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Let me set the stage for you: You’ve spent months preparing for a workshop you’re going to be delivering. It’s just days away from your delivery, and your anxiety is kicking into gear. Of course, most anxiety is caused by a fear of the unknown. I’m going to knock some of that anxiety down, and present you with a clear look at what it takes to get to the starting line.
8:00 am Start Your Trip… The day before training!
When you conduct training on the road, missing the event it is not an option. If you’re flying out the day before, the longer you wait, the more chances you’ll run into trouble. (By the way, don’t ever fly out on the day of your presentation!) Weather delays, maintenance delays, connecting flight delays and who-knows-why delays can create serious problems with your trip. Set the alarm clock for an early wake-up, and grab the morning flight. There are far fewer chances of weather issues in the morning, and you’ll be making the flight in a plane that came in the night before. If there are maintenance issues, they’ll have all night to work on them. You’ll have plenty of time to relax in your hotel room, and work in peace and quiet.
7:00 am: Start Arriving
An hour early is the bare minimum to get to your training location and set up. If the training location is not in the hotel you’re staying at, map it out the day before, and give yourself plenty of time to adjust to traffic patterns you may be unaware of. Once at the location, tackle the AV first, as it has the potential to be the most challenging.
7:15 am: Start Planning Who Sits Where
As opposed to keynote deliveries which can have an unlimited audience size for a short period of time, workshops have smaller groups for longer periods of time. I typically let people sit where they’re comfortable sitting… unless I pick up some intel that changes my mind. Maybe you want to mix regions up, or maybe you’ve got people who do better separated. The choice is yours. Assuming not everyone knows each other, get tent cards on the tables. They can be filled out by you if you want to control who’s sitting where, or filled out by audience members if you’re leaving it up to them. Either way, it’s a workshop, you want interaction, and having names out will help both the students and you.
7:30 am: Start The Music
I’ve been playing music before workshop deliveries and during breaks for over 40 years. The right music relaxes people, and sets a nice mood. I’m rather particular about what music I play because I don’t want people singing and dancing; I just want people relaxing. Although I don’t play this type of music at home or in my car, (honest,) I tend to play crooners like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and more before my training programs. The key is this: I want the music to set a mood, and not be a distraction.
7:45 am: Start Your Greetings
If it’s a short program, and by that, I mean no longer than a half a day, I’ll be at the door, and get a head-start at meeting my attendees. If it’s a longer workshop with an icebreaker, I’ll actually step away, or keep busy with tasks that don’t put me in contact with those coming in. The attendees will have plenty of time to meet me. I’d prefer to get out of the way, and give them a chance to meet each other.
8:00 am: Start The Program
Now the fun begins, but don’t forget to start with a well-thought-out opening, housekeeping, and maybe an icebreaker. It’s time very well spent, and pays huge dividends in workshop deliveries.
And that’s all there is to it. Remember, like any other event you might attend, there are bound to be a few curveballs thrown your way that no amount of preparation could prepare you for. Use those moments to let your authentic side shine through and quite frankly, those might be the moments most appreciated by your audience. However, please do yourself and your audience a favor: Make sure to methodically address what is in your control. When you show up prepared, and your preparation allows your audience to feel relaxed, the rest is easy.
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