7 Tips: How to Spice Up Your Next Training Workshop

At Printulu, we value team spirit so much that it’s one of our internal core values. It’s something we try to instill in everything we do, which is why we’re constantly having workshops and training sessions to improve our team spirit and skills. The more we know, the better we can help you, our valuable customer. We’re a young company by most standards, so our workshops are always super fun and interactive, but we’ve noticed that not everyone seems to follow this way of training their employees.

We’ve seen loads of materials printed for workshops pass through the factory, along with other unnameable items as well (more on that on next week’s blog post). We’ll be honest, not all the materials that we’ve printed for clients wanting to train their staff seem very… uhm… inspiring.

This is why we thought we’d jump in and help put by giving you some tried and tested tips for creating a more fun and engaging workshop. And obviously, we’ve included a handy guide to all the printing materials you might need.

1. Ditch the traditional presentation

People learn in different ways. Some of us are visual learners who prefer pictures, videos and diagrams, while others respond to spoken and written word, music, logic, or even physical activities.

To create an inclusive learning environment, try to combine traditional linguistic teaching methods with audio and visual presentations, written handouts, interactive tasks, and group work.

For example, you could start off your workshop with a quick PowerPoint, but then move into a clip from a relevant podcast. Later, you could have attendees draw short comics based on what they have learned and ask a few to present their comics to the rest of the group.

2. Use props

Props can make your teaching even more engaging. These could be practical that literally represent your subject matter (think scales, an abacus, or a mannequin) or they could be ridiculous (try a rubber chicken or magic wand). Props liven up your session, and will help people remember what they learned.

Your training or workshop might be serious, but people learn best when they are having fun.

3. Play games

Need to keep your attendees focused? Tap into their competitive sides. Puzzles or riddles, crosswords, memory games, ordering tasks — all are great ways to keep your attendees engaged and on-task. For added drama, impose a time limit.

Try introducing a quick quiz at the end of each content section, helping recap on what’s been learned, and offer a small prize for the winner.

4. Provide recognition and reward

Attendees will be more motivated to successfully complete the course if their efforts are recognized — and if they have something to show for it at the end.

Let attendees know they will receive personalized certificates to mark their participation. You should also consider extra incentives such as a competition or small prizes for the best students. Again: tap into those competitive streaks!

5. Be Considerate

Many people are nervous about speaking in public, or in an unfamiliar group. If you plan group exercises, keep the size of each group small, so people are more comfortable talking and interacting. More is not always the merrier when it comes to workshops. In order to create a truly valuable experience, give your attendees the personal attention they deserve by planning for smaller group sizes.

6. Mix it up!

Mix up different types of people in each group. For example, if several departments participate in your workshop, don’t put members of the same department in their own group. By encouraging people to interact with other departments, they can learn to look at things from different perspectives.

7. Have the Right Materials

Teaching is as much about entertaining your audience as informing them. Make your training or workshops lively, varied, fun and unexpected and your participants will learn more — and be more likely to come back for more. Ready to create your event? Here’s a list of materials you might need (and yes, Printulu can help you with all of them at a competitive price).

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