Hosting a workshop can be a stressful experience, but it doesn’t have to be. With the proper support and workshop venue behind you, you can quickly turn this into a delightful practice.
Here are some pointers to help you achieve your desired outcomes:
Decide what you want to achieve by your workshop. Do you want to boost sales? Do you want it to be teambuilding exercise to improve the team’s ability to function better as a unit?
Target your chosen audience. To keep your audience’s attention, refrain from giving a speech. What your workshop entails should be interactive and disciplined specific. You can focus on your organization and use some creativity to make sure your workshop is productive and memorable. Make use of technology available and utilised by everyone on a daily basis.
Choose a workshop venue suitable for the number of attendees. If it is a workshop that will last longer than one day, keep the following in mind; location of the venue, travel time to and from, available catering facilities, security, aesthetics, tranquillity etc. of chosen venue. It is said “A change is as good as a holiday”
Logistics out of the way, you can start planning the content of your workshop. You can begin with important facts to catch the attention of your audience. Create lists to break the details into different groups. Be creative with your visuals. It is an easy way to keep the attendees attention and to commemorate what information you are sharing. Make time to facilitate a brain storming session, where they can participate in a debate over some of the points on discussion.
Proper planning will ensure the workshop will run smoothly and in accordance with your desired outcome.
To encourage the more reserved amongst the attendees, prepare a questionnaire or suggestion leaflet to enable them to anonymously raise issues that they feel are important for organisational success.
Other tips to consider for your workshop. If you do the outlining of the workshop, make sure you are the facilitator. To start the meeting use a few ice breakers to get everyone settled in and to relax. Communication only exists if the receiver of information understands the information being conveyed. An easy test would be to have the participants make drawings for example of complex shapes conveyed to them verbally. This will emphasise the importance of good communication. If possible, refrain from having your workshop after lunch as this is when people are their least productive. Schedule either in the mornings or later in the afternoon. If you facilitate a workshop to reach a certain decision, keep it smaller, as larger groups make it harder to agree on a decision that has to be taken. Some high ranking employees from the company, for example the CEO, might be too busy to attend the workshop for a full day. Plan your workshop, so that you can rather schedule a more convenient time for them to attend.
Through proper planning and enthusiasm your workshop can only result in a roaring success. We here at the Venue at Midrand are here to support you in hosting the best workshop possible by offering you affordable workshop venues for different size audiences in a central location. We aim to build long-term relationships and can help you with something tailormade.
View our different workshop venues and other facilities available or Contact Us Now to discuss your next workshop.
