Unit D.1.2 Find & communicate with host organisations (3 phases)
Find & communicate with host organisations
Find and communicate with host organisations (3 phases)
Find and communicate with host organisations (3 phases)
Find and communicate with host organisations (3 phases)
The next part of your VE journey is promoting your workshop to different groups of people, each with their own specific objective. Here you will learn how to promote your workshop to a Host organisation who will help you organise it. Once you have found the Host organisation and made the necessary arrangements, you will learn how to promote your workshop to your target audience to increase attendance. Finally, after conducting your workshop, you will learn how to create a story for post-promotions. You can think of this part of your VE journey as bringing your workshop one-pager from an idea to reality.
The first part of the promotions phase is identifying and finding Host organisations to whom you could propose your workshop to. These are organisations who would find value in your proposal – who have a teaching need that would match your teaching skill, plus the necessary network and resources to mobilise it.
When we say “identify,” it could be through different sources. A quick win is to go back to your network exercise in Theme 1 of this chapter. When you were researching and looking for different profiles in social media and building your online network, did you encounter people, organisations, and new professional insights and ideas? Hopefully, yes.
Recall your workshop proposal one-pager.
What were your objectives? What teaching skill did you want to turn into a workshop? Recall the people and organisations that were professionally aligned to your objectives during your network activity.
Write them down 
.
For example, professionals and their organisations, groups and associations that were related to your work interest, or even shared connections that you found through LinkedIn and Twitter.
To further help you in promoting your workshop to Host organisations, we will outline three different phases that will help you easily find a matching Host organisation in the TeachSurfing platform and connect with them so you can start organising your workshop.
Phase 1: Search for Host organisations
Now that you have familiarized yourself with the TeachSurfong platform and created your profile in Chapter A, it’s time to find a Host organisation and pitch your workshop to them. In the first phase, we will guide you how to find a matching organisation.
Ask yourself the questions below and write your answers down in order to make sure you find the best matching Host:
Where do you wish to offer your workshop?
With TeachSurfing you can share your knowledge in your neighborhood and city or in your desired travel destination. You can even plan for a new travel destination based on matching TeachSurfing opportunities in that region or country.
With whom are you most motivated to share your knowledge?
As a TeachSurfer you might have your own motivation to share your knowledge with a specific target group, for instance youth, newcomers, academics, etc. When you are selecting a Host organisation, consider to picking who has the community with whom you are most motivated to share your knowledge.
Who is interested in learning from you?
It is not sufficient that you are motivated to share your knowledge with a specific Host organisation. It is also important that the community members of that Host organisation are interested and motivated to learn from you. For example, if you want to offer a workshop about “electronic engineering”, confirm with the Host organisation that their community is interested in learning about electronics.
The following video will show you how to do this by searching directly for an organisation, or finding organisations through the different filters below:
1. Search based on teaching need – under the ‘organizations’ tab, in the filter for teaching need, input your skill to find a matching organisation.
2. Search based on location – input your city, nearby city or future travel destination.
3. Search based on categories – use this filter for a more general search to give you more options.
You may also use all three filters together to narrow down your search.
Based on the tips we provide you, now its time to take action and search for matching Host orgaisations on teachsurfing.org platform:
1. Log in to TeachSurfing.org. On the top bar click on “Organisations” tab. Try searching for a particular Host organisation in the ‘Search Host organisations’ box, such as those from the previous list you created.
2. To find more Host organisations, start using the filtered search. Start by adding an input to ‘Teaching Need’ and/or ‘Location’ and/or choose a ‘Category’. Try doing different combinations until you find Host Organisations that match your teaching skill.
3. Once you find matching organisation, click on “follow” button. Follow 5-7 organisations. The organisations you “followed”, will appear in your profile in the left column under “following” section. You will come back to this list when you are ready to create your draft letter proposal.
Propose a new Host to TeachSurfing!
If you know an organisation who might be interested in hosting your workshop in your desired destination please inform us by writing to at evelp@teachsurfing.de. We will get in touch with them and invite them to become a Host organisation.
If you don’t find any Hosts, simply get in touch with the TeachSurfing team.
if you don’t find any matching Host organisation for any of your skills in our platform and you don’t know any potential new Host organisation, please contact us at (evelp@teachsurfing.de), and tell us your search criteria (the Teaching Needs you looked for and potential workshop destinations). We will use this information in order to prioritize recruitment of new Host organisations who can benefit from and match with your TeachSurfing workshop offer.
Phase 2: Contact the Host organisations
After all the preparation, you’re now ready to work on making the first contact with a Host organisation. Writing a letter can be daunting, but here we will outline the steps to make it as easy and seamless as possible.
Before you start writing a letter of proposal, review again your workshop one-pager from Chapter B, where you have your most important workshop elements. Read through it and keep in mind the following: you want to write in a concise and personal manner and your workshop one-pager will help you filter through the information that you should communicate.
To begin writing, start with your audience in mind. Think of your letter as a bridge that will create a dialogue between yourself and the Host organisation. First impressions are very important. The initial letter then must be personalised, even thoughtful. How do you do this? Through showing that you’ve done your research by shaping your message to align with the Host organisation’s work, community, and values.
Writing to Host organisations
Adjusting your messaging is crucial. For example, if a Host organisation’s teaching need is career development and your skill is in electronic engineering, you can instead offer to speak about your career path and inspiring projects you have done in your field. It all depends on your framing.
Lastly, writing in the Host organisation’s country language is preferred. However, if you are unable to do so, you may also write them in simple English. Even if you are a native English speaker, modify and simplify your English for non-natives.
Based on the Host organisation list you created, you will be writing around 5-7 letters. This may seem like a lot, but sending to as many as possible ensures that you get a higher response rate and timely, sufficient feedback.
To put this into practice, below are some samples that you can refer to for writing your draft.
Samples
TEMPLATE
Dear Mrs/Mr <last name of the Host organisation contact person>,
I am very inspired by your organisation, as it’s <some details you find interesting about the organisation>. I would like to offer a TeachSurfing workshop for your community on the topic of <topic>. The workshop title is <workshop title>. Please find a summary about my workshop included below. I am happy to adjust my workshop content based on your interests and preferences:
<workshop summary>
Additionally, I am experienced in <Skill A>, <Skill B> and I can offer workshops on these topics if this is preferred.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
<your name>
EXAMPLE
Dear Mr. Müller,
I am very inspired by your organisation, as I would love to get to know the student organisations in Serbia. I would like to offer a TeachSurfing workshop for your community on the topic of coding hardware. The workshop title is ‘Basic C coding on microcontroller MSP430’. Please find a summary about my workshop included below. I am happy to adjust my workshop content based on your interests and preferences:
“The goal of this workshop is to learn how to put C code on a Microcontroller. After a theoretical introduction to this specific Hardware, participants will write C code and program it on an MSP430 board guided by practical exercises and supervised by the TeachSurfer. ”
Additionally, I am experienced in IT project management, rock climbing and German language and I can offer workshops on these topics if this is preferred.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Kind regards,
Felix
Create the first draft of your letter using the information that you have from your workshop one-pager and the research that you did on the Host organisations: their background, teaching needs ,and community. Include the most relevant information that would add value to your workshop offering. For example, knowledge of local language, additional skills that can make the workshop more informative and your unique experiences in the field.
you can use your digital notebook , or write in a document file locally.
Now that you have created your draft letter, you may need to revise it 2-3 times depending on the need. It will greatly help to get feedback from your peers in the eVELP forum to help you improve. You can share your expereice, ask questions and also make recommendations to others to help their VE journey:
– Share your experience with finding Host organisations, and writing a draft letter in Host communication forum.
– If you have questions and feedback about TeachSurfing platform, create a topic at TeachSurfing platform forum
Once you have compiled a list of your Host organisations, you can start reaching out with your workshop one-pager. There are several ways to do this. First, you may contact Host organisations over the TeachSurfing platform. Additionally, you can directly contact them through social media by searching for organisation names, for instance through Twitter and LinkedIn.
Watch the video to learn how to do this in the Host organisation’s profile page.
On the TeachSurfing platform and based on your list, search for your chosen Host organisation’s page and click ‘Follow’. You can see this button just below the profile photo at the left-hand side. Also notice the ‘Contact’ button below the ‘Follow’ button, which we will come back to in the next task.
Phase 3: Finalize your workshop proposal one-pager with the selected Host
At this point, some of the Host organisations have come back to you and showed initial interest in hosting your workshop. If after one week the Hosts did not reply to you, consider that they might not have found time to reply due to other responsibilities in their organisation. Therefore we recommend you to send them a follow up message over the platform and kindly remind them to consider your proposal.
If a Host organisation confirms their initial interest in hosting your workshop, you should get an overview of the interests, needs, and the community of the organisation. This enables you to finalize your workshop one-pager considering their feedback and needs. We recommend you to set a personal or online meeting with the Host’s representative. This is an important step in order to build trust and a personal connection with the Host representative. In the beginning of your introduction meeting, have a short personal introduction round, tell the representative about your personal motivation, and clarify the expectations of both sides. The next step is to go through your workshop proposal and clarify the aspects of your workshop proposal. As the final step decide on the workshop language, location and number of participants together with the Host organisation. Bellow table explains these final 3 sections of the workshop proposal with examples:
Covered in Chapter A Unit 2.2
Write the title in a descriptive and attractive way. When deciding on the title, think from the audience’s point of view – what is their learning interest and why they should join your workshop? What is the unique knowledge and experience that you can share with them which they cannot find in books or on the internet?
One way to write a catchy but comprehensive title is to divide your title in two parts: the main title and a one-liner explaining more about the workshop. Some examples of catchy titles are:
– “Career development workshop – an atypical career path in the field of IT”
– “Syria through my eyes – introduction to Syrian culture and my journey from Syria to Germany”
– “How to create a website using WordPress in 10 steps – hands-on workshop”
Covered in Chapter A Unit 2.2
Write one paragraph about yourself answering the following questions:
1.What’s your name?
2.Give a short summary of your CV.
3.What is your cultural background and where are you from? – TeachSurfing workshops aim to bridge the cultural gaps through knowledge sharing. By offering a workshop you are not only sharing your knowledge but you become a representative of your culture and country. The participants not only learn new knowledge but get in direct contact with a person from a different culture and build openness for new cultures.
4.What experience makes you qualified to offer this workshop?
List your study or work experiences related to the workshop. For example, if you are offering a workshop about renewable energy, mention where you gained this knowledge, for example, your education or work experiences related to this field. If you teach meditation, explain what kind of meditation and for how long you have been practicing.
5.Finally, what is your motivation to share your knowledge?
Most TeachSurfers are passionate about a specific topic and they experience that certain communities do not have access to this kind of knowledge. This creates a strong motivation and desire to share their knowledge. Other people may have participated in a TeachSurfing workshop and became inspired to give back to the TeachSurfing community with their own knowledge.
Covered in Chapter A Unit 2.2
Your workshop summary shall include the building blocks listed below.
– Workshop objectives
New content:
– Theoretical section
Include a short section for theoretical knowledge in your workshop and focus mainly on sharing applied knowledge, such as practical real-life examples/projects and your unique story.
– Interactive section
Interactive activities and exercises will help participants to get engaged and learn by doing. Make sure to include an interactive part in your workshop. Some examples how to plan your workshop’s interactive section are listed below:
A) Include Q&A at the beginning, during and at the end of the workshop – your workshop can have a conversation format and before each session you can ask questions to engage the audience and after each session you can ask questions to get their feedback. In case your audience are new, diverse group who do not know each other and you have limited information about them, we recommend you to think about short activity that would help participants to know each other.
B) Plan exercise(s) in groups, pairs, or on an individual level for instance if your are teaching your language and culture, invite other native speakers to your workshop and make small groups where the participants can practice their learned sentences together with the native speakers. Or if you are teaching about a specific hardware, bring some samples of the hardware to the workshop and help the participants to start programming the hardware.
C) Take a case study from the participants to the stage – for example, if one of your workshop objectives is to support the participants in their job interview process, take one of the participants on the stage and run a live interview session with her. Afterwards, you can touch on some learning points and help the participants in general improve their interview skills.
Covered in Chapter A Unit 2.2 and Chapter B Unit 3.2
Who would you recommend to take part in your workshop?
Are there any age restrictions or previous knowledge required?
For example:
– Age 16+
– Participants should have basic knowledge in C programing including statements (if/else, while, for) and operators (==, <, !=, ++, &, |, ~).
Here you should think about the content of the workshop and the characteristics of the participants. You can write about characteristics of your target group in relation to their learning styles introduced to you in Unit B.1.1 Knowing yourself as a learner. You can look through the description of each style of the test you conducted at the end of Unit B.1.1.
For example: The workshop is suitable for all people who prefer practical tasks, who are confident to reflect, who are willing to gain new knowledge, who are keen to try out your ideas and so on.
Covered in Chapter B Unit 3.2.
What do participants need to bring to the workshop? What material does the Host need to provide?
Some examples are listed below:
i.Participants should bring drawing blocks, pencils, usb-stick
ii.Host organisation should provide projector
iii.Host organisation should provide computer
Covered in Chapter B Unit 3.2.
The agenda gives a quick snapshot of your workshop to the Host organisations. Your agenda should include:
Introduction
○ About yourself and your background
○ What makes you qualified to hold this workshop
Theoretical section
○ List the main topics covered in your workshop.
Interactive section
○ Present the interactive part of your workshop.
Covered in Chapter B Unit 3.2.
If you don’t know the exact workshop times, please put an approximate date and time when you would be available. If you already have an exact date and time, please add it.
An average workshop length is 120 minutes and from our experience, workshops with lecturing formats or lengthy theoretical parts tend to be shorter (e.g. cultural presentations) while workshops with hands-on and interactive formats (e.g. programing workshops) will take longer.
Some examples of how you can propose your workshop:
Example for when the date is to be decided:
Date to be determined, between 01.07.2023 to 10.08.2023. Workshop duration: 2-4 hours. Start time: 4:00 pm.
Example for when the date is fixed:
Fixed date 27.07.2023. Workshop duration: 2 hours. Starting time to be determined.
Example of when the date is flexible:
Available Wednesdays between 5-8 pm. Workshop duration is 3 hours.
We recommend you to plan your first TeachSurfing workshop to be completed in under 2 hours. Please consider that each additional workshop hour requires extra preparation time from your side.
Covered in Chapter D Unit 1.2.
Decide on the language of the workshop: The best case is to offer a workshop in a language which is native to you and the participants. However, this is often not possible for TeachSurfing workshops. Therefore it is necessary to identify the best suited common language for you to present and for the audience to learn. Many times this is English or the language of the organisation’s country. If you offer your workshop in a language that is native neither for you nor the workshop participants, you should consider the following:
For you: It’s natural to feel less comfortable with non-native languages while presenting. We recommend you to speak slower and reduce your content to have time for the slower presentation. This will make you feel more comfortable during the workshop.
For the participants: Check if the Host organisation can bring in a translator. To decide whether you need a translator for your workshop or not, please consider the following points:
–If you decide to have a translator, it is preferred to have a professional translator. The professional translator can translate quite accurately and in real time. This will ensure that the quality of your workshop is not compromised.
–Consider that the time of your workshop will be prolonged do to the translation time. For example if your workshop duration is 2 hours, when doing a workshop with a translator it would take 3 hours.
–If the first or second language of the participants is not English, consider including more visualization and simplified content in your presentation and design simple interactive exercises in your workshop.
Covered in Chapter D Unit 1.2.
Consider your workshop space requirement such as the number of participants, tables, chairs, boards, projector or computers when deciding on the workshop location.
Covered in Chapter D Unit 1.2.
Decide on and add the minimum and maximum number of participants that you would expect for your workshop
In addition to clarifying your workshop proposal (one-pager), clarify the below organisational formalities with the host organisation:
Time: Plan the time when you and the organisation’s representative will meet in the workshop location. We recommend that both parties be present in the workshop location one hour prior to the start time and make sure you have access to the space one hour before the workshop. This time is important for setting up the space, checking the technical requirements, as well as to getting comfortable with the space.
Role: Discuss the availability and the role of the Host representative during the workshop. In the beginning of the workshop the Host organisation is responsible for receiving the participants and for introducing you to the participants. During the workshop one representative should be present for support, if needed, as well as to organise the workshop break time. At the end of the workshop they are responsible in spreading and collecting feedback forms for the workshop evaluation. This feedback will be used to support you in improving your workshop as well as for TeachSurfing to measure our social impact and outcome
With the new information collected from the host organisation:
1. Adjust your workshop proposal based on their feedback
2. Add the final 3 sections “workshop language”, “location” and expected “number of participants” to your workshop proposal.
3. Send the adjusted workshop proposal to the Host representative and get confirmation that it’s fine with them.
