Advice for holding my own Workshop

[louisa]

Hi,
I am a budding aromatherapist currently selling essential oils ( for the past 5 years) and have been self studying for 15 years and under professional study for the last few months. (I am in the u.s. by the way, where there is no "formal" certification). But I do feel qualified to hold a workshop on aromatherapy and think it would boost my business somewhat and be fun too.

The problem is I am very shy, but for some reason i feel driven to do these classes and workshops. I was thinking of having an "introduction to aromatherapy" workshop sometime within the next couple of months, renting an inexpensive space and advertising with a few flyers. Even if I only get 3 students, I would be very happy as I am just testing the waters right now and know that there may be mistakes (as far as fear of speaking) along the way.

My question is: what do you think would be good to talk about in an introductory aromatherapy workshop? How do you think I could make it interesting? I am not a great speaker. I am not good in groups at all. But I feel good about aromatherapy and would like to share it, even if just showing people how to make blends and certain products.

If you were a novice, or even a seasoned aromatherapist, and see a flyer for "introduction to aromatherapy" what would make you want to come? What would you want to learn?

I invision the students smelling the oils and me telling them about each one, and possibly maybe at the end of class making bath salts or something using what they learned. But I am not sure.

Any ideas? Anyone ever done this?

Daphne

 

[D.Russell]

Oh...another question just popped in my head...
What would you charge for something like this?

I was thinking just a small fee like $5 or $10 since I am new. And in case I end up being boring they won't feel like they have wasted their money!!

and then maybe once I get comfortable charging a little more and offering more.

 

[Mr. Jestin]

Hi shpgrl
That sounds like a fantastic idea and the fact that you are enthusiastic and passionate about aromatherapy is a great start.

It does seem a daunting task at the moment but I think you're asking all the right questions. Remember, even the most seasonedperformers suffer from nerves!

I would advise that you attend a workshop (almost any workshop) and really look at the structure, delivery, what you liked/ didn't like, howwould you make it better,where wasit is advertised and what the average charges are in your area. The best way to run a workshop is find out what is going on in your local communityand tap into it.

Where would you run the course? For examplea local holistic centre (if you have one) orhealth centre will often hire space out for a nominal charge - that is also a good place to advertise.

Start with yourself, what is effective for you, how do you like to learn.Put yourself in your listener's shoes. If you're not happy about delivering the course to the group then maybe ask a friend to help facilitate?

I hope this helps althoughI'm not sure I've answered any of your questions directly.

Good luck - it sounds great and if I wasn't in the UK I'd come along myself!

 

[ColAshieaa]

A year or so ago I did a mini workshop/introduction to aromatherapy. I felt that when dealing with adults especially in an informal environment a hands on approach is best. For those attending they will not want to be bombarded with information or talked to for long periods of time. Group discussions work really well and also take the eyes off you as a teacher. I chose to use a discovery approach to teaching/learning which means that I allowed students to use their own intuition, experiences, thoughts etc to understand the uses and properties of essential oils - this was done with blind tests. This worked brilliantly and the students were surprised at how much they knew by applying their own knowledge. When we collected our thoughts, I guided students to help them make a clearer understanding of the outcomes. Don't forget handouts are a great way for students to collect info without having to take down everything you say. Especially for topics that are important ie. contraindication & health and safety. Obviously there comes a time when you have to make sure they are learning what you want them to or you may have to teach them methods and techniques, but once you are all relaxed this will become much easier.

Most adults will respond well if you have a passion for what you are teaching and it sounds like you do. Every teacher has their own style, choose something that you are comfortable with. If you don't like standing at the front of a classroom you don't have to, you could sit in a circle on the floor instead. Don't worry so much, plan what your are going to do and I'm sure you will have great fun.

Good Luck!

 

[redmaghefour]

Thanks welshbee and angelfish!

angelfish,
you say "blind test". How did you do this? Do you just pass around the oils and let them smell them and write down their thoughts? do they share these thoughts with the group? do you then tell them what the benefits, etc. REALLY are? Just curious about how this is done.

welshbee,
I wish i could attend a workshop somewhere close. But they are not as popular here in the U.S. South as maybe in the U.K. The few I have found are in the northeastern u.s. or far west in California. Maybe I will do a search to see what I come up with. I plan to attenda workshopof my teacher but that is a few months away. I am taking her home study course and we are required to attend at least 2 sessions in person.

Do you know of anyone that has audio tapes of workshops for sale. Like from a conference or something?

D.

 

[rposzich]

I was also thinking logistics as far as passing around oils. Maybe I am overthinking things. I thought about passing around the oils. But then I thought maybe putting a drop of the oil on scent strips instead of passing around a bottle of oil, that way each would have their own scent strip to smell. and write name on.

I also thought about what if someone when describing an oil simply thought it smelled icky!! That's it..... "icky". That when writing down info and thoughts on the oil they couldn't get pass the fact that they might not like a smell! I guess i am thinking worst case scenarios!Is itall about finding your favorite smells, because one school of thought says we gravitate toward those oils that will help us the most. Then another says that the oils that we hate indicates some type of deep-seated emotion that needs to be addressed/released. Maybe this should be another topic though..mmm?

D.

 

[lady rose]

Hi Shpgrl

The blind test I did was with 8 people, but I have seen it done with larger groups. As my group was small they all passed the bottle around (this can have problems if they touch the tip of the bottle to their noses re. bacteria) so on a smelling strip may work better for you. The bottles were simply numbered so there was no identifier for them.

I wouldn't be too worried about people not giving enough thoughts on the oils. You will most likely find that as everyone is interested in aromatherapy they will be happy to think about things a little harder. You are also there to direct them, so you can say things like, do you think it is masculine/feminine? Does it smell medicinal/floral etc. Is it warm/cold etc? You will most likely have a plan of what you want them to learn but keep things in layman terms, so keep this in mind when tailoring your questions, they will soon catch on. For me these techniques worked really well, because as enthusiasts rather than practitioners your group will want to feel they are more confident and they are using their own powers of deduction for their selection rather than just picking up a book. It's amazing how much of aromatherapy is intuition.

Also on the "icky" thoughts, ask why. It may also help them decipher the uses. I also agree with you that people can gravitate to oil that will help us most, afterall I don't feel that there will be any benefit if an oil makes you gag or brings back bad memories, it just isn't creating a healthy environment.

If you are interested I may have some notes from my workshop, let me know.

 

[fzesguaeishisneys]

angelfish,
if you don't mind...i would love to see the information you have outlined. at this point, i need the inspiration. anything that will jumpstart my creativity...i really appreciate you offering...

i love your approach and i do think it will help...

d.

 

[Hal Atosis]

shpgrl, I've sent you a PM.