A workshop works when people leave able to do something they couldn't do before.
Information alone will always be insufficient, because you can know something without understanding it. Without understanding what you know, properly applying what you learn becomes very difficult.
That gap between knowing and applying is where a workshop either earns its place or wastes everyone's time. Foundations covers eight principles from learning science (the research on how people take in, keep, and use new skills) that close that gap, and shows you how to build each one into your workshop.
If you are a coach, consultant, or expert who runs client-based services where teaching is central to your work, then this series is for you.
Selling a workshop and teaching one are different skills
Being an expert in how to successfully market and sell your workshop is a great skill to have, but you can sell out every workshop and still fall short of delivering the value that matters most… The skill that leads to a desired outcome.
More often than not, the success of a workshop is judged by whether people left happy about what they “learned” - which is discovered through satisfaction surveys and testimonials. That judgement typically comes from the perceived value of the information they received. But if information alone doesn't change what people can do, those metrics are inadequate measures of actual value and success.
We operate from the premise that a workshop succeeds when each person leaves with a skill they can use from that moment forward, and that gets them the result they paid for. That is the standard Foundations is built on. It isn't how the room felt or how full their notebook got.
That is why a workshop should not be where you deliver information, but where you coach people through the skill so they can do it on their own.
But being an expert in your craft and being an expert in creating workshops that help people learn that expertise from you are two very different skills. The Foundations series establishes the core principles of how to pivot towards that second skill.
The eight principles, in three stages
Each principle closes part of the gap between knowing and doing. Together they follow the path new material takes on its way to becoming a skill. First it has to get into working memory, the small space where a person holds what they're thinking about right now. Then it has to stick in long-term memory. Finally, it has to last instead of fading.
Stage 1: Getting in. Value Proposition teaches you to open with your participant's problem, so they have a reason to pay attention. Cognitive Load explains how much people can take in at once, and what to cut.
Stage 2: Making it stick. Warm vs. Cold Information covers how to give people the key ideas before the session starts. The 80/20 Engagement Ratio lays out why participants should spend most of the session doing the work. Scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development walks through how to order ideas so each one supports the next. Dual Coding breaks down how to make what people see and what they hear work together.
Stage 3: Making it last. The Forgetting Curve in Workshops tracks how fast new learning fades. Spaced Repetition & Retrieval Practice gives you a schedule for bringing it back so it holds.
Two more pages frame the series. How People Actually Learn is the overview. It maps the whole path and helps you find the stage where your workshop is weakest. The series ends with From Learner-Centered to Transformation-Centered, which ties the eight principles to one question: what should each person be able to do differently at the end?
Where to start
Start with How People Actually Learn, then read the principles in order. If you already know where your workshop struggles, go straight to that principle. Each page works on its own.
Next series: The Workshop Doctor Roadmap walks you through putting these principles to work as you plan, design, develop, deliver, and evaluate a workshop.