pitfalls, plus some more resources to dive into.

Workshop Creator Cheat Sheet

In the design phase, don’t…

Overpack: humans are generally pretty bad at estimating time. If in any doubt, strip it back – give your audience time for discussion, questions, and integration rather than pushing more content onto them
Start with the slides: you’ll burn your time, creative energy and motivation if you start with the slides. Structure and content planning first, slides come later
Lose sight of learning outcomes: it’s easy to get excited by a piece of content, or a new idea you want to add. This is great if they’re well-aligned with your learning outcomes, but you’ll often discover they wander off into other areas. Be vigilant with shiny objects!

When facilitating, you want to avoid:

Starting badly: a strong start with a concise intro and a clear overview of the session builds trust and engagement. Start badly, and you’ll be on the back from the beginning. As they say, first impressions count
Not reading the room: This is most important when it comes to energy. It’s inevitable that the energy levels of your attendees will drop over time – having a room with low energy isn’t necessarily a problem, but realizing (and therefore not doing anything about it) is. Don’t be afraid to take a break early, or nip out a bit of slower content if it’s going to serve your attendees better in the long run
Speaking too quickly: If you feel like you’re speaking a little too slowly, you’ve probably got it just right. It’s easy to forget that your content is probably very new for your audience, and they’ll need processing time, especially if you’re using visuals or hands-on exercises. Take your time. It’ll also help you stay calm

Resource: Learning Design Template

To get your structure tighter, a learning design document can be really helpful.

I’ve created a simple template you can use to start mapping out your session in more detail. Just click the link below, make a copy, and fill in your content!

Learning Design Template >

Bonus Content

Here are a few other resources to get stuck into!

Going Further

Hopefully, the tips and resources in this lesson will hold you in good stead along with the other material you’ve learned so far, but if you want to go further there’s much more to explore:

Today is the last lesson in this course, but there’s much more to explore.

Here are a few ways you can continue the journey:

1. On-Demand Course: Our self-paced online course features over 50 bitesize video lessons and more than 25 resources, worksheets and exercises. You’ll get into every aspect of successful workshop design and delivery, all at your own pace and with lifetime access.
Even better – enter EMAIL7 at checkout and you’ll get 15% off!

2. Join our live program: Our Workshop Creator live program runs 3 times a year, and is a 6-week immersive experience where you’ll develop your workshop or course alongside a global community of fellow creators, as well as our team of coaches and designers. Find out more >

3. Working 1:1: Looking to take your workshop design, facilitation, or public speaking to the next level? Just get in touch >

And whether you choose to dive in deeper with these resources, are confidently out running your own workshops, or are just starting to plan out for your first session, I’d love to hear about what you’re working on.

Let me know – send me a note here >

Thanks again for joining this course and good luck with all your workshop endeavors!