Developing an Awesome Workshop

1. Developing an Awesome Workshop • Select Topic & Instructor (s) Topics need to cover both needs and wants of the audience. A good instructor is one who is coachable, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. Having two instructors can be very effective. Convene an Advisory Committee Meeting 12-15 members from center staff; local agencies and State DOT, members of statewide associations and industry with expertise. The meeting discusses workshop title, topics, audience, workbook and presentation. • Draft Workbook & Presentation The instructor drafts the workbook (average length, 85-100 pages).The draft is distributed to committee and feedback is used to prep final draft. Working with center staff , the instructor develops a draft presentation, agenda, and a quiz. • Preview SessionInvite up to 30 people to attend a free-of-charge preview before scheduling statewide. Attendees write notes in the draft workbook and are asked to provide their honest critique at the end of the day. • A timeline of responsibilities and deadlines is developed early in the process. On average it takes one year and an investment of $7,500 to develop a new workshop. • Initial WorkshopsNotes from the preview are summarized and sent to the instructor who prepares the final draft of the workbook and presentation. Schedule a season of workshops (6-9) using this final draft. • WorkshopsSchedule enough workshops to allow everyoneto attend a session within 90 minutes from their place of business. In New York State, this is at least 12 and up to 18 workshops over the first year. After that the number of workshops depends upon demand and instructor availability. • FeedbackAfter every season, review the evaluations from the workshops and make improvements in the workbook and presentation. Facilitators from the Centerattend the workshops and are able to get direct feedback by watching the workshop and asking attendees for suggestions. Continuous Improvement • WorkbookPrint final workbook after a full season of tweaking. Before reprints are done, workbooks are reviewed for content and accuracy. If done well, workbooks are good for many years. • PresentationNeeds to be interactive with short videos, exercises, demos, and other ways to encourage audience interaction. Just Power Point and long videos are discouraged. The presentation should be changed to meet the needs of the audience. 607-255-8033 clrp@cornell.edu www.clrp.cornell.edu