Project Management Workshops: What factors significantly reduce their effectiveness?

Karthik -

1. Do the delivery methods align with the workshop objectives (e.g. death by PowerPoint)?
2. Did the facilitator take the time to understand individual learner objectives and try to incorporate that into their approach?
3. Did the learning environment help or hinder (e.g. too hot, too noisy)?

Kiron

The workshops should not be theoritical. People should be able to apply the learnings from the workshop.

When I presented a Decision Making workshop in PM Global Conference at LA, we got feedback from majority of the attendees that they will be able to apply what was covered,

Presentation driven, lack of engagement.

Hi,
1-No workshop planner with Topic,Detail,Learning Style/Activity,Time Materials .
2-No idea what you want your participants to learn .
3- no clear information about your audience -People have different learning styles – some find it easier to learn through discussion, group exercises or using pictures, whereas others prefer to be lectured at, or given information to read themselves.
4- No interaction between trainer & participants . Workshop should be more interactive. involve the participants actively in sessions.
5- No Live examples in sessions.

Workshops as its name implies is practice in the basement. People learn from doing. Theory is getting from doing. So, workshops implies high expertisse from the instructor from practical case creation to worshop management.

When workshops do not lead to follow-up actions / goals

There is a double edged sword in this one: If the people believe that there is not sufficient senior leadership engagement in the workshop, then the participants may not want to contribute to something they see as doomed to go nowhere. If on the other hand, senior leadership is involved, people may be unwilling to contribute with candor in front of their organizational leaders.