Are you an entrepreneur who wants to grow your impact and build a more financially sustainable business? Creating meaningful learning experiences that attract people who are ready to give their valuable time is a great way to build trust and connection with people who you can help. A transformational workshop not only enriches the lives of your clients, but also elevates your brand, income, and influence. Clarity is an essential first step to design and deliver a learning opportunity that resonates with your audience and fosters growth. This is easier said than done. It can be challenging to make a decision about one clear learning outcome, especially for creative entrepreneurs who have so many different ideas and potential ways that they can support learners. What do the learners need? What do they want to learn? What will make the most impact? Clarity will lead to clients, whereas confusion will leave them wondering how your offering will help them and moving on.
Learning by doing
Imagine if swimming lessons were just lectures, videos, and worksheets rather than actual practice. People learn best by doing, but they need just the right learning target, challenge, support, and practice opportunities. If learners are able to describe the specific progress they make, testimonials become effortless to attract more clients to help. It takes intentional planning to facilitate visible shifts when mindset and emotions are so intertwined in transformation. By offering project based learning experiences, you can integrate learning by doing while inspiring profound shifts in perspectives, behaviors, and beliefs. This approach can cultivate loyal clients who see tangible results and share their growth with others.
5 questions to ask yourself
If you are feeling overwhelmed by endless options for your workshop learning experience, try responding to these questions:
What is your mission? Being able to describe exactly what your unique purpose is when you help people is critical. If you don't have clarity in 1-2 sentences, before you design a workshop, take some time to articulate what you do concisely so that anyone you connect with can quickly understand your mission.
Who do you love to work with?  Even though you can probably help a wide variety of people and you probably see interconnectedness among many target audiences, consider who tends to be attracted to you. Often it can be helpful to think about yourself before you learned the information that you want to teach. What were you struggling with? What support were you looking for? What were your goals?
What is a reasonable and visible result of a workshop? Clarity helps you to deliver on the learning outcomes with integrity and people will attend when they know exactly what they are going to get out of dedicating their valuable time. Under promise and over deliver because this will build trust and confidence in the learners to want more. This can be challenging when you are a multi-potentialite and have many interests and passions. Allow yourself to choose one for now, knowing that you can always pursue another interest later.
What learning format aligns with your goals? Choose a format that aligns with your audience and the learning objectives as well as your strengths and goals. Consider factors like group size, duration, and location to optimize the learning experience. Whether it's in-person, virtual, tailor the format to facilitate engagement and build connection since learning cannot occur without a positive relationship.
How will you price the learning opportunity? Free is not always the most attractive option for learners. If you have tried offering free workshops in the past and there was poor attendance, learners may have assumed that the learning experience wasn't a valuable use of their time if it didn't cost anything. Select a price that reflects the value of the outcome you are offering. People who are ready to invest resources will be most likely to attend, engage, and get results. An intentional pricing strategy not only attracts clients but also sustains your organization's growth and social impact. Even if you are an entrepreneur that values accessibility and focusing on social impact over profit, it will likely increase your impact by intentionally pricing your offering. Including yourself as someone who deserves equitable pay is activism.
Including Neurodivergent Learners
Many estimate that 20% of people are neurodivergent, so if you value making learning accessible to all, use inclusive, strengths based language. As you get clarity and start to develop communication about your offering, your language makes a difference about who feels welcome and safe enough to join.
Decision Making
The key to decision making, is to get quiet, use nervous system regulation techniques, respond to critical thinking questions designed to elicit your inner wisdom, and create space for the answers to shine through. When you avoid relying on what others think and align your offering with your unique strengths and purpose, you will transform the lives of those who you support. Allow your values and identity to be a part of everything you do as a leader and social entrepreneur.
Join Our Virtual Event
Ready to move forward with designing the workshop that you have been thinking about? Don't miss our upcoming Teach to Change Workshop Planning virtual event to be guided to listen to your inner knowing and complete the Teach to Change workshop planning document. Finalize the details with the support of small group coaching before designing a transformational learning experience. This workshop will equip you with the insights to get unstuck and move forward with creating meaningful change in the lives of others and growing your business.
Conclusion
Crafting transformational learning experiences is not just about imparting knowledge; it's about igniting personal and societal change. Share your thoughts and workshop ideas in the comments below, and don't forget to sign up for our upcoming virtual event to help you get clarity and give tips on including neurodivergent learners.
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