A Guide to Hosting Workshops

Provide valuable knowledge to your community by hosting workshops relating to your business. Whether you choose to deliver them in-person or online, these types of events help to build credibility and allow you to develop relationships within your industry or local community.

Let’s take a look at some of the essential steps towards delivering a successful workshop!

Set Clear Objectives/Goals

What outcome are you looking to achieve? Are you creating a beginner course, or looking to help experienced professionals refine their existing skills? Will you be offering networking opportunities, or is it purely educational?

Your goals should align with both your business objectives and your audience’s needs.

Understand Your Audience & Determine the Best Format

As with most things marketing, understanding your audience is vital. This research will help you tailor your content and delivery method to match your audience’s learning style and expectations.

Choose an event format that best serves your learning objectives, whether that is to provide demonstrations of practical skills, options for discussion and collaborative working, presentations or more.

Choosing the Perfect Venue

If delivering in-person events, there are a number of aspects to think about when planning. Remember that the venue should reflect your brand’s professional image (including any values/ethical considerations!) while providing comfort and convenience for attendees.

Check for:

• Accessibility and parking
• Room capacity and layout
• Technical capabilities
• Catering facilities

Establishing a Realistic Timeline

This needs to include everything. From pre-event planning, to marketing and promotion, to content development, to technical set up, delivery and post-event follow ups. Planning a timeline out ensures any resources are managed effectively, and nothing is forgotten about in the lead up.

Furthermore, when hosting workshops, it is important to continually refine your approach based on experience and feedback, so you can build on your skills and deliverables.