Seminars are, generally, defined as smaller groups of people discussing a topic or an issue with which they are all somewhat familiar. The intention is to exchange ideas and establish solutions as a group of people that share an interest or purpose. Seminars are different from a lecture or presentation because they encourage interaction and personal attention.
This type of event can be very successful in marketing a certain person, product, service or process, and is used extensively in the corporate world. Training seminars are particularly advantageous, as they allow an open forum during the course of training and educating. This makes the information more practical and personal, which helps the attendees to process and retain it.
However, the common mistake that many seminar coordinators have made is to concentrate on securing large groups of attendees rather than focussing on the content that these ones will experience. Therefore, little benefit comes of the seminar and those in attendance only become bored or annoyed at the waste of time.
For the most effective seminar, here are five secret weapons for the coordinator and, more especially, the speaker to consider:
- Keep it short – a seminar should never exceed half of a full working day, and is even more effective when it is only a few hours’ long. Of course, the time it takes depends on the volume and the value of the information being provided and coordinators will need to use their own judgement to decide on an actual length. However, the nature of a seminar is to be to the point and relevant. This should be achievable within a few hours.
- Reveal the issues – although the primary purpose of a seminar is to provide information, this should not be done in a schoolroom manner. Rather, the audience should be able to identify the problem by themselves (with some guidance from the speaker) so that they are interested enough in finding their own solution. In this way, they will feel like their eyes have been opened, rather than like they were lectured.
- Define the problem – in certain situations (whether corporate, domestic or other) a problem may be perceived in a very vague way (e.g. unaccounted for absenteeism in the workplace). The aim of the seminar will be to define the issue more precisely so that a working solution can be decide upon. Therefore, the problem may actually be that the forms for filling in leave are not filed after submission, for example. Once this problem has been defined, it can be handled more effectively.
- Sample solutions – in order for the attendees to be satisfied with the solution decided upon, they need to have been part of making the decision. Therefore, it will likely be more effective to give them an idea of what sort of steps they can take and how rather than simply telling them what should be done. If they have been part of making the decision, they are more likely to try hard to make the solution work.
- Sell yourself – regardless of whether the solution is a specific product or service that you can provide, be careful not to sell the item. Rather, focus on selling yourself as their link to a solution.
When hiring a speaker for a seminar, be absolutely confident of their abilities, experience and qualifications. These speakers can charge a lot of money for their time, and you want to be confident in the value of their seminar.
Photo Credit: 2 Mountains
