5 secrets to choosing a workshop topic

Are you in the process of preparing for a workshop, seminar or training session? Whether you have been asked to present an event by your employers, or whether you are an entrepreneur and are running a new event to showcase your business, look no further.

People want to be remembered. One of the most important things to consider when creating a memorable workshop is to choose the right topic. The following tips can help you select a topic you will enjoy presenting and one your audience will be excited to attend.

Brainstorming, catchy titles and more

There are many ways of picking a topic for your workshop; brainstorming catchy titles, asking your friends, polling your prospective audience or going along with what your mother thinks is a really good idea will all get you a topic, but will probably leave you confused and undecided about which is really the best choice. When you start the process of selecting the best topic for your workshop, ask yourself these four great questions first:

1. What topic makes me feel most comfortable?
2. What topic can I expand well?
3. What resources and content do I already have available?
4. What topic do I think my audience will find interesting?

Secret 1: Put yourself up front and centre

Take a moment to think about it. You are going to present this workshop. Everyone is going to be looking at you, and listening to you. Scary? Not if you really believe in your topic.

Think about what you enjoy most about your job or about running your business, then ask yourself: Who are you and what do you do?

• What are the specific problems you solve?
• Who do you solve them for?
• What are the results?

Secret 2: Feel enthusiasm

When you are going through these steps to choosing a topic, look out for those signs which tell you that this topic excites you. You are going to spend a lot of time working with the material, even before it comes to presenting the workshop on the day itself, so you really need to want to present this material, it has to inspire you, and then you will be half way to inspiring the audience with your topic.

So think about the following three questions:

Ask yourself: Why are you doing it?

• Do I believe in this workshop?
• Why do I want to spread this message?
• Why should people come to this workshop?

Secret 3: Remember you are the expert

In fact when you have thoroughly prepared for this workshop you will BE the expert on this topic. Then you can put more of yourself into your presentation making it more interesting for the audience.

So take a few minutes to think about yourself, and answer the following questions:

• What three things make you memorable?
• What do other people always compliment you on?
• What is your favourite topic of conversation in your personal life?
• When asked about your work, what do you talk about with most enthusiasm?

It is not necessary to personalise the whole of your workshop, but letting people see a little of who you are, and what makes you tick will raise your workshop to another level, and make the whole workshop experience more memorable for the audience.

Secret 4: How long is the workshop?

It is important that your audience knows how long the workshop is going to be. Not only because they need to schedule time in their busy lives in order to attend, but also so they can mentally prepare for the level of concentration they will need to actively participate in the workshop.

Holding the attention of the audience is crucial. To manage this, provide a clear agenda for the workshop to each participant, highlighting the time each section will take, and indicating where the breaks will be. As the workshop is in progress, keep a copy of the agenda in plain sight, or refer back to it as each section is drawing to a close.

Secret 5: Choose a compelling title

To start with, your audience needs to be tempted to sign up for the workshop in the first place.

You may have been using a working title as you developed your ideas, but now is the time to decide on the best title for the workshop. The title needs to be clear, accessible and memorable. Here are several points to think about when choosing a workshop title: It should be short, catchy, should address the workshops intended audience and have the same language as your participants.

And… go!