Preparing a Workshop A leadership training lesson from The Pennsylvania State University.

1. Preparing a WorkshopA leadership training lesson from The Pennsylvania State University. *This powerpoint should be used in conjunction with the Developing a Workshop lesson plan found at http://leadership.cas.psu.edu/Training.html

2. Preparing a Workshop: Overview • Introduction • Lesson Objectives • Lesson Content • Reflection Questions • References

3. Introduction • Leaders are called on to teach others • Where do you begin? • Creating a workshop may seem daunting • Steps make the process easier

4. Lesson Objectives • At the end of the lesson, you will be able to: • Describe the process of developing an educational workshop • Put the steps into action by creating a workshop outline

5. Step 1: The Gate Keeper • The Gatekeeper: A place to begin • A member of the group to whom you will present • Obtain a slew of information that will provide the foundation for workshop planning • Topic • Time you will present • To whom you are presenting • How many will attend • How long your talk should be • Where you will be presenting • Are you part of an event, or is your talk The Event • Any other beneficial facts to help you plan

6. Step 2: Brainstorm • Brainstorm - Ask yourself a few questions • What does your audience want to hear? • What do you want the audiences to know or be able to do? • What are the major points of your presentation? • How will you illustrate those points? • How will you summarize your presentation? • What’s the link? • How will you motivate them? • Write down ideas as they come and create a “bank”

7. Step 3: The Outline • Beginning/Introductions • How will I introduce myself? (if not being introduced by another) • Will you include an icebreaker? If so, what kind? • A joke • Audience participation

8. Step 3: The Outline • Share the purpose of the presentation • Revisit your brainstorming questions • Ask yourself the following questions and begin to build the framework of your presentation: • What does the audience want to hear? • What do you want the audience to know?

9. Step 3: The Outline • The Body of the presentation • It should develop naturally from the framework • How will you help the audience learn the information that you want them to know? • What the main points of my presentation? • How will I illustrate those points? • A 45 minute talk should have a maximum of 5 main points • Don’t overload your audience or provide too little information

10. Step 3: The Outline • Arrange the points in one of the following ways: • Timeline • Sequential order • Priority • Main points delivered in increasing importance • Problem/Solution • Present the problem, suggest a solution, give the benefits • Classification • Important items are the major points • Simple to complex • List ideas from simplest to most complex

11. Step 3: The Outline • Consider visual aids to illustrate your points and help the audience members understand • Posters, PowerPoints, movie clips, music, photos, games, activities, etc. • Wrap up your presentation • How will you summarize your presentation? • What’s the link between your presentation and their “real lives?” • How will you motivate them to do whatever it is you’re asking them to do?

12. Step 3: The Outline • The final two questions may be hardest to address, but are also the most important • Illustrating the link between the information and their real lives is important if you want: • To establish a genuine connection with the audience • Audience to retain information • If the audience can not relate to you the information, they will not act upon the information • Invite questions at the end of your talk • Thank the group for inviting you to present

13. Step 4:Practice, Practice, Practice • Spend time working on the delivery alone • Read through your notes and think about how you will tell your story • Make a plan for how you will enhance the message • Vary your voice • Use gestures • Change your body language • Audio or video tape your delivery and review • Do a “dress rehearsal” for family and friends • Have all of your teaching tools with you for this

14. Reflection Questions • Why should we brainstorm before we begin writing an outline of a presentation? • What are the kinds of things we need to think about as we prepare an outline of a presentation? • How can we address the delivery of the main points of a presentation? • What are ways to help illustrate the main points of a presentation?

15. References • Pennsylvania FFA Association. (2001). State Officer Training Guide.