I’ve been doing a lot of speaking engagements lately and I love it! There’s something about being on stage and presenting in front of a large audience on topics that I’m really passionate about, helping them discover new possibilities for their crisis communications, and teaching them how to really protect their organization and turn scary negative situations into positive and rewarding PR opportunities, that really inspires and motivates me. Basically, a presentation is an opportunity to entertain and educate an audience that’s eager to learn (otherwise, why would they attend?).
And then there’s the workshop. A workshop is even more fun because you get the audience involved. Whether it’s an hour-long workshop, a four-hour workshop or a two-day workshop, the point is to present, educate and engage with the audience. To get them up off their seats and really learn what you’ve promised to teach them. It’s fun and it’s rewarding, for me as well as my attendees.
I recently gave a workshop at the CPRS National Summit in Banff, Alberta and I couldn’t have asked for a better audience! They challenged me, they laughed with me and as they became more and more comfortable with my “issue or crisis?” game, I got to really see them begin to truly understand what I was trying to teach: the oh-so-important-to-understand, yet somewhat abstract, issue vs. a crisis.
It’s amazing what you can accomplish in one short hour when you’re really dedicated and focused on your end-goal.
Although I could have gone through the same examples and messages in a presentation, I doubt that the audience would have retained the information as much. There’s a difference between practice and theory. Getting them to chime in and be brave enough to play along (I say brave because it takes courage to provide an answer that may not be entirely correct in front of strangers), ask their questions and challenge my answers was how I got the benefit of knowing that they left my session with more knowledge and understanding on issues management then they had when they arrived.
This is the value of a true workshop. To not just present, but to engage and really provide valuable knowledge to an audience that came to learn.
Here’s a sample of the issues management workshop I gave at CPRS. We had a blast!
Workshop: Effective Issues Management in this Digital Age
Attendees learn how to identify issues in the early stages, assess the risk that they present to the organization, prevent them from escalating into crises and, most importantly, transform them into powerful PR opportunities for the organization. Learn more here.
Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, Melissa Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted keynote speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today’s leading organizations faced with the greatest risks. Learn more about Melissa and her work here.
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