From Workshop-Giver to Workshop-Goer
Greetings again. I hope you’re doing well.
Last week I attended a one-day workshop on writing grant proposals. Because time was short, the workshop consisted almost solely of lectures, rather than also having small-group work, as is ideal. Nevertheless, the workshop was very good.
Usually I facilitate workshops rather than being an audience member. Being on the other side helped me notice things that can aid in giving or hosting workshops and presentations. Here are some of them.
- The speaker told anecdotes (little stories) to illustrate points. The stories helped make the material interesting, clear, and memorable.
- The speaker provided examples. He included bad examples in addition to good ones, so we would know what not to do.
- The speaker kept the slides simple. Most slides contained a few short bullet points and no images. Thus, the slides supported what the speaker was saying rather than distracting from it.
- The speaker had people write their questions on cards. He then answered the questions when the workshop resumed after breaks. This technique used time efficiently.
- At one point, the speaker was unsure of a small fact. He said so and made a guess; those of us who knew the fact then stated it. We did not think less highly of the speaker because he had forgotten a small fact. And thinking of the fact helped engage the audience.
What about the workshop’s content? I was pleased to see that the main advice resembled that in proposal-writing materials in the AuthorAID Resource Library. I also obtained some new ideas. I hope to share some of them in a future post.
Until the next post—
Barbara