Guide in Conducting Architectural Seminars

The  Guide in Conducting Architectural Seminar was written for  Architects

 and even Architecture students and other aspirants to the Profession 

to be effective  medium in enhancing Professional Development.

OBJECTIVES:

Defining the words seminar, workshop, conference, symposium and summit

Identifying the stages involved in planning a seminar

Outlining the steps involved in planning and conducting seminars

The stages of a seminar

Identifying different seating arrangements

Outlining different presentation styles

Defining different visual aids

Defining evaluation levels

Definition:

Seminar, Workshop, Conference, Symposium & Summit

  

Choosing the right description for your event is critical because it communicates volumes about the type of experience your participants can expect.

Seminars

-are educational events that feature one or more subject matter. Here, expert delivers information primarily via lecture and discussion. There are also the so-called Free Seminars and Introductory or Preview Seminar

Workshops

- tend to be a smaller group and more direct participatory than seminars. This format often involves students practicing their new skills during the event under the instructor. These can also be a Training-Workshop where findings and reports is derived at the end of the Hands-On Workshops

Conferences  is often features keynote presentations delivered to all attendees, as well as multiple break-out sessions. Attendees often expect to receive information about industry trends and developments.

Symposium  is typically a more formal or academic gathering, featuring multiple experts delivering short presentations on a particular topic.

Summit  is a gathering of the highest level of leaders and experts.

When determining how to label your event, consider the type of presentation you want to deliver. Also consider what your competitors are doing.

 f your niche is already crowded with seminars, position your event as different by increasing the level of instructor-attendee interaction and making it a workshop

… or by involving other experts and offering multiple breakout sessions to transform it into a conference.

PROCESSES

There are a number of activities involved in preparing a seminar 

and these can be organized into three (3) stages:

Preparation

Implementation

Evaluation

PREPARATION

Determine the budget available to host event

Determine the theme / topic to be discussed at the Seminar

Contact and secure the relevant Presenters

Identify target group and number of participants required

Secure venue – (site visit of venue to ensure it is adequate)

Finalize event details – (breaks, resources needed)

Contact relevant Departments or target group to inform them of event – (time, date, venue, duration, information)

Follow up on 6 to ensure the information was received

Finalize list of persons attending

Source & prepare all resources needed by organizer & Presenter such as books, manuals, projectors, name tags.

Secure caterer to provide meals if not included in venue package

BUDGET

Funding is an integral part of any event, since the amount of funding available for the hosting of the event will determine a number of factors in planning the event.

Venue

Duration

Number of participants

Equipment – (Presentation Media)

Informational packets / Materials

Availability of refreshments

Expertise of Presenter

THEME / TOPIC

The seminar topic should address an issue / concern which has stimulated the interest of the business sector or the wider society.

The objectives in turn will determine the scope of the seminar and should deal specifically with those areas that are pertinent to the achievement of the seminar objectives.

                                    The Selection of the Topic naturally lead to Seminar Objective

SELECTION OF PRESENTER

The success of the seminar greatly depends upon the quality of the Presenters, therefore, you should choose speakers whom are appropriate for the topic chosen.

The Presenter should be informed of the seminar scope and its desired objectives in order to facilitate their preparation of the actual material they will be presenting. This will undoubtedly influence the equipment and visual media to be used in the presentation.

Ideally, the speaker should be someone at the top of their field or someone who possesses an in-depth knowledge of the particular area either academically or professionally.

Points to consider in choosing the Presenter

Expertise / strong research background

Ability to convey knowledge to a large audience

Unbiased and non-partisan (do not invite speakers that are aligned with a particular cause / group)

Honorarium

Travel expenses

Identify alternative speaker as a precaution

TARGET GROUP

What is the size and the composition of the group?

What are the ages, ethnicity, gender and teaching experience of the participants?

What is their level of interest?

What are their needs?

How to mitigate problems that might arise?

Personality types of group?

SECURE VENUE

The type of seminar being presented will influence the venue that is chosen. The facilities of the venue should be able to comfortably accommodate the participants while taking into consideration the needs of the Presenter and the budget.

Points to consider in selecting Venue

Cost

Capacity

Security

Computer accessibility

Lighting & Acoustics

Audio / visual requirements

Stage Set-up as to where to put the backdrop. Design of the Backdrop in case a Tarpaulin Print shall be used.

Verify the (SOP) Standard Operating Procedure) of the Venue. There may be some materials that will require clearances or advance signature from authorized personnel.

The stage backdrop is a sensitive issue, there are backdrops where pins are not permitted, only tapes.

There are also cases where an open forum is  done at the finally and the Microphone wire is short  and cannot reach the back.

FINALIZE DETAILS

Determine the length of the seminar, the mode(s) of deliverance, equipment needs of Presenter, handouts and other learning material for participants, breaks and refreshments, and deadlines for replying.

Secure a caterer to provide refreshments if not included in venue package.

CONTACT RELEVANT PARTICIPANTS

Deadline for response – necessary in the decision as to the no. of participants needed for the capacity of Venue Reservation.

Seminar overview / outline – many interested to join wants to see the Overview and the List of Presenters before they decide to join.

Requirements for eligibility – usually a FORM is required to be filled-in by the participants.

Number of participants required

FOLLOW UP

Liaising with Departments / participants to ensure that the information disseminated by the organizer was received. Ascertain the potential participants who are attending the seminar and remind them of start date.

PREPARE FINAL LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

The final list of those persons attending the seminar is prepared. All relevant persons are notified of the number of participants (Caterer, Presenter, and Facilitator).

RESOURCES

All resources required for the seminar is acquired or sourced at this stage. Here is the Checklist:

Tarpaulin Banners and Stage Backdrop

Projectors, Laptop

Flip charts

Software – Microsoft PowerPoint

Stationery – markers, pens, notepads

Handouts

Name tags

AFTERMATH RESOURCES:

The giving of Certificate of Attendance is part of the package. Most Seminars recently emails their PRINTABLE CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE several days after the Seminar.

The Design of the Certificate must be part of the preparation together with the Id’s and Handout with ready-to-fill in name portion only. This will avoid hustle during the Closing Ceremonies and will give more time for the organizers to check the validity of the Certificate base on attendance.

PAYMENT FOR VENUE, CATERING AND OTHERS

All bills should be paid before the commencement of the seminar to avoid any embarrassing situations from occurring.

The Local Purchase Order or other form of payment should be finalized and be ready for disbursement, unless there is a special arrangement for payment between the organizer and the recipient.

Verify if the balance is payable in check or in cash.

IMPLEMENTATION

This is the phase where the actual conducting of the seminar / workshop takes place.

For a bigger group of 200 and above, a dry run shall be done a day before.

Consider TEAM or CREW part of the organizer’s group. Who shall post on the Reception, Hallways to inquiries, roving crews, Secretariat emergency assistance, backstage crew and Program crew. These people are part of the organizers who shall be the eyes and ears for spontaneous event.

Arrive early at venue to ensure the following:

Furniture is arranged as desired.

Name tags of participants are laid out.

Participants’ informational packets are laid out.

Equipments required by Presenter are ready

Completion of Registration forms

Welcome address and introduction of Presenter

The selection of the t

The facilitator formally welcomes all participants to the seminar.

The facilitator gives a brief synopsis of the seminar.

Explanation of their role in the seminar.

Answers any queries the participants may have.

The seminar time schedule

Refreshment times and location of comfort rooms, etc

What they are expected to do

Planned activities that require their participation

Introduces the Presenter and gives an insight into his background.

Hands over the seminar to the Presenter.

SEMINAR proper

The Presenter should consider the following

Seating arrangements

Presentation style

Workshop methods

Visual Aids

SEATING ARRANGEMENTS

CIRCLE - Place chairs in a circle if interactive discussion of a fairly small group will be the primary activity of the meeting.

SEMICIRCLE -Semicircle provides all attendees good viewing and audience contact, and the Presenter has high audience density with great eye contact. Since center aisles are prime seating areas, the aisles are moved to the sides. All chairs face the Presenter. Ideal, if a projection device, chalkboard or flip chart will be used.

HERRINGBONE - Theater or classroom seating, positioned in angles or curves to face the stage. This setup is both unique and functional. Each member of the audience can look straight forward and have a good view of the stage. It's the next best thing to Semicircle.

THEATER - Straight rows of chairs facing the stage, without tables. It allows for the highest audience density and keeps them closest to the front to create increased audience responsiveness.

CLASSROOM

Rows of chairs, as in theater, placed at long, narrow tables.

The best tables measure 18" x 6’ or 8’. You lose some audience density and seating capacity, but gain comfort and writing ability for the attendees. For long seminars, this layout works best.

BANQUET / ROUNDS

A series of round tables set with 8-10 chairs. This is a good setup for meals and/or networking among the people at the table. It has the drawback of severely limiting seating capacity, spreading the audience too far from the stage, and forcing half the audience to crane their neck or rotate their chairs.

The selection of th

U-SHAPE

Rows of long, narrow tables shaped to form a "U". Best for interaction between attendees as in a meeting, but least effective if you want attention placed on the Presenter. The Presenter is always looking away from the majority of the attendees and has a space gap between all of them.

EVALUATION

An evaluation is an important part of any workshop for two reasons.

First, evaluations provide concrete feedback to the facilitator about how the workshop was received. This information should be considered in the planning of future workshops.

Second, evaluations require the participants to reflect upon the workshop, including the facilitation, content, processes, facilities, how they might use what they have learnt, etc.

An evaluation process which allows you as the facilitator to participate would continue the process of sharing and group activity which should have been established through the workshop.

 Level I: Opinions and Satisfaction

The most common means of evaluating workshops are attendance plus a measure of customer satisfaction, a questionnaire composed of rating scale items asking participants whether they got what they expected, what they learnt and whether they think it will be useful in the real setting. Qualitative methods, including focus groups or individual interviews, can provide the opportunity for participants to raise unanticipated issues.

Level II: Competence Measures

Quantitative measures of competence include measures of knowledge, skills and attitudes using instruments such as multiple choice exams. Qualitative measures include attitude assessing questionnaires and interviews.

Level III: Performance

In the health professions, performance might be measured by quantitative indices such as prescribing data and x-ray utilization or, qualitative indices, such as explorations of barriers to change and chart stimulated recall.

Level IV: Outcome Measures

Evaluation of the behaviour, that is, the target of the workshop, under conditions as similar as possible to those in the real setting. The actual impact of the learned behaviour in the real setting may be the gold standard, but it is difficult to measure because of the problems of isolating the impact of the workshop from all of the other variables that effect the real environment. Moreover, the workshop may be successful in the sense that participants learn the skills, but still they may not be transferred to the workplace because of adverse conditions there.

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