Jolles - How to Run Seminars & Workshops

1. GIVING FEEDBACK WITHOUT
   INTIMIDATING TRAINEES

1. Chapter 1: Creating a Seminar Business
2. Chapter 7: The Secret of Success: Selling Your Presentation
3. Chapter 10: Using Visual Aids
4. Chapter 11: Technology and Training
5. Chapter 12: Giving Feedback and Coaching

Third Edition

Robert L. Jolles

Copyright 1993, 2001, 2005 by Robert L. Jolles. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Jolles, Robert L., 1957

How to run seminars and workshops : presentation skills for consultants, trainers, and teachers / Robert L. Jolles.3rd ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN-13 978-0-471-71587-0 (pbk.)

ISBN-10 0-471-71587-5 (pbk.)

1. SeminarsHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Workshops (Adult education)Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. MeetingsHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.

AS6.J65 2005

658.456dc22

2004059801

This book is dedicated to my wife Ronni who supported, assisted, and endured the trials of this project; to the thousands of trainees who allowed a struggling trainer to learn his trade and ultimately learn his lessons in humility and compassion; and to the memory of my dear friend Tony Fox.

Welcome to the world of seminars and workshops. Whether you are a trainer, seminar leader, guest speaker, or just someone who occasionally must deliver an idea by addressing a group of people, this book was created for you. From marketing and preparation to all aspects of delivery, this book will guide you through the many nuances that will allow you to direct a group of strangers so that they come together as a team and accomplish a common goal.

There are many misunderstandings surrounding the training profession. I hope to answer many of those questions. There are many opinions regarding right and wrong. As a trainer, I hope to give you definitive answers based on my experiences. As with any class I teach, I hope you find the book both informative and fun. I hope also that you will find support and motivation within these pages. That is one of the true values of a good Train-The-Trainer and that is what this book is about.

After I had finished school at the University of Maryland, my first job was for the New York Life Insurance Company. In four days, I was taught how to be an insurance salesman. I was taught the difference between term and whole life insurance. I was taught about preexisting conditions and other key areas of health insurance. I was even taught about disability insurance and the curse of the living death. Very scary! Four days later, when they were all through teaching me about insurance, I was shown the door and told, Two apps a week, ten apps a month. Go get em, tiger! I was trained. My training failed me. I was taught about my product, but no one ever told me how to sell it.

Most people who become trainers or presenters fall into the same trap. They are taught what to teach, but rarely how to teach it. They appear in front of their trainees as ill prepared as I was initially selling insurance. Customers want more than product knowledge, and so do trainees. There lies the importance of having information on not just what to teach, but how to teach it.

I have been teaching presentation programs for 25 years. Twenty-five years of active stand-up delivery training is kind of like dog years; that is, about 91 years of Train-The-Trainer to you and me! I have delivered these courses while employed by three major corporations as well as for myself as an entrepreneur. In those years, I have developed a lovehate relationship with a topic that I find fascinating. The love portion of Train-The-Trainer is connected to seeing thousands of presenters just like megroping for new methods, validating and replacing old ideas, and sometimes just hanging around to get their batteries recharged. The hate portion of Train-The-Trainer centers around its unforgiving nature. In just about any seminar taught, it is more than acceptable to misplace an overhead, forget a trainees name, or even lose your train of thought. When teaching someone How it is done, there is very little forgiveness for errors. It is a challenge. It will also age you a bit.

I view this book, as I do a good Train-The-Trainer, as a kind of vitamin. When you take a vitamin, your body uses what it needs and only absorbs what it can use. In this book, my intention is to give you too many ideas. Each may be appropriate depending on your topic, seminar size, personality, style, and any number of other factors. Take what you need and disregard what you do not find acceptable to your situation.

You will be reading and relating to real world situations and solutions. Let me give you a quick taste of real world in the life of a presenter. Recently I was asked to speak in front of about 100 managers for one of the largest insurance companies in the country. This presentation was set to last for six hours. The individual who coordinated the presentation on behalf of the insurance company had come to me only weeks before the presentation date telling me the presentation was no big deal, and to just walk the group through some simple sales skills. Well, as a professional trainer, I have learned that