{"id":3322,"date":"2013-05-05T08:30:22","date_gmt":"2013-05-05T07:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/janetgover.com\/?p=3322"},"modified":"2013-05-05T08:30:22","modified_gmt":"2013-05-05T07:30:22","slug":"working-the-workshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/?p=3322","title":{"rendered":"Working the workshop."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
This is me at my day job - where teaching involves lot of computers and cables and stuff - and in this case, was done in a warehouse.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

This week I had the pleasure of travelling to Southampton to talk to the local RNA chapter about working with the media.<\/p>\n

I had a lovely time \u2013 thank you ladies and gentlemen. Many of you were kind enough to say that workshop had been very helpful.<\/p>\n

If you want to check out my media tips \u2013 they are in a previous blog \u2013 here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

On the train back from Southampton, I starting thinking about workshops and what makes a good workshop \u2013 good for both the teacher and the audience.<\/p>\n

I have taught, in one way or another, most of my adult life – \u00a0kids at pony club, or fellow writers, university students and IT support teams (in my day job). As authors, we are often asked to speak in front of groups \u2013 and that can be difficult because authors do tend to be solitary souls.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So here are my top ten tips for making a good workshop or lecture..<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pay attention to the audience\u2026<\/p>\n

When we are standing on front of an audience, we expect them to pay attention to us. But first we need to pay attention to them. Whenever I agree to a workshop, I always find out a bit about who will be in the audience. Every group is different and the make-up of the audience will determine both the content and how I present it. The subject may be the same \u2013 but the style and presentation of a workshop will vary if the group is college students vs first time writers or experienced writers. \u00a0Modify your material for the audience.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about respect \u2013 respect your audience and they will respect you. Present yourself and your material in a way which is appropriate.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Timing is everything.<\/p>\n

Well \u2013 not everything \u2013 but it\u2019s pretty important so make sure you are wearing a watch or can see a clock. I usually take my watch off and put it on the desk\/podium in front of me, so I am not obviously checking the time.<\/p>\n

Always find out how long the session is to be \u2013 and plan your material accordingly. This is an example of how I do that\u2026. The session is to be, for example, one hour.<\/p>\n

Deduct five minutes at the beginning for everyone to get settled and for introductions.<\/p>\n

Deduct 5 minutes at the end for final points or questions \u2013 summation, goodbye and (hopefully) thank you and applause.<\/p>\n

This leave 50s minutes for content.<\/p>\n

I usually allow five minutes per point\/topic or for a substantial exercise \u2013 thus \u2013 ten topics. (Yes \u2013 you got it \u2013 these ten top tips may yet morph into workshop on workshops.)<\/p>\n

I have sheet in front of me with a list of the topics I am going to cover \u2013 and the time each one should start \u2013in very large letters! I keep track of how I am going and drop or add material accordingly. And yes \u2013 I always have one spare topic as standby in case I need to fill extra time.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Exercise is good for you.<\/p>\n

Exercises are always a great way to learn. For each of your points, prepare an exercise (or two). Exercises should reinforce the point you have just made. To make them worthwhile, you need to make sure you give your people enough time for them to do it. Sometimes I mark off a whole five minute section as an exercise. If you intend to do a lot of exercises \u2013 make sure the people coming know in advance and come prepared with notebook and pen. You should also bring some paper and pens to hand out \u2013 just in case anyone forgets.<\/p>\n

Depending on the exercise, I like to have someone read out what they have written to the class \u2013 for discussion. But never, never force anyone to do anything in front of the audience if they don\u2019t want to and never embarrass anyone in front of the others.<\/p>\n

Exercises are your timing wriggle room \u2013 you can add or remove them to keep yourself on time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A group workshop - with my writer chums Victoria Connelly, Juliet Archer and Jean Fullerton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Silence is golden<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid of silence. The brain needs some down time to process new information and a few seconds of silence can be a great breather. Don\u2019t be afraid of silence during exercises. They often need to be done in silence to give people a chance to think.<\/p>\n

If you are doing a long workshop, think about putting a break in the middle. I never do more than two hours (and hour and a half is better) without a short break. It\u2019s not just for the bathroom trips. It gives the brain that down time to process the information. But be tough about people coming back on time!<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t be afraid to not know.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to admit you don\u2019t know something. When I\u2019m doing my IT sessions, someone will occasionally ask \u2018what happens if I do \u2026.\u201d I never lie. If I don\u2019t know, I say I don\u2019t know. My admission is usually followed by \u201cLet\u2019s find out\u201d and we proceed do it (and have crashed some very expensive computer systems in the process). Often this experiment becomes the best part of the day\u2019s lesson\u2026 and often leads to\u2026 tip 6)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Learn from your students<\/p>\n

No teacher or course leader knows everything. Especially when working with adults, you need to recognize that the people in the audience will have something of value to contribute. They might have a relevant experience to share with the group. They may have researched a topic for some reason. They might have been given guidance on how to do something by their editor. As long as it\u2019s on topic, encourage them to them contribute. I have often learned new things myself from my audience. Don\u2019t be afraid to borrow\/use something that the audience contributes at another session \u2013 although if it\u2019s a personal anecdote, it is polite to ask if you may.<\/p>\n

7)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You don\u2019t need a whip and a chair<\/p>\n

I hate seeing cartoons where a teacher is controlling the group with a lion tamer’s whip and chair. I\u2019ve never had a student bite me! But you do need to keep the class under control. The most dangerous thing you might encounter is someone who wants to talk too much and take over the session. We\u2019ve all run across someone like that. You don\u2019t want to be rude, but you have other students who deserve to get what they came for. Catch the talker’s eye and jump in with some comment on what they are saying. As you do, look away and turn the conversation somewhere else. To a different topic.\u00a0 Don\u2019t look back at them, or allow then to catch your attention, until the discussion has firmly moved on.\u00a0 This usually works, if it doesn\u2019t, you will have to be a bit firmer and say \u201clet ask someone else now\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

On the subject of control \u2013 avoid distractions \u2013 I always carry spare pens so if someone is clicking a pen up and down, I can give them a non-clicking pen instead.<\/p>\n

If you are going to be moving around the room, don\u2019t wear heavy jewelry that will make a noise.<\/p>\n

8)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bring things for show and tell.<\/p>\n

\u2026 and touch and taste \u2013 and whatever is appropriate for your course and audience. For example, when I do my \u2018location\u2019 workshop, I pass around picture of varies places and ask the audience to write about those places. In a \u2018writing with the senses\u2019 session.. all sorts of things can be passed around the class \u2013 chocolate is always well received. Passing things around can be distracting \u2013 but it can also develop friendships and ease in the class.<\/p>\n

9)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Everyone loves a present.<\/p>\n

I try to always have something the audience can take away with them. A document of key points. A list of useful websites. One of my bookmarks so they can check out my website. Some people keep these and use them as references. Others may toss tham away\u2026 but I like to think the odds are higher on the first option.<\/p>\n

10)\u00a0\u00a0 Girls just want to have fun<\/p>\n

Last \u2013 And possibly most important \u2013 the audience must enjoy the sessions. Everyone learns faster and better if they are engaged and participating. Watch your audience- you\u2019ll know if they are getting bored or restless. You\u2019ll know if they are engaging with a topic. When they leave the session you want them to walk away saying \u2013 wow \u2013 that was great. You want to tell their friends and perhaps come back to another of your sessions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A very special moment from a library workshop - whoever said working with kids was hard got it wrong. Young readers are such an inspiration to me.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

And one last tip – number 11 is free – if your audience is having fun, that probably means you are too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  This week I had the pleasure of travelling to Southampton to talk to the local RNA chapter about working with the media. I had a lovely time \u2013 thank you ladies…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7g6jm-RA","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3322\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/janetgover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}