A little stress. Actually, not that little. It usually accompanies me, but I have already got used to its presence. In principle, I am prepared (it would seem that I have the right knowledge and experience, as well as a presentation, materials, and above all I know what I want to say), but I never know whom I will meet, what questions and discussions there will be, and whether my experience and knowledge will be sufficient for the group's level.

And then I enter the room. First look at the participants. Professionals. A deep breath and we begin.

Being a Trainer

My cooperation with Sages began in November 2021. Since then, I have spent a total of 41 days in training rooms, which gives more than 320 hours of workshops. Is that a lot? Probably not, but it was enough for me to determine whether it is valuable to me. In fact, running technical workshops and sharing knowledge had been my "dream" since I participated in such workshops myself. I remember that the workshops that inspired me were run at the time by Tomek Sułkowski - I caught the passion from him and set myself a goal that I pursued over the following years.

Not everyone can be a trainer. I believe that having the right technical knowledge alone is not enough. Just like not everyone can be a leader in a team. Although the technical segment has to be mastered almost to perfection, the most important things are other traits that have to be invested in. Communication and flexibility are probably the most important.

The First 7 Seconds

Where should I start? They are watching me and waiting for my first move. I already know this is the hardest moment - I have to show that they can trust me, that I know my job, and that the topics we will discuss are not foreign to me. Maybe a dry joke from the instructor to start, some small talk - only first I need to feel them out, get to know them.

My head spins from all the possible paths I can take. In most cases, fortunately, Sages's position on the market works in favor of the first impression. They have been on the market for many years. They do really great things.

I smile and begin.

Apparently the first seconds are the most important and at the same time the most difficult. First impressions are easy to ruin and hard to repair. In the first seconds we have to convince the group, present ourselves as someone worth listening to over the next few days. Personally, I never start with technical aspects. I do not want to come across as someone too full of himself. I prefer the group to see in me a normal person, someone they can have an interesting discussion with and who has something important to share.

Just Mateusz. A friend who is happy to share his experience and knowledge.

Going with the Flow

Workshops that last several days are very exhausting. Not only for me. It is a very intense time during which we present areas of the IT world that are unknown to the listeners. Very often, near the end of such an event, I hear from participants that their heads are swelling, that the amount of knowledge was huge and the time short. Breaks, jokes, and constant support are key. Support is also flexibility, the ability to adapt to the group's needs. Openness to discussions, questions, and changes. Groups are often very uneven when it comes to experience level. I have happened to land among professionals with many years of experience, where there were also people who had never written a single line of code. Working with such a group is very difficult - you have to find the golden mean.

After these several hundred hours, I am convinced that the recipe for success is involvement, openness to the group's needs, and flexibility. There is no need to boast about knowledge. You need to sincerely admit mistakes, but also be able to fix them. From the technical side, I will add that tasks should be as simple as possible and show a wide spectrum of possible use. Live coding sessions before a task work great. The naturalness of writing has many advantages here. After the first few trainings, I decided to go with the flow and solve problems "without support" in the form of previously prepared solutions - I simply go with the flow. This required a lot of courage from me. The fear that participants would suggest writing something I would not be able to do was huge, but it was worth breaking through. By writing code live, I am able to show things I might forget about, or intentionally skip, if I had prepared examples earlier.

Remote or On-Site?

Most of the workshops I ran were delivered on-site. I prefer this form. Even though it requires much more effort from me than the remote form. On-site, when everyone is with me, I can see who is working, notice when I am "losing" someone, and react to new ideas, discussions, and problems. We could say that I have much more control.

If I am honest, opening up always costs me a lot, but it is a form of working on myself, on my skills, and of fighting my own weaknesses.

The remote form has only disadvantages and one advantage, namely - I do not have to travel anywhere. ;) Personally, I am not fond of the remote form - it lacks that element of connection that can be found in on-site training. Although, paradoxically, at the beginning I thought it would be much more interesting for me.

Worth reading on this topic

Richard P. Feynman

Pan raczy żartować, panie Feynman!

The Last Minutes

The last slide appears on the screen, one that should basically be an introduction to new challenges and projects, and on it the phrase: Thank you for your attention and my contact details. At this moment I already know that it is time for my summary. I will receive feedback, which has more than once told me what is worth improving, what works, and what does not. I am grateful for it. In the participants' eyes I can see whether the workshops were okay, or whether they rather wasted their time. Fortunately, I am more often in the first situation.

I liked them. A lot of valuable new people, hungry for experience and knowledge. People who inspire further action and give additional layers of energy to keep doing this, and to do it better.

Summary

The year 2022 was exceptional for me in terms of running workshops. There were quite a lot of them and they gave me a lot of satisfaction. I got to know the organizational culture of both large and small companies. Above all, I met over 100 valuable specialists whom I could help improve their qualifications. I learned a lot myself, and I hope this is the beginning of this adventure.

I ended 2022 at Warsaw University of Technology as a lecturer. Will this be a new direction for me? I do not know yet, but I do know that sharing knowledge is a huge boost for development.

PS. The quotes are excerpts from feedback I received after workshops. :)