# The Workshop Survival Guide  ## Metadata - Author: [[Rob Fitzpatrick and Devin Hunt]] - Full Title: The Workshop Survival Guide - Category: #books ## Highlights - The first is that instead of expecting the audience to pay attention, you’ll be taking responsibility for their energy and attention by designing the session in a way which continually renews and refreshes them. ([Location 77](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=77)) - The other special quality of a workshop is that you’re able to coordinate what you’re teaching with how you teach it. ([Location 84](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=84)) - You lose goodwill whenever you make the audience sit through boring stuff (like a long intro) or participate in low-value exercises (like an off-topic icebreaker[4]) You gain goodwill whenever you deliver a nugget of value (usually in the form of a valuable “a‑ha” moment or takeaway) ([Location 101](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=101)) - The unspoken contract of a workshop is this: the audience grants you temporary control of their attention (and actions) in the belief that you will transmute it into something new and valuable. If you violate this contract by asking too much before returning sufficient value, then they grow suspicious of your authority, their goodwill evaporates, and you lose them. ([Location 113](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=113)) - Learning Outcomes are important. They’re the specific bits of knowledge, skill, or insight that your audience takes away. They’re the difference between what someone knows (and can do) when they arrive compared to what they know (and can do) when they leave. They’re the reason folks have bothered showing up. ([Location 123](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=123)) - Audience Profile — Who it’s for Schedule Chunks — When they get their coffee breaks Learning Outcomes — What they’ll take away ([Location 143](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=143)) - your job is to provide your audience with a small, curated set of sharp, useful takeaways which meaningfully improve their lives. A workshop designer is a curator and deciding what’s out is as important as deciding what is in. ([Location 244](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=244)) - “What else do they need to know, believe, or be able to do in order for them to properly absorb the main Learning Outcome?” ([Location 297](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=297)) - The Teaching Format should “match” whatever you’re currently teaching The Teaching Format should switch at least every 20 minutes ([Location 416](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=416)) - The second rule—to regularly switch between different Formats—is partly because the variation boosts energy levels and attention, and partly to force you outside of your teaching comfort zone. ([Location 426](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=426)) - Lectures (for delivering “book knowledge” and extracting takeaways from exercises) Small group and pair discussions (for wrestling with ambiguous options and personal implications) “Try it now” practice (for building hands-on skills) Scenario challenges (for building wisdom, evaluation, judgement, and decision-making) Question & answer (for catching major objections/confusion and adding some flexibility into your schedule) ([Location 479](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=479)) - Every piece of lecture should be paired with an exercise which attacks the same topic from a more interactive direction. ([Location 506](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=506)) - I always think of it in five pieces, truthfully. It's bookended by an intro and a conclusion, and there's a three-part section in the middle with a set of premises I want to deal with. I kind of develop them and then I wrap it up. ([Location 536](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=536)) - In terms of scheduling, the discussions themselves should be fairly brief (2-5 minutes), but the overall exercise will still end up consuming a decent chunk of your schedule (10-15 minutes). ([Location 592](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=592)) - If you feel that the discussion topic is so large that folks will need more than five minutes to get into it, then it’s probably too vague and should be broken into pieces. ([Location 600](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=600)) - This makes groups better for exposing folks to new perspectives, whereas pairs are better for tasks where you want attendees—all of them—to work through a problem or come up with an idea. ([Location 606](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=606)) - A’s primary purpose is to be deleted when you’re running late. This Format’s greatest value lies in the fact that it is a credible—but not essential—way to fill an ambiguous amount of time. ([Location 632](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=632)) - Prompt or task (“Discuss this case study, think about X, and decide on Y”) Group size (“Working in pairs”) Task time limit (“Five minutes”) Facilitation extras (“Followed by a stand & share and class discussion”) Supporting materials, if any (Case study delivered as a paper handout) Total exercise time (15 minutes total to introduce, run, stand & share, and discuss) ([Location 874](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=874)) - Titles should contain the message, not the topic ([Location 1013](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=1013)) - you shouldn’t join the conversation unless a group has misunderstood the prompt or is stuck in a bad conversational dynamic ([Location 1369](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=1369)) - Whether or not this matters will be a bit culture-specific. You probably don’t need to bother with this sort of encouragement for an American audience (they’re happy taking credit for their own ideas), but you’ll find yourself using it constantly when teaching in more reserved countries. ([Location 1418](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=1418)) - The “trick” is to write down a list of powerful stories from your own life and experiences which are relevant to your field: unusual case studies, humorous anecdotes, adventurous struggles, personal blunders and triumphs, etc. And then, when someone asks you a question, you simply riffle through this mental file, extract the most relevant entry, and deploy it in all its glory. ([Location 1445](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=1445)) - Using your own authority to bring attention back to yourself is a dangerous gambit; people will obey, but they aren’t happy to be made to feel like a child while doing so. But interestingly, using your authority to demand attention for someone else has all the same benefits, with none of the downsides. ([Location 1532](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=1532)) - Once you’ve announced a new start time, honor it. Even if the crowd is smaller than you’d like, your hands are now tied and you’ve got to make the best of whoever happens to be in the room. You’re allowed to delay the start time exactly once. Doing so repeatedly will obliterate your credibility. ([Location 1885](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=1885)) - To borrow the framework and language of Olivia Fox, author of The Charisma Myth,[17] coming across as “charismatic” is the result of projecting three qualities: Power (authority, credibility) Warmth (friendliness, openness) Presence (the audience feels like you are undistracted and paying full attention to them) ([Location 1940](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=1940)) - The golden rule of workshop disasters is this: the audience mirrors your panic. If you’re cool with it, they’re cool with it. Shrug it off, adjust the plan, and keep on keeping on. ([Location 2109](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=2109)) - although it’s true that they don’t especially want to hear excuses or apologies, they will gladly support you in any plausible plan to continue moving forward, no matter how strange or unlikely. ([Location 2124](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=2124)) - Focus on those who are there, not those who aren’t. Remind your attendees—and yourself, if needed—that this is great news, because you’ll really be able to get into it together. ([Location 2211](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=2211)) - It’s based around a simple idea: before teaching people how to do something that will be judged by someone else, first have them spend some time acting as the judge. ([Location 2401](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=2401)) - Cards are uniquely good at introducing and explaining a long list of tools, options, or resources. ([Location 2441](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07SS7L7H3&location=2441))