Today I gave my first three hour-long and in-person workshop. I've delivered talks, made videos but never actually gave a full on workshop. In this blog post are my main learnings from it.
✅ Do - Install Software in Advance
If you can, provide attendees with a list of requirements or pre-requisites to make the workshop go smoother.
I thought of this a bit too late and some folks were not able to install the software or had some issues that made them lose some time and it's just not a nice feeling.
🚫 Don't - Use the Full Time Slot
If you have 1 hour and a half, estimate your workshop to last only 1 hour. Many things can happen along the way, lots of troubleshooting so give yourself and attendees some extra time.
✅ Do - Take Breaks
For a three hour workshop we had only one "big" break of 15 minutes. Unfortunately there was an event after the workshop and time was limited but in an ideal world I'd have done three breaks:
- 5 min bio-break after the first 40 minutes
- 10 min coffee break at 1h 20 minutes
- 5 min bio-break at 2h 10 minutes
🚫 Don't - Rush It
If folks came to a three hour workshop it means they are there willing to learn. Don't rush your words or the explanations you are giving. This aligns with using your time properly.