Seeking Advice: How Do I Kickstart My Personality Development Workshop?

Hello Everybody,

Basically, I completed my MBA in Marketing in 1990. I have been working in the IT industry since 1993 and have had the opportunity to work in the USA and Bangkok. I have also visited several other countries. Currently, I run my own PC Maintenance and Networking training institute.

Drawing from my experience in Customer Support, Counseling skills, and building relationships, and based on the feedback from thousands of younger students whom my talks and guidance have inspired, as well as hundreds of senior customers whom I have served over the past decade and a half, I am planning to start a Personality Development workshop in my city and nearby areas.

Having observed various types of presentations, slide shows, short stories, and moral stories, I find it very exciting to read articles and witness presentations. While I am capable of speaking and guiding on many subjects, I am uncertain about how to initiate my personality development workshop.

Guidance from everyone would be an added advantage and would definitely boost my morale.

Please help, guide, suggest, or advise.

Hi,

You can start out on your own by first preparing an exact plan of action. Determine what topics to cover, the number of hours you will speak, and identify your target participants. The next step is to give a demo of your content to your close circle. Following this, begin advertising through word of mouth or in newspapers. Once you gain traction, you can transition into freelancing for corporates.

All the best. That's how I began.

Smita
Email: fabsmita@gmail.com

Yes, I can understand. Thanks, SMITA and DHANRAJ, for your advice. I prepared a plan of action on the different topics that I will be discussing. But the doubt that I am having is how can I start my very first session. As you can understand, the first impression is going to be the long-lasting impression. It is not a matter of standing with confidence and speaking on a certain subject; it is a matter of "WHAT TO PRESENT" in the very first session. Please guide!!! Thanks in advance.

Hi,

First impressions are the best impressions. Start your session with a small motivational story and ask for the opinions and thoughts of the audience. According to their thoughts, continue your presentation with an interactive session. All the best.

Start with your close friends and give them the presentation. Focus on what value you can give to them. After the session, see if they are motivated or bored, or if you are presenting the wrong topic. If you make the presentation to 5-6 groups of people at no cost, you can start understanding the patterns of the people. Then start with strangers in the park/community at no cost. You can approach the office/school for a free workshop, and I do not think they would hesitate to have a free workshop in their office or school. This way, you can help them and also help yourself to identify what they want and what value you are providing. Ask for feedback.

Please do not try hard to be successful at your early workshop. Instead, try to accept the possibility of failure in the initial stage. If you focus on your success instead of giving value to them, you will surely fail. Start the workshop with accepting failure in mind and start learning from each workshop on how you can provide good value to people. People come to your workshop not to hear your lovely voice or see your gestures; they are coming for solutions to the problems they have in their lives. If you are not in a suit and not speaking well but speaking their language and providing them with solutions, they will start taking you seriously.

It is my humble suggestion to you to expect failure in your initial stage and give free workshops to people in offices or children in schools. I think no office or school would deny having a workshop free of cost in their premises. This way, you not only help them but also help yourself by getting feedback and realizing what part of the presentation needs improvement. I believe I have already mentioned this in the above paragraph.

I think this approach will work for you. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Sanjay Sharma, India

Bravo Sanjaybhaiyya and Dhanrajbhaiyya,

I appreciate your very valuable suggestions. You have asked me to follow a perfect guideline. I will now be working on preparing my own intro-talk so that I can introduce my workshop to various aspects of society, as you advised.

Still, let me ask you a doubt. Please guide me on what should be the 'probable(?)' contents in this intro-talk so that we can capture the attention and curiosity of the attendees...

Hope to receive very valuable suggestions in this regard.

I think you do not get the point. Your mind is focused on not making mistakes in front of others. You are seeking my advice because you want to avoid looking foolish in front of a group of people. Your focus is on yourself rather than on providing value to others. If I come to you seeking advice, my sole objective is to receive help so I can use it to find a solution to the problem I am currently facing. If you focus on providing value to me, then I will not pay attention to your appearance or introductory remarks.

Please shift your focus from avoiding mistakes and impressing the group to adding value to the group. If you are sincere and genuinely aim to provide value to the group you are addressing, then this issue would not arise. In that case, you would inherently know what kind of introduction and other elements are required.

I have already mentioned that you should embrace failure as quickly as possible. Failure is not only necessary but also almost inevitable in the early stages of your career. The more you fail, the more you learn from your mistakes and grow. With more experience, you will have a greater pool of ideas to benefit others.

Consider Google as an example. When Google began developing products, they showcased them in the Google Lab (a while ago, I am not sure what it is called now). They would generate an idea, convert it into a software product in its early stages, present it in the Google Lab for people to use, share feedback, and suggest improvements. If the product resonated with users, it would be integrated into their main product lineup; if not, the idea or product was discarded. Did you know that 90% of the products in the Google Lab failed? Yet, despite this, Google is one of the most innovative companies globally, surpassing Microsoft.

Follow a similar approach. Do what you believe is right in front of less significant audiences so that I do not feel embarrassed by any shortcomings. Once you have honed your skills, then approach your important customers and deliver flawless presentations.

I hope this advice proves helpful.

Sanjay Sharma, India