Efficient scheduling for your seminars

This is where the unpredictability of the active participants comes into play, who can - and should - influence the schedule with questions, exercises and reflections! The good news is that there are methods to overcome this challenge. Today, I present four of my most important scheduling tips.

Tip 1: Plan in detail

If you are unsure how much time you need for different parts of your seminar, I advise you to break it down into smaller sections. This way you can give a more accurate time estimate for each section and make sure you don't run out of time, especially for the smaller transitions that are often underestimated. These are, for example, moments when working groups are formed.

Tip 2: Develop a good sense of time

Take your seminar script with your time estimates and use it to refine your sense of the time required. Over time and with enough practice, you will find that your estimates will become more accurate and you will develop a better sense of the time dynamics of your courses.

Tip 3: Flexibility through different versions

No matter how well you plan, there are always unpredictable moments. Perhaps there is a discussion that lasts longer than planned, or an activity that is surprisingly short. In such cases, it is helpful to have both shorter and longer versions of your seminar content ready. I think about a short version and a long version for a few parts of the seminar beforehand. Depending on the situation, I then choose one of the variants. This is the most useful time planning tip for me. This is because I can easily find short and long versions in advance. In a seminar, in front of 18 pairs of eyes, under time pressure, it becomes much more difficult.
Try it out. Choose any method from my collection of methods. Think about it: What could a short version look like? And what would the long version be like?

Tip 4: Effective time planning in seminars: Use the schedule for orientation!

Before I share this profound tip from my home region of Swabia with you, let's pause for a moment and talk about a key tool in seminar planning: the schedule. As soon as your seminar content has been determined, you have a clear idea of how your event will run. That alone is valuable. But it is just as important to inform your participants about the rough milestones of the seminar. A well-structured overview can significantly support the learning process. With a schedule, you provide a roadmap that shows the key steps, estimated time frames and planned breaks.
I have found that displaying the schedule on a flipchart is particularly effective. Having a constantly visible plan helps to keep participants' attention throughout the seminar. It reduces the likelihood of them wondering, "When is there a break?" or "How much longer is this section?" It is our responsibility as trainers to keep participants focused on the course content. A clearly visible schedule helps with this.
Of course, there are times when reality doesn't exactly match the plan. Imagine you realize at 14:00 that the rest of the content cannot be covered in the remaining time. It would not be a good solution to secretly hide the schedule or hastily skim over the content. Instead, be creative: use the "Swabian savings plan" in advance.

Special tip: The Swabian savings plan