12 Things I Have Learned From Facilitating Over 1,300 Workshops – Ted Janusz

I have facilitated all-day workshops for 15 years. Here are a dozen things I have learned during the process:

1) Most participants do not enter a workshop thinking, "I sure hope I learn a lot today!" but instead their first thought likely is, "Will this experience be boring? Will I be able to endure this presenter for six hours?" Few have ever written on an evaluation, "Thank you for providing insights on the topic I had never thought of before," but instead, "I was really dreading coming here today. Thanks for taking a dull topic and making it so much fun!"

2) A workshop is not an extended keynote speech. What works extremely well in a 45-minute format definitely will fall flat on its face in a half- or full-day session.

3) Audiences naturally have ebbs and flows of energy and attention throughout the day. As a facilitator it is important to recognize and tap into these changes. For instance, I show a video or do something upbeat right before a break or lunch. I want participants talking and laughing during the break, hardly waiting to get back in the room for even more.

4) A workshop is not a data dump. If all the attendees were looking for was information, they could get all that that need (and even more) after a few seconds by doing a Google search. Instead, attendees are looking for someone to create bottom-line epiphanies and sort through all of that material to make sense of it all for them.

5) Whether they state it or not, a secondary need a client for an onsite presentation always has is to develop camaraderie among the staff. Make participants feel like they are an important part of a cohesive team. So that everyone realizes, for example, that Sallie in Accounts Payable is a real person, with a life, and family. Not just a cog in the big machine. Training should be a reward, not a punishment. A day for employees to recoup, relax, and enjoy each other before going back to the daily routine.

6) Always allow your audience to shine. Commend them and make them feel smart. Rather than just telling, ask questions, and let your audience members provide answers and help you convey the content.

7) Too many facilitators turn in to “me monsters.” They have a captive audience who, the facilitators believe, want to hear their life story. NO! As the facilitator, only reveal enough about yourself so that the participants can get to know you … a little bit! Quickly get to the point of your stories. Your participants always want to know what’s going to be in it for them. (The best evaluation I ever got from a participant was one line: “The facilitator saved my marriage.” Now, I am not a marriage counselor, but the participant was able to picture himself and his wife in the stories I told about my wife and me.)

8) Adults learn differently from college students. We no longer have the patience to listen to a long-winded professor wheeze on and on. Adults want practical information that is going to make a difference in either their professional or personal life ... today.

9) People now have short attention spans, so I try to abide by the 7/20 rule. Every seven minutes change things up. Every 20 minutes, get 'em involved. “Chunk” your information into bite-sized segments so that it is easily digestible.  (Just like we are doing in this article!)

10) Adults learn best in a state of moderate arousal. In other words, don't ever put people to sleep. You can have the best content but if all of their minds have already shut down, it won't matter. While realizing I have serous content to cover, I am zany from the very beginning. Speaker Patricia Fripp says, “Never be boring!” And Johnny Carson said, "People will pay far more for entertainment than they ever will for education."

11) Speaker Bill Stainton expresses the need for "predictable unpredictability." In other words, to keep people engaged, keep them wondering what is going to happen next.

12) British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli said, "Talk to people about themselves and they will listen for hours." I say, "If I lecture at my participants, they don't retain the information. When they help me write the script, they do … That’s why they are called ‘participants.’”