A Photography Workshop — Module 1, Session 1
While I love a mixed metaphor, I abhor receiving mixed messages, which is why, for me, the opening session of any kind of workshop is not only an opportunity to get our audience hooked, it’s also the ideal forum for getting every delegate on the same page when it comes to understanding how our workshop is going to deliver whatever it is we’ve promised. Now, it’s a fair assumption that they know what the workshop’s objectives are, otherwise they wouldn’t have booked themselves a place, but what method are we going to use to achieve them, and how will we measure our success? By using the opening session to answer these questions, we set up our stall for the rest of the course by clearly defining the objectives, methods, and evaluations for each and every workshop component.
Forewarned is forearmed — and that’s important because, in its very nature, a workshop is about engagement, dialogue, and collaboration. We want our delegates to be aware of what’s coming up, while keeping them a little in suspense. Getting the balance right can be tricky but, if we do it well, we’ll transform the potential for an awkward silence into a free flowing debate that is rich in content.
Is the first session of a workshop really the best time to achieve this? Yes, because it fits hand in glove with two other essentials that need to be addressed right up front — breaking the ice, and levelling the playing field.
Breaking the ice
It doesn’t matter whether members of the group attending our workshop have known each other for years or have only just met, we still need to break the ice. Remember, they probably haven’t met us before, so we’re going to need to win their trust and gain their confidence. Every facilitator will have his or her recipe for relaxing the group and handling the introductions. If you want to know mine, then you can always register for one of my workshops but, what I will say, is that levelling the playing field is a key element of my introductory sessions.
Levelling the playing field
The best way to think of a workshop is as ‘a guided journey‘. This results in a very different atmosphere than would be encountered at a seminar, or on a taught course. In those latter examples, the flow of information is, for the most part, unidirectional, whereas, in a workshop, the flow of information is very much omnidirectional. It’s a powerful difference, but it needs to be managed carefully. Group dynamics can be a spring of empowerment for some and a well of acquiescence for others. Failure to recognise and deal with such personality differences from the outset risks failing everyone, and would serve as a particular injustice to the less extrovert members of the group. In my experience, the most successful way to level things out is through the telling of a story — an allegory that unequivocally illustrates that it’s not our personality that determines our outcomes but something far simpler. Something that we have the power to control.
We all have so much to give.
We all have so much to learn.
Parting shot
Over the years, I’ve invested a lot of time and energy into the study of how psychology influences successful outcomes in individuals, groups and businesses. One thing that has consistently surprised me is the number of people who insist that some character traits are beneficial and that others are detrimental. This is evidently wrong. Does having a particular character grant us special skills? Is our character responsible for holding us back? I don’t think so. The mistake is in thinking that it’s our personality that drives our successes or failures. It isn’t — it’s our beliefs.
If we believe we can, we can.
If we believe we can’t, we can’t.
The secret to achieving success is simple and can be found by reflecting on the things that we believe about ourselves — then, throwing away all those beliefs that hold us back.