Some Thoughts about Seminar / Workshops



A seminar/workshop that is intelligently conceived, painstaking assembled and professionally executed is, in my opinion, the single best vehicle for imparting a vast amount of actionable information to the attendees in the shortest possible time.



We all have experience in seminars



Think about it. A seminar is just another form of education that we have been exposed to since our grade school days. We've had them in high school, college, and undoubtedly numerous corporate seminars. Think back on those experiences for a minute. Now, how many really had a profound impact on your behavior? If you're like me, the answer is very few. Why is that? There are probably lots of reasons but the biggest one in my opinion boils down to a lack of a crisp clear objective for the seminar.

 

Seminar/Workshop -- a totally different experience

 

One of the frequent characteristics of seminars that we have experienced in the past is a well meaning pundant in the front of the room, waxing poetic and totally enchanted with the sound of his own voice while many students sit with their eyes glazed over. 



TAG's Objective Statement 



In each of the seminars that we conduct, the objective is to make a positive and substantial impact on the behavior of each of the attendees when they depart. It really doesn't matter what the subject matter is. Are you going to a seminar on golf? When you come away, you should be able to play the game better. Attending a seminar on sales? You should come away better prepared to go back into the territory and significantly increase your productivity. Unemployment? You should leave the seminar much more proficient in your new role as a job seeker. 



How do we accomplish this?



In 3 ways:

 

• Becoming subject matter experts on the given seminar. We do this by virtue of our own experience, doing extensive research on current conditions and changes, and constantly seeking feedback from others, especially the target audience for the seminars.

 

• Ensuring that we get our complete audience intimately involved in the seminar: challenging, asking questions, providing opinions, etc. This is far more than a “ lecture”. In TAG seminars, one of our ground rules is "learn by doing”.

 

• Constantly updating our seminars based on changing conditions, audience critique, and new information.

 

Virtual or in person? 

 

We have constructed and participated in both kinds of seminars. In the new age of technology, the ability to sit at your computer at home, fresh out of bed with a cup coffee in your hand and attend a virtual seminar is highly appealing. However, in my opinion the "in person" seminar wins hands down. There are a number reasons for this:

​

• It requires commitment. Yes, being able to roll out of bed is much more convenient. For an "in-person seminar", you have to get up, dress appropriately, travel to the seminar site and participate. Therefore, those who attend are only people who are totally committed to the education process.

• You can't "multi-task". I've done online seminars at my desk. I've rarely been able to resist the urge to do other things at the same time: answering phone calls, checking e-mail, getting one or two things off my "to do list". When you're part of the audience and the instructor is demanding your attention and looking at you for comments, like it or not, you're involved.

• You learn from the audience. I have never attended or conducted a seminar were I didn't learn at least two or three things from audience members. In the very first employment seminar I conducted, I learned a new approach toward resumes that I use to this day. You'll never experience that sitting at your desk.

The seminar is not the end of the education process: it's the beginning.



There's a reason why they call the final event of your college career a commencement. It is the beginning of your use of all that you've learned in the real world. The same is true of the seminar. When you leave, it's the beginning of using the new skills that you've learned. This is why we so heavily stress the "after seminar" behavior.



We invite you to scroll through our seminar discussions and contact us for more information.