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Lessons from holding a workshop

I’ll start with the conclusions (that is, the lessons) in the hope for this post to be useful to you. It’s nothing new, but at least it’s in a condensed form.

Keep in mind I’ll refer to a practical, DIY kind of workshop. It may still be somewhat relevant for talks or lectures, but take it with a grain of salt.

If you’re still interested, further below you’ll then find an account of what happened from my perspective (with personal anecdotes and considerations).

The lessons

The time you need is directly proportional to:

The risk of technical issues is directly proportional to:

Order, smoothness and simplicity of execution are directly proportional to:

Any materials or tools to be distributed to participants should be organized in advance and have a designated place to be stored when not in use.

Any demo material should be shown or given to participants at times specifically set aside for this purpose, then returned to its place immediately afterwards.

Any requirements and restrictions must be clearly and explicitly communicated in advance to both organizers and participants (easier said than done, I know).

The workshop

Just yesterday, I held a workshop on DIY temperature and humidity monitors. In short, it went pretty well: 11 people actively participated and had fun.

I’m happy about that, because participants’ satisfaction is arguably the most important outcome. On the other hand, though, I know I could’ve done better.

For context, I have some (although not extensive) experience both in giving presentations and in leading educational activities. In the past 15+ years I learned a lot, especially about stuff like time management and group dynamics.

I thought I would be able to put the knowledge I gained to good use, but my own performance fell short of my expectations and potential.

So, where is it that I went wrong?

That’s what I set out to understand this morning, when I wrote a few notes for myself to learn from this experience and avoid these mistakes in the future.

(Incidentally, writing makes for a great reflection tool for me. If that works for you as well, you may even consider starting your own blog!)

Time management

I had planned for two hours. It actually took four!

Yes, we’ve had technical issues at the worst possible time and all that jazz. But that’s not the whole story.

Truth is, I should have allotted way more time for some tasks – which would have led me to omit and adapt other stuff accordingly.

The problem here was that I didn’t want to hold anything back, but realistically no one can (nor should) cram months of in-depth research into a single workshop!

To my credit, I was ready to cut things short or even skip less important. I even involved the participants in that decision when I noticed we were moving slowly, but they all wanted to keep on and make the whole thing I had planned.

Looking back, I now think I should have focused more on the top priority (making stuff together) and less on technical details and theoretical understanding.

To be fair, I did prepare tailored learning material for participants to study on their own at a later time if they wanted to.

(But also, that’s all the more reason to leave it out from the actual workshop.)

Procedures and backup plans

I already knew the importance of preparing in advance how things should unfold, anticipating potential problems and allowing for extra time and flexibility.

Yet, this time I erred a bit too much on the side of optimism and underestimated the magnitude of some of the blind spots and their consequences.

Also, I had gathered together the key components for each participant. The wires were missing, though – leading to minor but easily preventable time waste.

Overall, I should have given more thought to where physical objects should be at all times. Nothing got lost or broken this time, but it might well have!

Participants, groups, and feedback

In general, I like to give people autonomy and space. To question, to learn, to explore. To make silly mistakes, even.

I still think that’s a good attitude, but I should probably balance it out.

My approach made it harder on me: I had to follow all that was going on and be ready to help. At one point, I was moving from table to table quite frantically.

On the other hand, working as a group (i.e. doing mostly the same things at the same time) is much more manageable – but it can be pretty boring to some people.

Another thing I’ve taken lightly is asking for participants’ feedback in a more structured way, like a quick online form or survey. Next time I definitely will!

Luckily enough, I already knew a couple of people personally – and I know I can count on them for honest, trustworthy, valuable feedback.

Before that, though, I wanted to come up with my own thoughts. So now I’ll have something to compare their feedback against.

And I can check if there’s anything I’ve completely missed! 😜️

The learning experience

I feel much better now that I’ve written all this down.

Yesterday night, I left the workshop with a bag of mixed emotions: happy because it went well, but not quite satisfied because of my shortcomings.

I know that I can be too hard on myself, though. Taking some time to go through what happened in a more objective way has helped me to put things into context.

My mind is clearer now, self-flagellation stepped aside to leave space to a healthy dose of self-criticism that can help me improve.

After all, I’ve come to the realization that there’s no teacher like Experience. Even when things don’t go as expected. Maybe especially when they don’t.

Or, in the words (and music) of the Kings of Convenience:

Failure is always the best way to learn.