How to Deliver Memorable Workshops

Workshops and training may be very popular, but often they’re not very memorable. Even when people learn things they can be boring. After all, sitting in a chair or at a table listening to other people drone on can be hard for many people. But thankfully, with just a little knowledge you can deliver memorable workshops and training seminars. 

* Identify Your Target Market – Everything starts with your target audience. Even though you likely already have an audience in mind when you are planning in-person events like these, you need to double down and laser-focus your audience on a whole new level so that your materials are meaningful to the audience.

* Find the Message You Want to Deliver – Once you know who your audience will be, you can define the message you want to deliver. This will be the overarching theme of your event that informs the topic. Try writing in two or three sentences what you want attendees to learn, think, and feel by attending your event. Then make sure that everything you do fits that goal.

* Get to Know Your Group – When you show up for your event, don’t just appear when it’s time for you to speak. Instead, socialize outside of the event with your group. That way you’ll know more about them and can adjust your talk to fit the audience better. Planning socializing into the event timing will assist you greatly in accomplishing that.

* Tell a Story, Don’t Lecture – Instead of approaching the event like a teacher, approach it as someone who is telling a story and setting up a picture for your audience. When you can weave a story into what you want them to learn, they’re going to be more likely to remember it - especially if you include them.

* Encourage and Facilitate Discussion – Don’t just stand up there and talk. Try having a discussion with your audience. Ask them questions, let them answer, and draw them through your story and the lessons you want them to learn from your presentation with encouragement and back-and-forth participation.

* Account for Different Learning Styles – When you plan your presentation, remember that there are going to be several different learning styles. Some people learn well by listening to a lecture, but most people need some form of stimulation and demonstration. Making the event more hands-on will help include all learning types.

* Shake Up the Order of Things – When most people go to conferences, workshops, and other types of events and training, everything usually looks the same. They check in, go to their rooms, and then show up for the first speaker and sit in the rooms of seats and tables. But you can shake up things by having a social hour before the first speaker with breakfast, or you can change up the seating so that people are in a circle instead of rows. It really depends on the event and how many are there.

* Have Fun – Don’t forget that workshops, training, and seminars are also fun. You can have fun while you're speaking, and you can have fun with business events. Everything doesn’t have to be serious all the time. You want to maintain some level of professionalism depending on your audience, but you don’t have to be all business all the time.

* Follow-Up – The one thing that makes things memorable about any event is the follow-up. How do you continue to engage the people who attended your event over time? You can set up email, already have the data ready for pre-sign-up for the next event at the first event, and more. Building those long-term relationships will go far in helping you host memorable events.

If you really want people to remember your workshop, training, or seminars, it’s imperative to understand your audience, know your topic, and then focus on building relationships and sharing your story and their story. When you get more interaction with your audience, they tend to remember more.