Delivering a successful workshop is in some ways like a runner competing in a race. What I mean is that the casual observer only sees the performance on the actual day. But, the key to success is what the runner has done prior to the race itself. It is the same with successful workshops - success lies in the preparation. I mention the running analogy because I recently re-read a book by the Australian athletics coach, Percy Cerutty. He broke an athlete's year into three periods, the Conditioning Period, the Race Practice Period and the Race Period. It is the same for successful workshop delivery, where the three periods could be termed:
- Preparation
- Practice
- Delivery
Preparation
The most important of these periods is the preparation period. It is here that you are assessing the audiences needs, who they are, what it is that you wish them to learn. The length of this period will vary, but to give you an idea, it should be about as long as the other two periods combined.Practice
The idea of the Practice Period is to prepare ourselves for the actual delivery. You must become familiar with your content to the point of being an 'expert'. if using slides you must know exactly what is on each slide, when to change slides, when to push the "B" button to blank the screen. You should practice any activities you are including in the workshop. Rope in co-workers, friends or family to help with this, especially if an activity is new to you.
Practice delivering the entire workshop, you need to know how long different sections will take. You can use the timing functions on powerpoint/keynote, however you should practice to the point that you can trust your own inner 'time recorder', you will always appear to be presenting more naturally if you do this.
Delivery
Once you begin your delivery of your workshop all your preparation and practice pay off. This is where the audience thinks it all 'looks effortless'. If you are repeating a workshop a number of times you need to watch out for staleness. Signs of staleness are (1) loss of enthusiasm, (2) a marked disinclination to present the workshop, (3) a feeling of 'here we go again'. The cure for staleness is ideally to take a break from presenting the same workshop for a while, however more realistically it means recharging your enthusiasm for the workshop.
Each of these periods is important. Without sufficient focus on each period the final result will be less than ideal. The question is, will you be satisfied with finishing towards the back of the field. More importantly, what will your learners feelings be?
