The Four Workshop Personas
Whenever I'm working with a new client, or their marketing and community management team, on conceiving a new event, one of the questions I always ask is "What do you want YOUR role to be during this event."
Because most of my 1:1 service clients are big tech companies or run large communities of over 1,000 paying members, they are usually so focused on their guests' experience that they hardly ever think about what THEY, the host team or leader, will be doing at the event.
Of course, it's different if you're a BIG brand vs. a small team of a few people.
It's different if you're a solo business owner and the "face" your own brand vs. a service agency who has a bigger team, but no singular person who is the face.
But no matter your business size, these roles are crucial to help your attendees get the best experience they possibly can get at your event. Strategically placing your people in the right roles can help convert customers and create immediate ROI for your event.
Below are the FOUR personality types for any event host, and also my recommendations about who should play these roles, depending on your company and your team's size.
Please note, not ALL of these roles always need to be played -- it depends on the event. However, if you have a big enough team (or for my small business owners of 1, if you ARE a big enough personality, you can role a few of these roles into one, as long as you have on-site support)
The Host
The Host is the person who is excellent at making your attendees feel like a rockstar the moment they walk into the door.
They say things like "Jane Doe! So glad you're here! We've been waiting for you!" and Jane is utterly perplexed at how The Host knew her name.
It's a challenge to go to an in-person event for many reasons -- if they are going alone, without a co-founder, they may feel nervous to connect with strangers (a lot of founders are used to execution and struggle with relationship building).
There are two moments where you want to blow attendees out of the water, and the first is the minute they walk through the door for the event (which is why I'm such an advocate for an incredibly seamless check in process).
When we work on staffing for the event, I always recommend that some check in team from your company AND The Host are at the registration desk. The Host's job is to make people feel like rockstars and to welcome them in a way that is on brand with your company, and the team's job is to be the first line of receiving your guests and should possess knowledge about your company in case guests have questions.
So while The Host doesn't always have to be the CEO or the CFO or even a part of the company, they should be an active member who can easily build relationships, have great EQ, and be ready to make the welcome experience of attendees the best.
Other roles The Host could also play: Emcee, Introduction of workshop presenters
Who is The Host if you have a marketing or community team: The Host is likely your community manager or someone who works in partnerships. Ideally, if your organization has BOTH of those roles, then both of those people can greet attendees the door -- the partnership manager can welcome partners and event sponsors while the community manager can help greet attendees.
Who is The Host if you're a solo business: This role should be YOU so that you can get familiar with people who are likely future clients the minute they walk in. If you're also teaching a workshop and it gives you anxiety to be present before you speak, your Host can be a community member who possesses Host-like skills who'd be willing to greet guests at the door. The Host CAN be the same is the registration check in person, however because this role requires someone who is extroverted and can make
The Educator
The Educator is the lead content teacher at a workshop and someone who knows your product or service process inside and out. The Educator's goal is to not only teach incredible content at your workshop, but to be able to connect with an audience to tell personal story, team story, or your company's "purpose" story to help garner attention and, more importantly, lead your attendees toward the BIG GOAL of your event (sometimes a new product launch, a product reveal, etc.)
The Educator should also deeply understand the event's purpose -- why are the attendees in the room BEYOND just so that you can teach them something. What is the next step for your attendees in their customer journey? What is the purpose of this event and how does it move prospects to customers and customers to evangelists?
Other roles The Educator could also play: Usually, the Educator is the lead content designer of the workshop, so their main goal should be understanding the content being taught AND managing the agenda. This is a pretty focused role.
Who is The Educator if you have a marketing or community team: The educator should be either your lead client engagement manager or your lead product developer -- or both, depending on how long your workshop is and how many sessions you have. The important part of The Educator's role is being able to clearly teach your audience at a variety of levels, while also bringing in humor and storying telling to what is being taught. Your Educator should engage with the audience and answer questions in a way that is entertaining and educational.
Who is The Educator if you're a solo business: This one is a no brainer -- it's you
The Facilitator
The Facilitator is a role that doesn't have to show up at every workshop, but if you can build it in (particularly if your workshop is 2+ hours) than your attendees will get faster, better results.
If The Educator is the person who shows your attendees the way with their excellent content, The Facilitator is the person who helps attendees get out of their own way by helping them push through mental blocks. The Facilitator is a coach who helps ask hard questions -- "What currently isn't working? How could you modify this process to get your own results?"
Education and teaching a process is one thing, but having The Facilitator help attendees 1:1 with specific challenges can add a level of humanity that a straight workshop that is content-based won't do.
Who is The Facilitator if you have a team: These could be your business development or sales leads or client managers...anyone on your team who is responsible not only for helping people solve their problems, but who can document closely the words and the phrases that clients use when they are having a problem implementing what they learned. Facilitators should be able to gently guide attendees to the answer but, as a member of your team, should also be able to think critically about where people are getting stuck in your process and be able to report back to your product team.
Who is The Facilitator if you're a solo business: I've had clients use community members as The Facilitator in small groups, and have pre-written questions for these Facilitators to use to guide discussion. In this environment, this can also help build community in a way that most workshops don't do by creating agency from your participants and asking them to lead AND get to know other attendees.
The Planner
The Planner is the role that some workshop host want to play, but is actually the only role that they shouldn't play. The Planner is the person who maintains the time checks, who makes sure all of the ancillary pieces of the event are running smoothly like catering and audio visual and the registration process and they also make sure that any attendees who are late are escorted to a seat and feel welcomed.
Usually, The Planner is a very logistics focused person, and should not be focused on a ton of content work.
Who is The Planner if you have a team: This could either be an independent team (helpful if your marketing team is already focused on serving clients) or someone on your team who is logistically and detail oriented.
Who is The Planner if you're a solo business: A volunteer, a friend, or someone in your community who can help take the "Day Of" responsibilities off your plate. The Planner role is the ONLY role you absolutely should not play, so it is important to hire or ask for a friend who has the ability to run an event for you so that you can focus on your attendees and teaching.