Steve
Buttry, writing coach, Omaha World-Herald, compiled this handout
on how to train fellow journalists. (September 2003)
steve.buttry@owh.com, 402-444-1345,
www.poynter.org/profile/profile.asp?user=1795.
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Sharing
What You Know
How to train fellow journalists
Consider your purpose
Decide what your primary
purpose is. You may have multiple purposes, but you need to select a primary
purpose that will influence the content and manner of your presentation.
Some common purposes of training sessions:
- Skills.
If you are teaching practical skills, you need to make points clearly
orally and in writing and include exercises for participants to practice
the skills. You need to stress how and why someone would use the skills
you are teaching. You need to allow time for plenty of questions and
plan to address skepticism from participants who are comfortable with
the way they have been doing things.
- Knowledge.
If you are teaching knowledge, again you need to make points clearly
orally and in writing. Participants will not absorb everything you tell
them, so emphasize and repeat main points and involve participants in
discussion, games or exercises that underscore the main points. Written
materials are important, to help participants refresh and retain knowledge
after the workshop.
- Inspiration.
If you
are trying to motivate people to better performance, you must show the
energy and passion participants will need to reach higher levels. Written
materials may be helpful but are not as necessary. Though your presentation
will be mainly inspirational in tone, pay special attention to content.
After the excitement of your presentation fades, you want participants
to remember some useful advice.
- Fun. Training
can and should be fun. A fun or humorous presentation should be light
on content, but still should make an important point or two. Though
participants may not learn as much as they will in another kind of presentation,
a light-hearted presentation can make the key point or two more memorable.
Preparing
the workshop
- Set your objectives.
Decide what knowledge and/or skills you want people to learn from the
workshop. This is more than deciding a topic. Your topic, for instance,
might be story elements, but that isn't what you want participants to
learn. Perhaps you want participants to learn the story elements. That
would be knowledge you want to teach. Perhaps you want participants
to learn how to use story elements in news stories. That would be a
skill you want to teach. You might want to teach both, first the knowledge,
then a skill using the knowledge.
- Analyze your
material. Organize the material you want to teach, whether knowledge
or skills, by breaking it down. If you are developing a workshop on
interviewing skills, you might break it down into these categories:
preparation, rapport, questions, listening, taking notes and following
up. Develop a few points in each category. For instance, under rapport,
you might discuss the setting of the interview, honesty, making a personal
connection and sharing some control with the character.
- Prepare a tip
sheet. Develop a handout for the workshop, summarizing important
points of the knowledge and skills you want to cover. The tip sheet
will be a valuable addition to your presentation. In addition, preparing
the handout will help you organize your thoughts.
- Consider timing
of the handout. Decide whether you want to distribute the handout
at the beginning of the workshop. For instance, if you have an exercise
where people might be writing on the handout, they must have it early.
Or you might want participants taking notes in a workbook or following
along in the written material at a certain point. Or you may think that
the handout will be a distraction, with people reading ahead and stealing
your thunder on a particular point. In that case, you need to make sure
your notes have a reminder to pass out handouts toward the end of the
workshop. Or you enlist someone to pass them out at the end.
- Find supporting
materials. As you draw on books, articles, Web sites and material
you have heard in lectures, attribute appropriately where you are quoting
or paraphrasing other sources. Consider whether you should use (with
permission and credit) copies of an article as a supplemental handout.
Or maybe your handout should recommend further reading material or include
a list of Web pages where participants can find more information.
- Consider your
audience. The experience, knowledge and interests of your audience
will shape your presentation. For instance, you would plan differently
for a group of health reporters than you would for colleagues who cover
a variety of beats. And you would have yet another plan for a group
of student journalists or for an audience of non-journalists. Try to
learn in advance as much as you can about the audience so you can tailor
your presentation accordingly.
- Consider the
scope of your presentation. You have spent months studying this
topic. You can't cover everything in your brief presentation. So cut
your scope down to size. How much overview do you need to cover? Some
overview is necessary in most presentations, but a workshop that is
all overview usually isn't engaging. What points do you want to emphasize?
What points deserve the most detail?
- Prepare notes.
Make some notes to help you during the workshop. The notes won't necessarily
hit the same points as the handout. You might cover some points in the
handout that you won't cover in the workshop unless someone raises a
question on that topic. You might have some key workshop points that
aren't going to be as effective in writing. Your notes should remind
you of key points to cover and examples and exercises you will use.
Note at what times you will want to move on to particular points. If
your closing is especially important, note at what time you need to
go into the closing. Write large enough that you can read the notes
easily without picking them up. Keep the notes brief enough that they
remind you of your points at a glance.
- Plan examples
and illustrations. Think of anecdotes, newspaper stories, analogies
and other devices to help participants understand the points you are
making.
- Gather materials.
Make a list of what you will need to present the workshop. If you
are planning a demonstration, make sure you have everything you will
need. Bring along any stories you will use as illustrations and any
props or costuming you might use. If you are planning a PowerPoint or
Internet presentation, make sure the conference room will have the right
connections and equipment. Be sure to list any equipment you must bring.
- Consider setting.
Perhaps you will have some choice in the setting of your workshop.
Consider what setting would best help participants learn the skills
and information you will be covering. For some workshops, a classroom
or conference room setting is ideal. Or a computer lab might be better.
Or a field trip. Or some other setting. Whether you choose the setting
or not, learn what you can about the setting. What sort of audio/visual
equipment does it have? Will it have a flip chart or marker board? How
large is the room? How many participants? If you will have a large room
and/or a large group, will a microphone be available? If so, will a
clip-on or handheld wireless microphone be available? Will you have
to speak at a lectern with a fixed microphone? Be sure to visit the
setting before your presentation. Make sure that the equipment works
and that you know how to operate it. Test the acoustics. Decide where
you will place your notes and any props.
- Watch the time.
You or the organizers of your program will tell the participants how
long it will last. Don't run overtime or people will start walking out
before your powerful conclusion. If the room doesn't have a clock that
you can see easily, place a wristwatch or a small travel alarm clock
where you can read it easily. Don't use a watch on your wrist. That
makes it more obvious that you're checking the time. Time your closing
so that you know when you need to move into it.
- Rehearse.
Practice your workshop, at least the key points, especially the opening
and closing. Time your closing so you know how much time to leave. Anticipate
questions you might be asked and practice your answers. You cannot completely
rehearse the parts of your presentation that involve interaction with
the participants. But rehearse how you will introduce the interaction
and consider some likely responses from the participants and how you
would respond to them. If you spend much time driving, this might be
a good time to rehearse.
- Prepare yourself.
Get a good night's sleep before your presentation. Be sure to take any
regular medications you use, especially allergy medicines. Eat a good
dinner the night before and a good breakfast that morning. If it's an
afternoon presentation, make sure you eat at least a light lunch. However,
avoid anything that gives you gas or otherwise bothers you. Drink enough
water or non-alcoholic beverages at breakfast or lunch that your throat
will not feel dry, but don't drink so much that your bladder won't be
able to process it before your presentation. Go to the restroom before
your presentation. Place a glass of water nearby to sip when your mouth
gets dry. If you're really nervous, take some slow, deep breaths before
you start. Joke a little with someone before you go on, to break the
tension.
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Grab
their attention
Develop an opening
that grabs the group's attention immediately and focuses that attention
on the issue you will be addressing. Some things you may want to achieve
in the opening:
- Introduce yourself.
This may not be necessary if you are training colleagues who know
you or if someone introduces you to the group. However, even in those
cases, you might need some personal introduction that tells why you
are addressing this issue and how you know about it.
- Introduce your
material. Early in the workshop, you need to outline some main points
and tell participants what you will be discussing. This helps focus
the participants' thoughts. It also might head off questions or comments
that are off-point.
- Tease the participants.
You might grab the attention of the crowd with a tease, introducing
a point or anecdote that you won't explore fully until later in the
workshop. You might be able to use the tease to introduce your material
or yourself.
- Involve the
participants. Consider an opening that involves the participants
immediately. You might ask for a brief show of hands in answer to a
question. Or you might seek oral responses that list issues relating
to your topic. People may be hesitant to answer at first. If so, break
the ice with a little humor. If it's early in the morning, you might
wonder aloud whether their coffee has kicked in yet. You might facetiously
explain the concept of audience participation: "This is where you
talk. You answer my questions." Maybe after the awkward silence
you joke, "One at a time, we'll get to all of you." People
usually will participate with one simple prod. Or you can simply single
someone out and ask the question of an individual.
- Use some drama.
Perhaps an anecdote or a video or music clip or a brief oral reading
of a passage from a story will give you a dramatic opening that can
lead into or immediately follow the introductory material.
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Work
on a strong delivery
- Speak clearly.
If you are not used to public speaking, practice speaking in the setting
where you will make your presentation, with a trusted colleague at the
back of the room. Speak with and without a microphone. Learn how loud
you need to speak, whether you need a microphone and how close to the
microphone you should be. If you naturally speak softly, practice projecting
from your diaphragm. Consciously speak to the person on the back row
(and ask if she can hear you, especially if you don't have a microphone).
If you are inclined to speak fast, consciously slow down, especially
at key points. Put "slow down" or "speak up" reminders
in your notes, if necessary.
- Vary your voice
for effect. A monotone will invite viewers to actually nod off or
to let their minds wander. A compelling, engaged voice will hold attention.
Vary your volume, inflection and speed to emphasize points, change moods,
build to a crescendo or create a hush.
- Choose powerful
words. "Use positive, firm, assertive phrases and words whenever
possible. Do not seem uncertain or uncaring," advises Alan Weiss,
president of Summit Consulting Group. For instance, he says, instead
of uncertain phrases such as "I think we should …" or
"It might be a good idea to …" use "power speaking"
phrases such as "We should …" or "It is a good idea
to …"
- Maintain eye
contact. Make eye contact briefly and repeatedly with each member
of the group. Move your field of vision around so that no one person
feels that you are singling her out, but everyone in the group feels
as if you are addressing him personally.
- Move about comfortably.
Unless you have to speak from a stationary microphone, movement
can enhance your delivery and help keep your audience's attention. Don't
pace aimlessly. Move with purpose, to answer a person's question, to
shift your focus to a different part of the group, to highlight points
on a flip chart.
- Gesture with
purpose. Gestures can underscore points and help engage the audience.
They also can distract from or conflict with your message. If you pick
up an item for a reason (such as a marker, a prop or a bottle of water),
avoid fidgeting with it. Use it for its purpose, then put it down. Gesture
for emphasis, but avoid or minimize negative gestures. Pointing with
a jabbing finger may feel like emphasis to you and you may feel like
you're pointing generically into the air. But the person you're pointing
at may feel uncomfortable. Acknowledge questions or comments with inviting
gestures, rather than merely pointing.
- Keep your notes
handy. Don't hold onto your notes. Find a place to put them where
you can see them comfortably and refer to them easily without them becoming
a distraction. Frequently participants avoid the front row or front
table, so you might be able to place them on a chair or table intended
for participants if the room doesn't have a table or lectern in the
front for you to use.
- Be careful about
coarse language. You're talking to journalists. You hear and perhaps
use foul language casually in the newsroom. For an audience of journalists,
foul language in the right place might inject some humor or add some
emphasis. But it also might offend some listeners. Err on the side of
caution in using foul language (and don't use it at all if you aren't
comfortable with it). Never use offensive language referring to racial,
ethnic or gender differences or sexual orientation.
- Repeat important
points. "Repetition can be a powerful technique to build interest
because the audience is systematically reminded of a key point,"
Weiss advises. "It is best accomplished with a single, simple sentence
that the audience can easily remember." For instance, recall the
powerful repetition of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream"
speech.
- Smile. If
you are nervous, you may look grim as you make your presentation. Consciously
smile a few times. Perhaps you need to put a reminder in your notes
occasionally. Use some humor, so that you smile and they smile, helping
everyone relax.
- Avoid nervous
mannerisms. If you are aware of nervous mannerisms you might have,
be conscious to avoid them. Ask a trusted friend if you have any nervous
mannerisms you might not be aware of. Nerves frequently show when you
have something in your hand. Avoid holding anything (pens, paper clips,
markers, water bottle) beyond the moment that you are using it.
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Reinforce
points visually
Think of ways to make
your points visually as well as through your spoken words. You can do
this in several ways:
- Handouts.
As described above, develop a handout that will repeat the main points
of the workshop. Your handout might also provide some supporting material
beyond what you actually cover in the workshop. Or the handouts might
be some published stories that illustrate points of the workshop. Depending
on your material, your budget and the size of your audience, you could
put handout material on a CD. While they aren't as cheap as short paper
handouts, CD's are relatively cheap and they could hold long articles
as well as searchable databases and other kinds of material that would
be cumbersome, expensive or wouldn't work at all on paper handouts.
Keep in mind, though, that more people will read the printed handout
than will insert the CD into their computer and use the material there.
- Flip charts,
marker boards. You can write down main points on a flip chart or
marker board. When you write something down, that emphasizes it and
makes participants more likely to write it down themselves. Writing
can be distracting, though, and it turns you away from the group, breaking
eye contact and making you harder to hear. If you can, write the material
in advance. When you come to that point, you can turn the page to reveal
the material. Or if the points are already written on a marker board,
when you get to the point, you underline in a different color or place
a check mark in a different color next to the point. Generally, write
your text in black ink and highlight using other strong colors, such
as red or blue. Write legibly. If you cannot write legibly, don't use
these visual aids. You will write more legibly when you can write in
advance of the workshop. As you write more hurriedly during a workshop,
you might misspell a word. Note it with self-deprecating humor and move
on. Don't cross the word out and try again or turn the flip chart into
a scribbled mess.
- PowerPoint.
You can make the same written points and more on a PowerPoint presentation.
PowerPoint offers advantages: You can make all the material legible.
You can prepare it in advance so you don't distract the participants
by turning away from them to write. You can check your spelling. You
can use graphics and illustrations. You can highlight important material
effectively. PowerPoint also has disadvantages: Animation can become
gimmicky and distracting. You feel tied to the order of the presentation,
so if someone asks a question about something that's several slides
ahead, you may not be as flexible and responsive as you want to be.
(Actually, it's more effective usually to be flexible and responsive,
addressing the issue immediately without the slides, then moving quickly
through the slides when you get to them.) Wordy PowerPoint presentations
can be ineffective and hard to read. PowerPoint has been overused and
someone else's ineffective presentation hurts the impact of your effective
presentation. Consider breaking up the PowerPoint presentation with
some discussions and group exercises. Power Point also requires advance
preparation to make sure that the conference room will have an LCD projector
and a computer (unless you will be bringing your own).
- Props, costumes.
Consider whether a prop or a piece of clothing might help participants
remember a point. Even if they just add a bit of humor or interest to
your presentation they will make it more enjoyable and help engage the
participants more in the presentation.
- Graphics, illustrations.
Consider ways that graphics and other illustrations might help participants
understand material or remember points. Numbers are usually best presented
graphically, especially if you are using a PowerPoint presentation.
However, you can illustrate with drawings on a flip chart, poking a
little fun at yourself if you don't draw well.
- Video. A
video clip might help make a point. However, keep the clip short. Music
also might help you make a point. In both cases, be sure to prepare
so you have the necessary equipment available, with the volume set appropriately
for the room and the video or CD cued to the selection you want.
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Involve
participants
- Involve the
participants early. Audience involvement requires more than an invitation
to ask questions. Invite questions and you may get painful silence and
blank stares. Actively involve people early in the workshop and the
audience turns into participants. They will interrupt you with questions
and comments and turn a lecture into a discussion. After your opening,
or as part of your opening, involve the participants immediately in
a discussion.
- Introductions
can involve the participants. Early in the presentation, you can
involve the group by introductions of themselves or the material or
both. With a small group, you can ask people to give their name, where
they're from and one other piece of information. Try to relate the information
to the topic. For a workshop on writing enterprise stories, you might
ask participants to give their names and describe an enterprise story
they are working on or would like to work on.
- Respond to questions.
Unsolicited questions may interrupt your flow, but they are essential
participation that you must address. If the questioner raises an issue
you hadn't planned to cover and aren't prepared to address in detail,
you should address it at least briefly before returning to your planned
presentation. If the questioner raises an issue that you hadn't planned
to address but could address in detail, address it at a length that
seems appropriate to the group's interest. If only this one person seems
interested, keep your answer brief. If the group seems interested, discuss
the issue in as much detail as seems appropriate. You can adjust your
plans to whatever length seems to suit the group's interest and your
competence with the issue: answer briefly and return to your planned
presentation, answer at moderate depth and trim your planned presentation
or scrap the rest of your planned presentation and address the issue
on the group's minds. If someone raises an issue you had planned to
address later, you can do one of two things: change plans and address
it immediately or say you will be addressing it shortly. If you address
it shortly, note to the original questioner that you're now addressing
that issue.
- Restate, respond,
review. Weiss recommends this three-step process for addressing
questions:
- Restate
the question, not necessarily in the participant's exact words,
but in your understanding (condensing if the question was long).
After restating, ask if you understand the question correctly. This
restating process gives you a moment to think about your response.
It gives the questioner an opportunity to clarify or confirm the
question. If other participants did not hear the question well,
this helps them understand the context of your response. If you're
extracting a question from a long, convoluted statement, this helps
you confirm that you got to the heart of the matter.
- Respond.
Answer the question or respond to the comment.
- Review.
Ask the original questioner whether you have answered the question
or addressed the issue sufficiently. If she is not satisfied or
has further questions, try to address them. If the discussion starts
to drag and you sense that the group's interest is not as strong
as this individual's, invite the questioner to discuss the matter
with you further after your presentation.
- Keep feedback
positive. You must react to audience responses. If someone nails
it, thank him or applaud him or have some fun with the perfect response.
If someone gives a lame or off-target response, don't put the participant
down or dismiss the answer. You can ask why the participant would do
what she is suggesting. Perhaps with explanation the initial answer
might make sense. Or you can throw the question open to the other participants:
"Can someone think of another way we could address this?"
If someone else gives a stronger answer, you can discuss the merits
of this approach without dismissing the other one. However, if someone
is suggesting something unethical, dangerous or otherwise unacceptable,
you need to deal with it directly. Explain why that approach is unacceptable,
then ask the person who proposed it for another approach, so you still
end with positive feedback for this participant.
- You don't always
have to answer. Other participants or sometimes the questioner himself
might have better answers than you have. Sometimes you can bounce a
question right back at the participant and ask, "What would you
do?" or "What do you think?" and have a brief discussion
where you lead him to answer the question himself. Or you can try what
Weiss calls the "volleyball" technique and throw the question
open to the group: "Has anyone had some experience with this issue?"
These methods are especially effective when you don't know the answer
or want some time to think of your answer. And it's fine to admit you
don't know the answer. The audience will respect your candor. And if
you try to answer when you don't know, someone will recognize that you
are faking. The volleyball technique is effective even when you do have
a good answer. You can invite answers from the group and add your own
if someone else doesn't give a similar answer.
- Stop filibusters.
It's your program. If someone is trying to dominate or is going into
a long or off-point anecdote, gently but firmly interrupt and bring
the workshop back on topic. When the person pauses for breath, ask if
anyone else has some thoughts on this (if the person is on point but
just going on too long). Or if the person is off point, thank him for
his contribution and steer back toward the topic. If you see a glimmer
of a point in the monologue, you might say, "Let me help you summarize,"
then summarize and move on.
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Illustrate
with examples
- Use your own
experience. Find examples from stories you have written or research
you have done to illustrate the points you are making. You know these
experiences best and can address them in the most detail. Examples can
help participants understand how to use a particular technique. They
can help participants understand context. They can help participants
understand why to use a particular technique. They can help participants
see results. Personal examples help strengthen your credibility and
give participants greater understanding of the knowledge and authority
behind your presentation. However, use personal examples with care.
You don't want them to come off as boasting or as a string of war stories.
Tell success stories where they illustrate points, but tell them in
a manner that emphasizes what you learned from them, not what a great
journalist you are. Also tell some personal examples of lessons you
learned through mistakes. Use some self-deprecating humor.
- Cite others'
experience. Use examples from colleagues' experience, too. If a
colleague you know has told you a useful anecdote that illustrates a
point, name the colleague and tell the story. Or maybe you just saw
a story you liked and want to use that as an example.
- Use the group's
experience. Ask the participants if they have examples. Be sure
to ask about techniques used, or point out the technique, too. You want
other participants to see how the examples can help them.
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Exercises
help lessons stick
Doing helps people
learn better than hearing or reading. Develop some exercises to help people
practice at least part of what you are teaching.
- Involve the
audience with each other. You foster group discussion and group
learning by having people work in groups of two or more. For instance,
Miguel Morales, editor of the Campus Ledger at Johnson County Community
College, had his staff the first week of school pair up and interview
each other briefly about an interesting incident in the person's life.
Then each person had to write a headline about her partner and read
it to the group. The group would decide whether they wanted to read
that story. If so, the person had to tell the partner's story. If the
headline was not sufficiently enticing, the whole group would work on
a stronger headline. The exercise served as an ice breaker, while also
practicing interviewing skills and stressing the importance of headlines.
- Try role-playing.
Role playing can help participants practice various skills such as interviewing
and coaching. Limit role playing exercises to just a few minutes and
tell the group when it's time to switch roles. If you're doing a lengthy
training session with several exercises, move the group around so people
don't always get the same partners.
- Practice writing.
Lots of writing skills lend themselves to practice exercises, using
computers if the room is so equipped or using notebooks if that's what
the participants have. Again, limit the exercises to a few minutes.
Afterward, have some of the participants read part of what they have
written (you can do this in pairs or in the group at large) and discuss
what they've learned from the exercise.
- Competition
heightens interest. Break the group into teams for a game or competition.
Maybe you can devise some Jeopardy-style questions about the material
and keep score with two or three teams. Maybe you can have everyone
work on leads for a story, write them all on the screen and vote on
the best. Writing coach Jim Stasiowski has participants come up with
story ideas from what they see around the conference hotel and neighborhood.
If you're using competition, be sure to have multiple winners or at
least a winning team. And stress the content and competition of the
game more than the actual victory.
- Remember rewards.
A bag of candy or some silly gifts can add to the fun and heighten participation.
Newsroom trainer John Hatcher rewards everyone who speaks up at his
workshops with some candy from his "bag of bribes." Rewards
are essential if you're using competition. Stasiowski awards amusing
gifts to the people who come up with the best story ideas.
- Focus on the
future. You can heighten the value of your workshop if you focus
exercises on the immediate future. If possible, have an exercise or
discussion use a story the participants are working on, a personnel
challenge they are facing now, an upcoming assignment.
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These
Web pages offer tips on training exercises for journalists:
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Leave
them thinking
You want a strong
closing that emphasizes your main point or points. This isn't Loony Tunes.
Don't let your presentation peter out with a simple "That's all,
folks!" These approaches might wrap up your workshop effectively:
- Summarize.
If you don't have a clever or creative way to end your workshop, a summary
is effective. Review your main points briefly, reminding participants
of possible applications. If you choose another method to wrap up the
program, it's wise to lead into the conclusion with a summary.
- Watch the time.
Practice your closing so you know how much time to allow. Start the
closing in time that you will finish the workshop on schedule. Your
closing loses its impact if people start walking out during it.
- Deliver on your
tease. If you opened with a tease, the closing might be the place
to wrap up that story. Make sure, though, that the story relates to
a point of the workshop. And make sure that it's worth waiting for.
You don't want the tease to be an annoyance or a puzzle.
- Allow time for
questions. You should be inviting and answering questions throughout
the workshop. If you don't, or sometimes even if you do, you should
allow time for questions at the end. Consider which is the best way
to handle the questions: invite questions for a few minutes and then
go into your closing or close and then field questions. If you use the
second approach, just wrap up the questions by thanking the group. If
you have a strong closing, you want participants to leave with that
on their minds, so usually it's best to have the questions, then the
closing.
- Exercise.
An exercise or game using the knowledge or skills covered in the workshop
might be an effective closing, or an effective lead-in to a summary
closing.
- Use some drama.
As with the opening, an anecdote or a video or music clip or a brief
oral reading of a passage from a story can give you a dramatic end,
either before or after the summary.
- Challenge the
participants. Close with a challenge for your participants to put
their new or sharpened skills to use after the workshop. You can drive
the challenge home by making it a written exercise, either distributing
index cards or asking people to write in their notebooks or workbooks.
Ask them to consider how they will put the skill to work in the coming
week and write that down. Give them a minute or two to write, then encourage
them to carry out the plan and let you know how it goes.
- Thank the participants.
However you close, thank the group for their attention and participation.
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Following
up
You don't want your
lesson to fade as participants return to the distractions of the newsroom.
Try to help them take their new knowledge or skills back to the job. You
can continue the learning of the workshop by a variety of techniques:
- Invite feedback.
Give participants your phone number and e-mail address, so they can
consult with you as they try to apply their lessons.
- Send reminders.
Gather e-mail addresses of participants who want follow-up communication
(you can just pass a legal pad around the room). Send out a few follow-up
messages, reminding them of points in the workshop and asking them how
they are applying their news skills.
- Refer to resources.
On your handout and/or in your discussion, recommend Web sites, books,
articles and other resources that might help participants continue their
learning on the subject.
- Focus on the
future. As mentioned above, you should consider whether you can
help participants apply the lessons by focusing exercises or a final
challenge on the immediate challenges they face back in their newsrooms.
Acknowledgements
I have attributed exact words and specific concepts above to people from
whom I know I am borrowing them. Much of the material presented here reflects
lessons learned in my own experience in presenting more than 150 workshops
for journalists. However, I should note as well that many of these tips
I failed to attribute probably are not original with me. Though I am telling
them in my own words and adding my own experience, I learned much of the
advice shared here from colleagues in newsrooms and journalism training
organizations. I am especially indebted in my growth as a trainer to Chip
Scanlan, Roy Peter Clark and Karen Dunlap of the Poynter Institute; Alan
Weiss and Anne Miller, who led the American Press Institute's "Train
the Trainer" program; and the dozens of newsroom trainers who discuss
these issues regularly on the "Newscoach" listserv and at training
conferences, including Rosalie Stemer, Michael Roberts, Joe Grimm, John
Rains, Jack Hart, Dolf Els, Cindy Stiff, Tamara O'Shaughnessy, Miguel
Morales, Laurie Hertzel, Kate Parry, Michael Schwartz, Brant Houston,
Leisa Richardson, Debbie Wolfe, John Hatcher, Denise Williams, Kevin McGrath,
Joe Hight and Sue Burzynski. And I've learned from watching outstanding
presentations by some of these people and others, such as Don Fry, Eric
Nalder, Jacqui Banaszynski, Jim Stasiowski and Michael Quintanilla. Given
my middle-aged memory, I doubt this list is complete. I invite you to
add your name by sharing with me the techniques you develop in presenting
your own workshops.
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