How to conduct a master class – A master class is a great opportunity to share your expert knowledge and skills and better know your clients or subscribers. In this note, we will talk about how to conduct a master class and consider the stages of its preparation.

What is a master class?

A master class (MC) is an interactive form of learning and experience exchange. MC is one of the most effective ways to transfer your skills to those who want to master them quickly.

Unlike other learning formats, visualization is important in master classes, and practical skills must support information.

Such classes are conducted by professionals who are deeply immersed in a particular area and are experts in it. The specialist demonstrates his experience. He helped the participants of the master class to quickly master the skills related to the subject of this lesson.

Since practical actions support all theoretical information, it is well remembered and easily assimilated.

The specificity of the MC lies in the close contact of the expert, acting as a leader, and the participants. In the possibility of personal communication with everyone who came to the training. Therefore, in an offline format, master classes are usually held in small groups (up to 15 people).

To make the classes special, the facilitator must have a personal concept of work. The master must have his own techniques, different from those of other experts.

Organization of master classes

To make a useful master class, you need to pay enough attention to its preparation. At this stage, you should:

• Select the topic of MC and designate the idea through which this topic will be revealed. To do this, you need to define in detail the main goal of the master class and then divide it into several specific tasks that need to be conveyed to the participants.
• The next step is to determine the target audience, taking into account age, profession, and interests, as well as the level of awareness of the subject of the master class. The more accurate portrait of the target audience you make, the easier it will be to interest those who came to the lesson.
• Choose an MC format that will help convey your knowledge to the participants and receive positive feedback from students. We will discuss the forms of conducting master classes below.
• Developing a problem that interests students and motivates them to work in the master class is necessary.
• Then you should prepare a plan for a practical lesson with clearly defined algorithms for the time frame that you allocate to the lesson.
• If you are planning to host a non-online workshop, find a venue that is suitable for the number of participants and other requirements.

After the preparatory actions, the active stage of conducting master classes follows.

Before starting the MC, check whether everything you need is in place. Also, test the operation of all technical equipment, like speakers, microphones, and projectors. For online workshops, set up the service for video conferencing on your computer and the ability to connect participants.

At the beginning of the session, remember to greet the participants. Tell them a little about yourself, and briefly describe the workshop. Try to speak clearly, change intonation, and present information clearly and clearly. Behave naturally, and do not forget about gestures and facial expressions.

The final stage of the MC is summarizing the results for both the students and the facilitator. At the same time, intermediate results can be summed up in the course of the lesson. In the end, it is also important to get feedback from the participants.

Pay attention to the issues discussed by the audience.

For example, let’s say you did a social media content workshop. But found that many of the participants were interested in creating videos for YouTube. Then, if your specialization is working with content, in the next master class, you can tell students about a strong script.

Master class plan

As a rule, the structure of the master class includes the following:

• The introductory part, in which the presenter gives the necessary target settings, reveals the goals of the master class as a whole and the content of its individual components.
• What follows is the main demo.
• The third part of the master class consists of commenting on the most significant points. The facilitator needs to explain those elements of his work that, in his opinion, are most important.
• The final part of the MC consists of a discussion of the lesson by the students themselves and summing up the results of the master class leader.

Forms of Master Class

A master class can be a practical lesson that participants repeat after the leader’s actions. Usually, at the beginning of such a session, the expert gives a short lecture on the topic of MI.

After completing a master class of this type, students acquire the ability to perform certain actions. The result can also be specific. For example, a hand-made bouquet in a floristry master class or a cooked dish in a cooking class.

In the simulation master class, the facilitator imitates the performance of certain actions. For example, conducting an exercise from business training. After the lesson, the teacher analyzes techniques and activities with the participants.

The master class can also be a lecture with a video demonstration of the process of doing the work. Make sure that the video is of good quality. So that participants can see all the steps, details, and nuances of the process.

While showing the video, the expert needs to comment on what is happening on the screen, stop playback, and repeat the work’s difficult moments.

Features of online master classes

Technology does not stand still, and many master classes are held online today. Consider the pros and cons of this learning format.

The advantages of online classes include an unlimited number of participants since you will not depend on the area of the room, and you will also get rid of rental costs. There are many online platforms with an affordable prices of use on the Internet, where you can conduct master classes.

Online classes are great for busy people. Even if a participant is late for a lesson or has to take a short break, the missing part can be seen on the recording.

In addition, online master classes are available to anyone with a computer or tablet with Internet access. Whether a person is at home, on a journey, lives in a large city or in a small village does not matter.

However, the wide geography of participants can also be considered a disadvantage due to the time difference. It can be difficult to choose class times if students are in different time zones.

Therefore, before determining the time of the master class, it is advisable to survey the participants for those who cannot attend the lesson and provide a video recording.

The downside of the online format can be considered weak feedback. The facilitator will not be able to track each student’s progress, help a specific participant with advice and point out omissions, which negatively affect the effectiveness of training.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we list several important characteristics of the top master class which is worth paying attention to.

The expert conducting the lesson must have charisma, good diction, competent speech, and a built logic of explanation. Communication skills, the ability to improvise, and manage unplanned situations, lack of stiffness, and leadership qualities will come in handy.

Also important is the ability to adhere to a pre-designed lesson structure and the ability to reveal the talents of others.