National Institute of Fashion Technology, Patna, director Sanjay Shrivastava addresses the Notre Dame Academy students on Wednesday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

The Parents-Teachers’ Association of Notre Dame Academy organised a workshop on how to organise a seminar on Wednesday.

National Institute of Fashion Technology, Patna, director Sanjay Shrivastava came to the institution and shared his tips on the ways to organise and conduct a well-planned seminar. Attending the workshop were Class XI students of Notre Dame Academy.

Shrivastava said: “Seminars are extremely significant these days. It is important to know every small detail about the ways to organise a seminar. It is essential that youths learn the basics of organising one right from their school days. Exploring and experimenting with new ideas are a requisite for the same.”

Shahina Khan, the president of the Parents-Teachers’ Association (PTA) of Notre Dame Academy, said: “The PTA organised this event so that that the children could learn the basics of organising seminars and can do so regularly.”

Outlining the points to remember while organising a seminar, Shrivastava said: “The topic, speakers, venue, time, sessions, learning objectives and the audience are the essential elements of a seminar. The speaker should not mug up a presentation and instead be prepared for any type of question from the audience. It should not be forgotten that any question can come up from the audience at a seminar, and unless the speaker is well prepared for it, he/she cannot answer queries from the audience.

“In a well organised seminar, the topic is introduced in advance. Once the seminar is over, the articles are compiled and published as journals,” he added.

In his advice to the Class XI students, Shrivastava harped on good communication skills to be able to speak well in a seminar.

He said: “Good communication skills does not only mean one’s language and pronunciation. It also means the person should know when to speak and what to speak. If one has good communication skills, s/he can leave a good influence on the audience. If not, the attention of the audience might divert and the seminar can land in a mess.

“Experts from different fields are also required to conduct an effective seminar. They should have good knowledge of the topic, as it would help in adding to a seminar’s success,” he added.

The venue and seating arrangements are also crucial when it comes to organise a seminar.

“Matters like how and where the speakers and audience would be seated should be taken into consideration so that both parties can interact comfortably and effectively,” Shrivastava said.

He suggested the participants at the workshop to also have good acoustics and lighting at the venue the seminar is being organised.

Chetna Priya, a commerce student at the school, said: “We learned a lot at the workshop. Sir (Shrivastava) explained to us that there are three stages of organising a seminar — preparation, implementation and evaluation.”