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Career, Job, Employment Information10 Things to Think Just just about Once
You Run Your Own Seminar or Wo
by:
Martin Avis
Experts on all kinds of subjects, at several point in
their careers, often try to run seminars or workshops.
There are lots of reasons why they do it, but the main
one is money. These can be really moneymaking money-
spinners if done correctly.
An awful lot are not done correctly. Far too many
'experts' think that all they have to do to captivate
an audience is to stand at the front with an overhead
projector and drone on for a few hours.
The 1st thing to correct just about this way of thinking
is that the folk who have paid nice money to attend
are not an audience.
Plays have audiences. Movies do. Even as lecturers talk to
an audience.
Seminars and workshops have participants. And if they
don't get to participate, they mightiness as well have
stayed at home.
Here are my ten pointers for a booming seminar or
workshop. There is a lot much to it, but get these
right and you wish be halfway there.
1. Write a really full outline of everything you need to
cover. It is vital that you are wholly prepared.
Nothing looks worse than a seminar presenter who is not
100% on top of the flow of events.
2. Do a lot of market research before you start to
write your outline. Ask folk what they want/need to
know. You wish probably be surprised. I have found many
times that the things folk find the most fascinating
or useful are the things that I would-be have skipped over
or assumed they already knew. Ne'er
assume possession
of cognition just because it is second nature to you.
3. Remember that folk discover in several ways. Some
people are visual, several are hearable and several have to
experience things. Bearing that in mind, ensure that
you provide educational stimulation for each type of
person - visual charts, unforgettable
comment and
interactive exercises.
4. Don't plan a 2-day seminar about a subject that can
be covered in 2 hours.
5. Don't try to cover in 2 hours a subject that inevitably 2
days.
6. Discover to present. This little step is so often
forgotten by folk who think they can teach.
Presentation is so important. You not only have to be
seen and heard, but you besides have to persuade. Think of
it as merchandising your ideas.
7. If you are new to the field of seminars and
workshops, do sure you carry out a series of practice
runs before you try to impart your wisdom to paying
customers. There are lots of thing that can (and will)
go wrong. Things like having the wrong content; like
reaching the end of your time and finding that you only
covered half of what you expected; like finding you
pitched the content way above their heads - or too far
below; like not having anticipated what questions would
be asked - and worse, not knowing the answers. Run your
seminar at least twice, wholly free-of-charge - the
cost to the delegates being that they have to give you
honest feedback.
8. Don't forget leave-behinds. The better the package
that you can give folk to take away, the more
valuable they wish think the seminar was. I run a
seminar on presentation skills. Delegates pay up to
$1000 each to attend the 2-day course. Once
they
arrive, I give them a animal skin
presentation billfold with
a crisp new yellow pad inside and three colors of pen.
As each session ends, I give each person a beautifully
color written
document that covers all the main points
covered in easy to refer to summary form. At the end of
the course, everyone is given a CD with all the slides
and exercises used over the 2 days, plus a load of
extra information - articles, back copies of my e-zine,
links to Computer network sites and so on. Of course, all of
this stuff is proprietary
with my name. The perceived value
of this package is considerable, but in reality it
costs me less than $30 a head. Not a bad gift for
someone who has spent $1000!
9. Have a back end. Don't plan one workshop, plan two.
Make sure everyone who attends is oversubscribed on the next
workshop (maybe with a special discount offer).
Consider merchandising any products that you recommend. Many
big names who run seminars do a bundle from selling
books and tapes at the back of the room.
10. Finally, remember that folk wish give thanks you if
they discover something, but they wish only recommend you
if they have fun in the process.
Just just about the Author
Martin Avis is a management and training consultant.
To get your unfair advantage in Computer network marketing,
business and personal success, (and 6 free gifts),
subscribe to his free weekly newsletter, BizE-zine.
mailto:subscribe5@BizE-zine.com or visit his
information-packed website at http://www.BizE-zine.com
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