Effective speakers must engage their audiences by making their sessions more interactive and by encouraging group learning. The shift away from the traditional lecture format is influenced by the way adults prefer to learn and they retain more information if they are engaged in the process. As a result, the role of the speaker is evolving from that of a lecturer to a facilitator of content.
Here are five steps for incorporating a facilitator format into your educational program.
1. Find out what the learner wants
Facilitating learning starts with establishing overall program goals for the event along with clear metrics to measure success. From there, planners must build out the education framework for the program based on these goals. What are the key topics that need to be covered? What are the education gaps that you need to bridge? What are the outcomes you are looking to achieve with this educational programming?
Always remember to keep the learner in mind. The learner wants to know what is in it for them. If you fail to answer that, they will be less engaged and less likely to attend.
2. Tailor sessions to your objectives
Once the educational framework is established, it is imperative that learning objectives are created for each session. Learning objectives state what the learner should expect to know, do, or do more effectively following the session. Clearly stated learning objectives shape the design, content, and format of the session.
3. Collaborate with your speakers
The real work begins once the speakers are confirmed for the sessions. Planners must work with each speaker to integrate interactive elements into their content so the stated objectives are met and the content reaches the target audience. Speaker training is important to help move away from the traditional PowerPoint with bullet points to providing supplemental materials that focus on takeaways.
4. Integrate new approaches
While many experts are comfortable speaking to live audiences, they still might need your assistance in transitioning to a new format. Several case studies show how planners have successfully integrated new approaches into their sessions.
• A trade association recently introduced a new session type for its event. Organizers asked three members to share a 10-minute story on a recent business challenge, what they did to address it and what they learned from it. Attendees were given a choice of which business challenge they wanted to learn more about, and informal roundtable discussions were offered with the discussion leaders.
• A print services association recently offered a facilitated networking session called Open Space Technology. The facilitator opened the session by asking attendees a guided question. The resulting brainstorming generated discussion topics which were posted on a community bulletin board. Attendees then selected the topics most important or relevant them and participated in small-group conversations. Each group had a recorder who took notes during the session. Evaluation results surpassed expectations: 100 percent of the attendees indicated they learned something that they could implement in their work.
• Another way to introduce interactive learning is by incorporating a blended-learning approach. For one client organization, we began the educational process prior to the event by presenting a webinar as introduction to a topic. That allowed the speaker at the event to offer a deeper dive into the topic by offering a workshop followed by peer-to-peer roundtable discussions.
5. Adjust the room
Once the design of the session is finalized, set the room to fit the format. As we see the move from lecture-style sessions, there is also a shift away from theater seating which makes it difficult for attendees to network and interact easily with each other. For instance, if the purpose of the session is to ensure networking and discussion among attendees, roundtables would be recommended.
In the end, learners are expecting more than just the traditional lecture. They want to leave an event with actionable takeaways and an increased network. Building interactive learning into the event will help achieve both.
Julie Ferry is a director in education and learning services at SmithBucklin, an association management and services company. For more information, contact Julie at [email protected] or visit www.smithbucklin.com.
This article appears in the April 2015 issue of Successful Meetings.