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How to conduct a seminar

How to conduct a seminar

A seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either atan academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional

organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups forrecurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, inwhich everyone present is requested to actively participate. Seminars aresmall group teaching and learning arrangements that use groupinteraction as a means of engaging participants. Although seminarsusually begin with a presentation or mini- lecture to provide the basis fordiscussion, the word seminar also includes rather formal groupdiscussions led by the teacher and focused on the content rather than onissues arising from students (Jaques, 1991)

Planning

Is the process of setting goals, developing strategies, and outlining

tasks and schedules to accomplish the goals.Plan carefully.

Determine the details of the workshop. If you will be deliveringinformation, decide exactly what you will discuss. In the case of skill-building, determine the types of activities you will include in yourworkshop.

Coordinate and organize.

You might decide to invite other experts to give demonstrations orshort talks. Contact them well in advance. If you will need particular

supplies or materials, gather them ahead of time. If your workshoprequires that your participants arrive having read or experiencedsomething, notify them in advance.

Identify your participants/target and problems.

Knowing your target market is vital in planning your seminar. Yourtarget market will influence the location you choose, the mealselection, the date and time of your event, the registration fee andmore.

Everyone has problems that they want to solve. That they demand tosolve. That they will spend money to solve. Also known as their hotbuttons. Your job is to identify them. These problems (or morecorrectly their solutions) will become the topics for your seminar

Create a good working title.

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The title of your seminar will be the element that attracts attendees,so make sure it's eye-catching and interesting. Instead of mentioninglosing money, include words about profitability and making moneyso your seminar has a positive feel.

Assigning specific topics to the respective groups

to have a good flow and organized flow of the seminar.

Planning schedule for the seminars

Time your seminar effectively.

Plan your seminar for a time of day when most members of yourtarget audience will be able to attend. If your target group consistsof middle-age working individuals, plan your seminar for a weekendor evening that won't conflict with work schedules and childcare

commitments. Holding your seminar at a convenient time will makeit easier for prospective attendees to fit your seminar into theirschedule.

Formulating objectives for the seminar.

Every decision that you make about the workshop will depend onyour objectives for the learner and the success will be measuredagainst its objectives. So make sure objectives are clearly stated foreach activity. might list, describe, recall, debate, critique, or report.

Organizing/leading

Identifying and defining the different working committees for the seminar.

General manager:

Responsible for the over all organization of the seminar. The seminarmain Point of Contact (POC). The one person assigned to answerquestions and help prospective students and the teacher to attend.Include their email address and/or phone number in the advertising.

Schedules the seminar and lines up resources.

Coordinates the staff.

Takes care of the teacher.

De-conflicts problems and provides quality control.

Facilities manager:

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Responsible for the training hall, access, cleanliness and all the equipment in theseminar.

Camp organizer:

Coordinates all the other materials needed, schedules the recreation and

accommodation for the teacher.

Financial manager:

Creates and controls the budget, accounts for all money spent and received.

Accommodation coordinator:

Coordinates accommodation for the students during the seminar

Food coordinator

Audio/visual coordinator: Determines AV needs of speakers

Handle all AV needs at meeting site and coordinate staff to assistwith lights and technical needs during meetings.

Before the Event:

1. Assign a member of the seminar planning group to beresponsible for the seminar, its access, organization, cleaning andmaintenance.

2. Confirm the space far in advance, then check periodically as theevent comes closer.

3. Include a large pad of paper and fat pen to write and post notices

4. Arrange for keys and be sure to have a name and mobile phonenumber for the key holder(s). .

5. Plan on extra trash during the seminar and have a disposal plan,including trash

Schedule activities

Schedule your seminar for 3 hours. People tend to get bored if itgoes on too long. Remember to grab your audience's attention rightaway in the introduction. Get everyone excited about the topic. If you are holding a morning or evening session, and decide to offerrefreshments or some food, most people enjoy coffee and pastries.But limit your food choices to keep your costs down. Also, it's a goodidea to set a maximum number of participants.

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Starting time mostly at 8am or even 7:30 ,which is most people are morealert. How early can you start depends on how early and howefficiently breakfast is being served. On the other hand, if there area large number of commuters, you probably have to conform to theiraccustomed time schedule. The payoff of an earlier start is earlieradjournment.

Breaks- regardless of starting time, you should limit each learning (andsitting) period to roughly one hour, with two breaks in the morningand two in the afternoon.

Lunch group luncheons will facilitate discussions and interactions aroundthe subject matter covered that morning. They also take up lesstime.one hour is usually sufficient for a lunch break.

Controlling

Prepare budget for the seminarA budget is a great tool to keep you on track and help you make

decisions. If you have a small budget, you dont want to purchaseextravagant meeting rooms and slick brochures. (Remember, qualityis important).

How much will the seminar cost to host?

Where will the front money come from? Can you get a sponsor tocover some of the costs?

Do you need to pay in advance for reservations? Deposit on theseminar?

How much do you need to pay to bring the teacher in and supporthim or her during the seminar?

Will the teacher get a salary for teaching or do you just have tocover their costs?

What will be the costs for:

Transportation, gasoline, flight tickets, local transportation, taxis?

Telephone calls? Maybe a card mobile phone for the teacher if he/she is fromoverseas?

Lodging and food?

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rental, transportation of taxi?

Consider giving a discount or include a small gift for an earlyreservation payment. This can help cover the costs up front and alsogive you a better assessment of how many students will attend earlyon.

How will you price the seminar? Flat rate, one price for all?Student discount? Discount for distant travelers? Discount forearly depositors or maybe an included gift (t-shirt, mug orposter?)

Based on your projected costs, what is your break even point, that ishow many students do you need attend and at what price to cover allyour costs?

Try to find the sweet spot in pricing that allows for maximumparticipation for the most people while still covering your costs.

Consider selling souvenirs or even creating a video to offset yourexpenses, but make sure you clear the latter with the teacher first!Finally, if this is a group effort and in the unlikely event you actuallymake more money than the costs, it might be a good idea to decidewhat you will do with the excess ahead of time. Buying a biggerpresent for Sensei, depositing it into the club fund, supplementing orreimbursing certain students that are still in school or coming fromfar away are all possibilities.

Post seminar evaluation

The story of a successful seminars reaches a climax with the stand-up round of applause for the seminar leader, but it doesnt end

there. You still have to evaluate the seminar itself, motivate theparticipants to put their new learning to work on the job andmeasures the impact of the training effort on changed behaviorpatterns and, if possible, on productivity.

The most generally used post-seminar evaluation takes place right in theseminar room. The participants are asked to fill out a form to givetheir opinions on the quality of the presentation and subject matterand the relevance of their new learning to their job responsibilities.There are differences of opinion on the reliability of these

judgments. The main criticism voiced is that the participants may be

unduly influenced by the pleasure of the experience rather than itsvalue in terms of improved performance.

Despite these criticisms, participant evaluation can be helpful, if interpreted with good judgment in the light of all the surroundingcircumstances. Even if the performance of the presenter produces anupward bias, you still get a picture of the strongest and weakest

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portions of the program. The evaluations can be helpful to thatpresenter in improving future seminars. In some instances, thecomments of the participants can result in a redesign of the seminar.