Customer Reviews

How to Run Seminars and Workshops: Presentation Skills for Consultants, Trainers, and Teachers

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book changed my career. I was responsible for developing a course to teach our employees how to become better presenters. I did a ton of research, read many books, but this one was my single most used resource. The large majority of my company's training philosphies are now based on this one book. It's working for us incredibly well. I tried everything in the book that Mr. Jolles suggested. Most worked, very few didn't. Without this book I'm sure the course I developed wouldn't have been half as good as it was. We now have a staff trained using the methods Mr. Jolles suggested and with great and measured success. Thanks Robert! You have no idea what a huge impact you have had on my career and my company's profit margin! The only problem with the book is the title. You should really change it to something that describes what it's actually about. Just get rid of the "How to Run Seminars and Workshops:" part.

I bought this book hoping to learn one new thing - I don't want 'tricks' or 'secrets' and I don't need to impress anyone - just facilitate seminars which are effective and enjoyable for the participants. I searched for an idea, process or new way of thinking that I could use, modify and apply in my own work. Sadly, it wasn't there for me. The style and content is not consistent with the title. The style is over-confident - the "know-it-all" style, characteristic of some American texts. The author presenting his opinions as fact. There's no doubt, no alternatives, just do it my way and it will be 'right'. Apart from this approach, some of the content is unhelpful at best. For example his comments (opinions) on how to prepare and use visuals in presentations reiterates the worst habits - more bullet points! As the title suggests the author is writing for people who already know something about this well-worn subject, I would have appreciated buying something more original, less emphatic and better written. I regret buying it.

The title could be misleading...don't be confused. This book is great for discussing skills needed by presenters. It is not a how-to book for designing or promoting seminars.

From Joe Catal, author of the book "Telesales Tips From The Trenches".
As a national sales trainer who teaches people how to sell by phone, this book is an incredible read. There's a huge difference in telling someone a sales technique and teaching that technique. The book covers every situataion you may encounter and answers it on a psychological and practical level. I consider myself a very good public speaker and my evaluations normally come back as excellent. After reading this book, I had to rate my seminar a C+. If you've been struggling with your training this book will be a Godsend for you. I'd like to personally thank the author for teaching me the right way to give a seminar. This is a must read, and I'd be shocked if you read this book and your seminar didn't improve 100%.

I highly recommend this book to ANYONE who teaches, especially anyone who teaches adults.

I wish I had read it before I was a Teaching Assitant (while a graduate student at a major university). TAs get very little help in learning to teach and yet do most of the teaching - EVERY TA should read this book.

It will feature prominently in my X-mas gifts!

After receiving this book I read it straight through in 2 days. Absolutely the best information for any trainer. Robert does a tremendous job of detailing just about everything a trainer needs to know. I highly recommend this book. I also purchased 2 other books at the same time - I probably won't even read those now. Get it - you WILL enjoy it!

The book covered soup to nuts: from concept to implementation of a training session. I've been in the business for 12 years and just last week pulled it out to review the information about those "characters" in class. OK, OK, I had a "sniper" in my group and needed a "shot" of help! I worked through it with no "blood-shed"! Thanks Rob!!!

If you're NOT a professional trainer and you have to present at a conference or facilitate a workshop, this book will get you started. If you are a professional trainer looking for new ideas and methods to improve your skills and stay current, keep looking!

I was disappointed in this book. I have been a corporate trainer in both the financial and healthcare technology fields for over 16 years and I found Mr. Jolles book on the topic to be rather stale and outdated. He does have a few basic, nuts-and-bolts tips that would be of value to a novice, but this is not a source for the professional trainer. Most of his book speaks to stand-up, classroom model training when a significant portion of adult, workplace learning is moving to both synchronous and asynchronous distance learning. He has very little to say about the use of technology in training and what he does have to say is really not helpful. One part I even found comical.... he advises that to focus a projector so that the top and bottom are evenly focused when projecting from a unit that is below the screen, you should tape the bottom of the screen to the wall behind it. The problem he is talking about is called "keystoning" and most projectors today have a keystone correction feature that allows you to adjust for rectangular distortion right on the projector itself. Keystone correction has been widely available on most projectors for years, so this is nothing new.

Developing the skill to conduct workshops and seminars requires a lot of time and effort, but it can lead to an exciting professional life and eventually pay huge dividends. Learning to gain an audience's rapt attention takes dedication and practice, but giving a seminar or workshop is a very effective way to sell your product, service or expertise. Robert L. Jolles offers tips for translating your special knowledge into a seminar or workshop presentation, from organizing your material to getting the right coaching to handling challenging characters from the audience. getAbstract recommends this useful guide; it's a quick course in Professional Skills 101.

Robert Jolles has written a very readable and practical book on the ins and outs, the do's and don'ts of running seminars. He knows of what he speaks, as he has substantial scar tissue as a trainer for Xerox and as a self-employed training consultant. He has directed numerous "train the trainer" courses. Jolles has wit and insight and can help you avoid some common mistakes.

Much of the book, particularly toward the end, deals with the unique setting of corporate trainers and those who train other trainers. Personally, I found this less useful. Those looking for business advice on how to run and market seminars may also be disappointed, since that is not a focus of Jolle's book.

Worth perhaps the price of the book alone is Jolle's advice on how to go about writing a book. One of his early central ideas is that becoming an author of the book is nearly essential for establishing credibility for running your own seminars, workshops, and some of our business. He offers practical and excellent tips that have worked for him in being able to write a book and establish solid credibility.

If you are involved in delivering training programs, either in-house in a corporate setting or as an individual entrepreneur, this book is essential reading!