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Paralegal Skills and Advice Centres > Practical Skills Useful for a Paralegal > Development Skills > Basic Guidelines for Running a Community Education Workshop
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Basic Guidelines for Running a Community Education Workshop

  • Everyone must understand the aim of the workshop
    Ask the question: ‘What are you trying to achieve with this workshop?’
  • Build on people’s own experience and understanding
    People want to have a better understanding of things that are a part of their lives, so sharing their own experiences must be part of what they learn. So, when you introduce a new idea, you must link it to things that people know about.
  • Formal inputs should be kept very short
    Formal inputs which are too long can become very boring. There are many interesting ways of passing on information to people – for example, role-plays, problem-solving exercises, debates, videos and demonstrations.
  • Everyone must understand the language used
    It is much better to talk to people in their home language. If this is not possible use plain language and translate if necessary.
  • Everyone must have a chance to talk and participate
    People learn better when they take part in the action. It is harder for people to participate in big groups. To keep people’s concentration, use methods that involve people, such as small group discussions and buzz groups.
  • Let participants give direction on follow-up work
    After the workshop you may need to do follow-up work or more workshops. All the people taking part should help you assess the workshop to decide whether there is a need for follow-up work or workshops, and how this should happen.