What have Trainers’ skills and writing children’s picture books got in common?

I recently attended a Writers and Artists event at Bloomsbury Publishing in London.  During the ‘How to Write for Children & Young Adult Conference,’ Smriti Prasadam-Halls, author of ‘Don’t call me sweet’ & ‘I love you night and day’ walked us through some of the basics of creating a successful picture book story.  As I listened, it struck me...

 how this mirrored many of the elements of designing and facilitating a good training session. I thought I’d share some of the comparisons:

​The flow: There’s a pattern to most stories: Introduction to character, introduction to situations, potential issues, crisis and then resolution.  (In a training session ‘introduction to character’ does not necessarily mean a boring, ‘this is me, here is the fire escape routine, but more about the character of the session.)

The story: Have something interesting to say! Create key phrases that can be easily remembered and repeated. (What are people going to remember about your session?)

Formatting: You only have a certain amount of space to convey your story. Use it wisely!

Dual audience:  The audience you read to is only half your audience.  Parents, or in this case business stakeholders, have a vital role in the telling of the story too! If they don’t like or understand the story, it won’t get read.

The voice: Whose voice needs to be heard – yours, the listener or the characters?

One sentence pitch:  Can you sum up your story in just one sentence?  If not, it may be too complicated or you don’t understand or believe in it yourself!

Editing: Even when you think you’re done – edit and edit again.  Cut out the fillers, focus on the key points.
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Creating enticing visuals:  Although you might think a snazzy book cover is one of the biggest selling points, it's usually one of the last things to be created!  The most splendid imagery still won’t cover up a poor story!
 
As a side note, Smriti held this two-hour workshop for approx. 30 budding authors with no PowerPoint slides or flipcharts, just some props (her books) and some simple, yet effective, handouts for exercises.  What made this a great success, in my eyes, is that she was passionate about her topic, and walked us through each step of the session just like a story unfolding.