Self Employed Success

Quick Reminder: the teleclass series, “Designing Effective Workshops and Teleclasses” begins tomorrow (January 19).

If you want to create classes that students will LOVE, and earn increased revenue for your business at the same time, then this class is for you.

For more info:

www.DesigningEffectiveWorkshops.com

I hope to see you in class!

When designing and delivering training classes, there’s only one question to ask: What is best for the students?

In a student-centric model of training design and delivery, a good instructor knows that it’s not about what I want to teach, but about what the student wants to learn.

There are many ways to deliver training material, but the two most important ones are the Lecture Method and the Workshop Method.

You’ve seen and participated in the Lecture Method thousands of times: the teacher gets up in front of the group and delivers the material, while the students listen and take notes. Occasionally the students ask questions. This works great when there is a lot of new, introductory material to be delivered and the students have no experience with the topic.

In the Workshop Method, a collaborative learning environment is established. The teacher uses hands-on exercises, Q&A, and discussions to help the student cement what they’re learning in a real-world environment and begin to apply it immediately. This method is ideal for adult students who bring a wealth of background experiences to a class, and helps them stay motivated.

Is one method better than the other? No. But the Lecture Method has the risk of being much more boring! An all-lecture class can easily put your students to sleep, especially if you’re teaching via teleclasses where they can’t see you.

Some teachers choose the Lecture Method because it allows them to be the “sage on the stage” instead of the “guide on the side.” Smart teachers choose the lecture method, wisely, when there is a great amount of foundational information the students are required to learn. Really smart teachers use both methods: the Lecture Method for the basics, then switching to the Workshop Method to allow students to process the material in a real-world atmosphere and apply what they’ve learned.

Here’s an example of how I use these two methods in one of the classes I teach:

In my Marketing Planning class there is a lot of foundational information to learn about the psychology of marketing and creating a marketing strategy for your business. These lessons are generally taught using the Lecture Method, but I throw in some discussion questions and allow a fairly large chunk of time for Q&A. When we move into the lessons about writing your own marketing plan, we switch to the Workshop Method.

Here’s how I apply the Workshop Method in class:

• I ask students about their specific situation and how they’ll apply what they’ve learned in class to their own business marketing
• I give them homework assignments which they can submit to me for review and comments, which keeps the learning going between class sessions
• Students write their marketing plan in a step-by-step format using a workbook I’ve designed for the class
• I ask questions related to the material where students fill in the blanks from their own life experiences (You’d be surprised how much you know about marketing just by having been a consumer all these years!)
• I ask students to debate the pros and cons of choosing specific marketing techniques

Getting your students active in their learning process keeps the energy high, keeps them motivated, and most importantly, keeps them learning at a peak rate.

And while you’re at it, consider this: When giving speeches, what if you combined the Lecture Method with the Workshop Method? Professional speakers can spice up their speeches by moving away from the model of I Talk To You and You Listen, too.

Do you feel like can you can’t teach a teleseminar because you’re not an expert on the topic?

Or perhaps you don’t have time to put together an hour’s worth of material for a teleseminar?

Don’t worry! There are plenty of experts out there who you can interview in a teleseminar. Here’s how you do it:

1. Decide what topic you’ll present in the teleseminar.
2. Find an expert who is BOTH qualified to talk about the subject and has good teleclass leading skills. (If you’re unsure about whether they can perform well on a teleclass, ask to listen to a recording of a recent teleclass where they presented.) You can have more than one expert on a call, but I wouldn’t recommend more than 2 experts on a call because it become confusing to the listener.
3. Decide up-front if the experts will be allowed to market their products or services on the call. If yes, decide on how many minutes they’ll have to do so. My opinion is that a teleseminar should be 99% education and only 1% marketing. (No one likes to listen to a “teleSALESinar” where the expert drones on and on about their products.)
4. Come up with a list of interview questions. Since the experts are most likely to know the best interview questions, collaborate with the experts to come up with a good list.
5. Schedule the teleseminar and invite your mailing list. You can ask the experts to invite people from their list as well.
6. Hold the teleseminar and make sure you record it. Some listeners can’t attend the live teleseminar, but they will be able to listen to the recording later.
7. Edit the recording and put it on your website.Inform your mailing list (and the experts’ mailing list) that the recording is now available.

It’s that easy!

You can listen to me interview guest experts on my Self Employed Success teleseminar series. The recordings are free here:

http://www.passionforbusiness.com/teleclass-recordings.htm

Teleseminars are a great way to teach! But how can you teach when people can’t see you?

In this teleseminar, you will learn techniques that boost your teaching skills in a teleclass environment, overcoming the visual barriers and creating interactive and supportive environments for your students. Create telephone-based learning environments that keep students coming back for more!

In this three-week teleseminar, you will learn about:

• Handling the first few minutes of your teleseminar, the springboard to any successful teleclass
• Teleclass leading skills for interactivity and learning
• Creating rapport with students over the phone
• The common mistakes the teleseminar leaders make
• Techniques for keeping momentum while also allowing for student discussion
• Discovering your own style and voice
• Dealing with student situations that can undermine your teleclass success
• Handling the technology of using a teleconference line

This teleseminar meets one hour each week, for three weeks:

February 24
March 3
March 10

All teleclasses are 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM eastern

$110 for the three-week class

For more class details and to register:

http://www.passionforbusiness.com/calendar.htm

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What is a Teleseminar?

A teleseminar is a class, workshop or lecture delivered over the telephone. It gives students access to training materials they might not be able to find in their local community, and allows them to learn new material without having to travel.

The teacher is usually called a teleclass leader or teleseminar leader. Their job is to create and foster a learning environment where people feel free to ask questions, share ideas and challenges, and discuss the class materials. While some people have a natural ability to teach via telephone, many people find that attending a teleclass leader training program helps them learn specific techniques for phone-based training.

How do Teleseminars Work?

The teacher and students meet via a teleconference line (also known as a telebridge line). As you can imagine, chaos might reign with so many people on a teleconference line, so generally-accepted teleclass etiquette guidelines have been created to help foster the conversation without people talking over each other.

Teleseminars can be a one-time event, where everyone meets on the phone for one hour, or an ongoing series, where everyone meets once a week for several weeks or even months. The more sophisticated the topic and the more in-depth the training agenda, the longer students meet with the teacher. Often during series-style teleseminars, the teacher will assign homework to be completed between class meetings. This helps the student to apply what they learned that week to a real-world situation or project.

Read the full article, All About Teleseminars – Should You Offer Them…

Designing Effective Workshops and Teleclasses begins January 20.

A good workshop design allows students to learn with ease, and allows us, the presenter and facilitator, to speak with comfort and centeredness.

Teaching gives us an opportunity to build a trusting relationship between ourselves and our students, who may be current or future clients.

In this HANDS-ON 5-week teleclass, you’ll learn how to:

• Construct lesson plans – the “script” of any good class
• Design exercises for optimal student learning and participation
• Create both a live workshop AND a teleclass from the same lesson plan
• Set prices and market your workshop or teleclass

Here is a great opportunity to start — and finish — a class design project in five weeks, AND get feedback from the instructor. Walk away with a class design of your own, and start teaching it immediately!

For more class details and to register:
http://www.passionforbusinesslearning.com/dewt/

This five-week teleclass begins January 20, 2009

• Jan. 20
• Jan. 27
• Feb. 3
• Feb. 10
• Feb. 17

All teleclasses are
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM eastern

Class will be recorded, so if you miss a session, you will be able to download the audio recording of the live class and listen at your leisure.

Registration fee: $185 for the five-week teleclass.

For more class details and to register:
http://www.passionforbusinesslearning.com/dewt/