Session Design:

This is a full day equivalent course, offered virtually with these components: half day virtual learning session, pre-course and post-course work. 

Are you designing sessions that keep energy and engagement high, or do you notice attention fading? How effectively are you creating experiences that truly connect with participants and leave a lasting impact? Does your meeting or training session have a clear direction and purpose, or do participants leave wondering why they were there?

Unfocused sessions don’t just waste time; they make engagement difficult and reduce the impact of important information. Without clear objectives and structure, participants quickly lose interest and struggle to stay on track, often leaving without gaining real value. When organizations overlook the importance of effective session design, they risk lower engagement, weaker learning outcomes, and missed opportunities for collaboration.

This interactive workshop will help you design practical and engaging sessions. You’ll learn to set clear goals, structure content for better flow, and incorporate interactive techniques to keep participants focused. 

With a mix of group discussions, hands-on activities, and expert feedback, you’ll practice designing sessions that align with business goals and create meaningful experiences.

By the end of this workshop, you’ll have the skills and confidence to design well-structured, engaging sessions that keep participants interested and involved. Whether you’re leading team meetings, corporate training, or public presentations, you’ll be able to create sessions that hold attention and leave a lasting impression.

Learning Objectives

• Define clear objectives and outcomes to align sessions with session goals and business priorities.
• Analyze audience demographics, expectations, and preferences to tailor content and delivery.
• Apply adult learning principles to design sessions that support participation and retention.
• Use a five-step model to structure sessions logically and ensure smooth content delivery.
• Select activities and visual aids that reinforce key messages and maintain attention.
• Manage time effectively while staying flexible to audience responses and engagement levels.
• Implement strategies that ensure key messages resonate and participants can apply insights effectively in any group setting.
• Use interactive activities and visual aids to reinforce key messages and maintain attention.
• Develop an evaluation plan to measure the session’s success. 

Who Should Attend

This workshop is for anyone who leads meetings, delivers training, or facilitates group sessions and wants to design clear and engaging experiences. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to improve your approach, you’ll come away with practical tools to strengthen your sessions and keep people involved.

You should attend if you:

• Struggle to keep participants engaged or notice attention fading during your sessions
• Want a clearer process for setting session goals and structuring your content
• Are unsure how to choose interactive techniques that support learning and involvement
• Need to tailor sessions to different audiences while still achieving key objectives
• Want to create training or meeting sessions that are memorable, purposeful, and aligned with business outcomes
• Work in roles such as learning and development, HR, leadership, facilitation, or communications

By attending this workshop, you’ll have the skills and confidence to design sessions that hold attention and deliver value, whether you’re running a short meeting or a full-day training session. These skills improve the participant experience and lead to more productive sessions and stronger outcomes for your organization. 

Workshop Format

This workshop provides a structured space to design a learning or meeting session from the ground up. You’ll use planning templates, checklists, and group discussions to map out your session goals, content flow, and engagement strategies. Activities include hands-on planning, instructor feedback, and guided reflection to help you shape your session for clarity, flow, and relevance. You’ll work with your own content ideas so you can apply everything directly to your work.

You’ll also receive a workbook with planning tools, design prompts, and structure examples to support future session development.

Workshop Activities Include:

• Mapping session goals and aligning them with audience needs
• Outlining session flow using a template
• Selecting techniques to support participation and engagement
• Reflecting on what makes a session effective and memorable
• Assessing session designs using case scenarios to evaluate effectiveness and explore improvements
• Creating a personal action plan
• Completing a proof-of-learning assignment

Facilitator

Susan Portelance

Instructional Designer, Eclectic Communications

Susan is an instructor, instructional designer and writing coach for Eclectic Communications. After many years in the corporate world, Susan has turned her love of language into a career as a writer, editor and trainer. As an editor, Susan works with her clients to craft effective communications – from newsletters and blogs to eBooks and proposals. Susan brings to the classroom over 20 years of training experience and four years of Toastmasters participation where she has honed her public speaking and leadership skills. Susan has completed training in adult education, presentation skills and coaching skills. She is certified to deliver presentations, workshops and one-on-one sessions using the EQ-i 2.0 Emotional Intelligence instrument. Susan is also a Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP).

Fees

• QNET Members: $419.00 + GST  | QNET member list
• Event Partners (see list below): $419.00 + GST
• Non-Members: $489.00 + GST  | Join QNET

Please review event Terms & Conditions

Cancellations (by the attendee) must be received in writing no later than 8 days prior to the course start. 

Partners

Members of the following organizations receive the partner rate for this event.

• CPHR Manitoba

Funding provided by The Manitoba government.

Course Credits

• An optional course (7 credit hours) in the 70 credit hour QNET Certificate in Management Development (CMD)
• This program has been approved for 8 CPHR Continuing Professional Development Hours by CPHR Manitoba
• Eligible for credit in the CAM:OE (Certificate in Applied Management: Organizational Effectiveness) in partnership with the University of Manitoba, Continuing Education

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