Reflection on Leading a Workshop for the First Time

in Writer on Doubts

This post is a little reflection on my first time leading a workshop. It’s one of my 2025 goals. So proud that it’s done.

I had attended workshops in the past, which was definitely beneficial as it provides a baseline understanding. A big thank you to Michael Cheng’s Workshop: test-automation-workshop. It inspired my Codespaces setup and guided me on what to include in my README.

Rehearsal was also key. I’m so grateful to my friend May, who dedicated a Saturday to listen to my practice run. She gave me a lot of feedback on where to clarify explanations, how to structure the preparation materials and even refine the Jupyter Notebook for better readability.

As for the workshop itself, I added some self-study component, recognizing the need for experienced individuals to guide the audience. Due to some issues, I reached out to some friends for support just one day before the workshop. This led to a moment of self-reflection: how much weight do we truly give to others’ requests? When everyone has their own plans, proved challenging. It made me wonder – would I have felt more supported in China? It’s a question I can’t definitively answer.

The workshop brought a wave of feedback on my speaking skills and the course structure. It took time to process this directly, carefully reading each point and noting down areas for improvement. As someone who sets high standards, receiving criticism can be tough, especially when you feel you’ve given your best. In that context, I deeply appreciated the encouraging words from friends like Anni. Their simple confirmations and compliments were incredibly reassuring. Moving forward, I’ll remind myself, when attending a workshop, it’s so important to appreciate the speaker’s effort and preparation, regardless of your personal takeaways. I now have a deeper understanding of the significant time mentors invest beyond the workshop hours.

Finally would end up with one sentense that I love, “There is only one heroism in the world: to see the world as it is and to love it.”