How to run a successful workshop: A solo consultant's guide

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Running a workshop can be a rewarding experience, both personally and professionally. As a solo consultant, I've had the opportunity to design and deliver workshops on a variety of topics. Along the way, I've learned a lot about what it takes to create a successful and engaging learning experience. In this blog post, I'll share some of my key learnings and insights.

Start with a clear problem statement

Before you even begin to design your workshop, it's crucial to have a clear understanding of the problem you're trying to solve. This will help you to focus your content and ensure that your workshop is relevant and impactful.

Design your workshop to address the problem statement

Once you have a problem statement, you can begin to design your workshop. I've found that it's helpful to have a few standard models that I can customise to fit the specific needs of each client.

Create an agenda

A well-structured agenda is essential for keeping your workshop on track and ensuring that all of the key topics are covered.

Start with a rapid-fire education session

I like to start my workshops with a short, sharp education session. This helps to get participants thinking and engaged.

Use slides to stimulate thinking

Slides can be a powerful tool for stimulating thinking and discussion. I like to use slides that are visually appealing and thought-provoking.

Send out an article beforehand

Sending out an article or other pre-reading material beforehand can help to get participants thinking about the topic of the workshop.

Follow with a session on the role of marketing

In my workshops, I like to follow the education session with a session on the role of marketing. This helps participants to understand how marketing can help them to achieve their business goals.

Get to a positioning statement

One of the key goals of my workshops is to help participants to develop a positioning statement for their business. I like to use a variety of exercises and activities to help participants to brainstorm and refine their positioning statements.

The flow of the workshop

The flow of the workshop is important for keeping participants engaged and ensuring that all of the key topics are covered. I like to start with a general introduction, then move on to more specific topics, and finally end with a wrap-up and next steps.

Post-workshop follow-up

Post-workshop follow-up is essential for ensuring that participants take action on what they have learned. I like to send out a follow-up email with a summary of the key takeaways from the workshop and next steps.

I hope this blog post has given you some insights into how to run a successful workshop. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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