In this chapter we will look at materials to aid learning. The participants want to walk away with something that will trigger positive memories of your workshop. We will consider examples and the reasons for printing everything or nothing at all. We will also look at other ideas and suggestions to provide participants with souvenirs, such as USB memory sticks, mousemats, etc., and the need to separate a gimmick from a useful learning resource. Not having any supporting materials during the course of a workshop will hinder learning ability, as most people forget what is said quite quickly, but they will remember how they approached something or worked through a problem-solving model, for example.
Do you need supporting resources?
If you have attended a workshop you will probably have walked away with some resources that have aided your learning throughout the day and that are there for you to read when called upon in the future. I remember attending a public sector leadership event and we all walked away with a marvellously colourful thick spiral-bound book of unmemorable exercises and a very long list of further reading. It was very heavy and large and I don’t know where it is now – and I dread to think of the cost of putting it all together. Content is king. Relevance is king. This certainly did not have the desired effect on me and many of my colleagues.
I have asked my colleagues about their thoughts and preferences on this subject and there really is no one right answer. However, you need to be mindful of the alternatives and the impact of using what you think is the right format. It was certainly agreed that supporting resources are essential for participants to get the most from a workshop.
A useful tool to support you when thinking about your approach is to focus on the following three factors:
Time vs Quality vs Cost
When making a decision to do or consider something, the TQC model is very useful (see Figure 6.1). This is generally used in projects but can be useful to follow in a variety of situations around decision-making.
Figure 6.1 The TQC model
Source: Adapted from the project triangle in Kerzner (2009). Reprinted with permission
Time
Quality
- What matters is that it’s done properly.
- It’s quality that matters.
- How does the time or the cost impact on my decision?
Cost
- I want it done as cheaply as possible/I want no expense spared.
- What is the budget?
- How does the time or the quality impact on my decision?
Time, quality and cost all go hand-in-hand, but the rule of thumb is that you can only deliver two of the three. While it may seem harsh, it does make sense that a quickly and cheaply made product will lack quality refinements, for example. There will be exceptions to the rule but the principle itself has withstood the test of time. You will need to weigh up the importance of each of the areas. Do not let the need to balance these three core elements evenly concern you too much. They do have an impact on each other, just like the ‘water-bed effect’, whereby if you place pressure on (or sit on) one corner, then the other corners will rise up. Therefore, too much focus on one area will impact on the others. Aim to break down each area and analyse the impact all three may have – on each other and on the end product.
After all, you can’t expect a cheap service to go along with speed and quality, or speed to go with cheap and quality, or even quality to go with cheap and speedy. Plan, plan and plan again.
 | Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than being able to decide. Napoleon Bonaparte |
Printing
Before we move into what could be printed to support participants, let us look at the advantages and disadvantages of colour vs black and white printing.
Colour – possible perceptions of full colour documents/workbooks
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Initial high impact on reader. | Can be perceived as a waste of money. |
| Can bring documents ‘to life’. | Extra costs associated – printer ink, etc. |
| Can show expense is not an issue – we are important as delegates! | May have colourblind/partially sighted participants. |
| Can take the attention away from a poor facilitator. | Can take the attention away from a good facilitator. |
| Can stimulate the senses. | Just like all the other handouts – nothing ‘special’. |
Black and white – possible perceptions
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Cheaper than colour – printer ink, etc. | Can make a long document/workbook seem ‘lifeless’. |
| No colourblindness concerns with reading. | Participants may compare it unfavourably with a colourful document from a previous workshop. |
| Photocopying is faster than colour. | Seen as ‘unprofessional’. |
There are many other considerations before you decide how to print. You need to know why you are printing something. Who is paying for the printing – you or the client? (I often send a PDF to the client and they print it to save costs.) Is it a supporting workbook or individual handouts? Both are valid and very good at cementing learning or emphasising a point.
Questions to ask yourself
- Should I use single- or double-sided? What is the driver here? Cost-effectiveness or eco-friendliness?
- What type of paper should I use? Is it recyclable? Does it have to be? Quality sheet paper or budget?
- What font size and type should I use? Organisations will generally have a ‘house’ style. I personally work to Arial size 12 font unless I know in advance that someone who is attending is long-sighted and I have been informed to use size 14 or 16, depending on the individual. If you are not sure – ask!
If in doubt, and you can be flexible, have the cover in colour only for initial maximum effect.
Workbooks vs handouts
For clarity, I will refer to workbooks as being over 10 pages in length, containing theory and exercises that are completed as the workshop progresses. It is a participant’s personal journal and will be a reference to the day. They are given out once.
Handouts are separate sheets (can be more than one page) that are given out at certain points in the workshop, to accentuate a point, support a theory or complete an exercise. These are my definitions.
As we have already said, ask the client what the audience prefer and what has worked in the past. Again, add value by challenging to see if a different approach will be effective.
To begin with, one approach is not better than the other. They are situational.
Workbooks
I have found that it is so much easier to collate and print workbooks as you only give them out the once. Participants can then follow a structured approach through the day and know they have a resource to refer to in future.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Easy to collate. | Participants can read ahead so future impact may be lessened. |
| Printed and bound can look professional. | Can feel like ‘being back at school’. |
| Structured approach for all – as a facilitator you know what’s coming next. | Once printed, you cannot change/omit the exercises – lack flexibility. |
Handouts
You will need to collate and place handouts in order of the exercises planned. There can be many of them so they need to be clearly numbered. If you are branding them with a logo, etc., then you will need to do each one separately – a workbook just requires you to enter them once in the header or footer.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Can use as and when the need arises or not use at all. | Quantity may be confusing for facilitator. |
| Gives flexibility to facilitator to change structure of the sessions. | Not enough structure for facilitators who prefer to follow a process. |
| Can hand out when you think it will have the most impact – more control for the facilitator. | Unless you provide a folder, handouts can get mixed up/misplaced. |
Is it a useful learning resource or a gimmick?
There are two definitions, or two ways to look at what a gimmick is. A gimmick, as stated in the Oxford English Dictionary, is ‘a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or trade’. It can also be seen as ‘an ingenious or novel device, scheme, or strategy, especially one designed to attract attention or increase appeal’. This second definition could also be seen as a resource.
We need to be aware of what we are doing to enhance our workshop or learning experience with our participants, as their perception will come under one of the two previous definitions.
Gimmicks are an essential marketing tool. Whether it is adding a feature to your training courses not found in competing products, or adding extra incentives to get organisations to choose you instead of the other company, these are all gimmicks. They can be both ingenious and devious. Whichever way you look at it, gimmicks are some sort of hook that will aim to get others to remember you (or your workshop) above all the others. It can also be a positive reminder to participants of the key learning points that were conveyed at your workshop.
We all want participants to leave our sessions saying that the day made a real difference to them and that they can apply their learning in a practical way within their workplace. Our initial way of doing this is to ensure that all the learning objectives stated at the beginning of the day have been met by the end of the day. When our participants leave, how do we help them remember these key things? Once they leave that room, there is no way of making people act on the things they have learnt. We can offer them the most compelling case to implement any actions they have agreed to our face, but how can we place some sort of learning trigger that will make it easier for them?
Obviously, organisations can ensure implementation by involving line managers and using all levels of evaluating the learning. (Evaluation is covered in Chapter 11.) They can walk away with our workbooks and our handouts but we cannot be sure they won’t be next week’s doorstops!
Learning nudges
Therefore we need to think about little learning nudges that will give the participant and their manager every chance to make a difference to the organisation. The next few nudges may not work for everyone, but for some people they will be very powerful.
Pens
Handing out pens is not going to encourage learning and committing to action. They are a marketing tool for the organisation or facilitator delivering the workshop. There is nothing wrong with this, as I can’t remember a workshop where at least one person hasn’t asked for a pen! They are a practical resource.
USB memory sticks
These memory sticks can be given out at the end of a workshop and could contain your PowerPoint slides, reading material, links to relevant internet sites, etc. They can be branded with your company’s logo or the title of your workshop. People do tend to remember better when there is a trigger such as this. If you wish, be prepared to make it ‘read only’ and protect it so that the information cannot be overwritten, otherwise participants may be tempted just to use it as a new memory stick for their own use (although this may be OK with you). Also consider putting your company marketing information on there . Be aware that this may leave the cynics complaining that it is just a branding exercise and that the memory stick is just a gimmick. Of course it is!
Things to seriously think about
There are many other supporting resources people use to try to make the learning experience more enjoyable. Please proceed with caution. Get it wrong and face the consequences. Read on. . .
Props
A colleague recently shared a story with me when they totally misjudged the use of placing stress balls and soft toys in the room. He had just completed his Certificate in Training Practice (CTP) qualification and was keen to try things out. He got to the venue early and laid them all out on the table. He said he was just so keen to get going that he forgot that he was delivering to an audience of finance professionals.
They came in and cleared them up and handed them back to him. He said nothing and left it at that! We laugh now and he still wonders whether they gave them back because they thought they had been left there by a previous facilitator, or whether they had given him a subtle nudge saying, ‘Don’t you dare. . .’
You can purchase ‘fiddle kits’ for participants that contain toys, motivational cards, bendy people and squeezy pencils to name a few. I have seen clockwork ladybirds, desk bells, finger puppets and hairy hedgehogs. Be careful with all these props – as with all approaches there will be supporters and cynics. Everyone learns differently, as we know.
Never let the assorted props take away from either the focus of the workshop or your personal impact. Use them wisely and ensure that they fit the occasion. If you are facilitating a group that requires lots of ideas and creative energy, then it would be more appropriate to use props than to place them in front of a group making decisions about detailed processes.
Supplying snacks and freebies
The majority of facilitators/trainers that I know always recommend putting out either sweets or mints to enhance the atmosphere they are trying to create. Having a variety of snacks available can give people a sugar-rush for energy, for example. It can also relax people when they arrive as people share them out and begin conversations.
To use the sweets or snacks in the workshop, get two of each type of sweet, for example, and hand them out to participants as they arrive. Then get them to pair up with the other person who has the same sweet and get them talking about the workshop.
Mousemats and mugs have been a common theme in workshops for a while. They can be used solely as a gimmick, with details of the facilitator’s organisation on it, or they can contain useful information, such as:
- an organisation’s values;
- a key step-by-step process;
- the key aims of the workshop;
- an inspirational quote.
Whatever you decide to do, from all of the above to nothing at all, remember it should be a useful learning resource that will benefit the participants and the organisation. Look around and see what is on people’s desks. Ask what has worked before and what hasn’t. Ask yourself, is it essential or desirable?