You're here because you want to plan your first SOLD OUT retreat or workshop with all the logistics beyond covered.
Here are my TOP 10 Retreat Must Haves (in no particular order):
1. A Clear Vision & Purpose for Your Event
A clearly defined vision and purpose will drive all of the decisions you make while planning and executing your retreat, from your location, to your food, to the types of activities you do, to the number of sessions you have. It is the heart, soul, and intellect of your event, and everything about your retreat should revolve around it. A clear vision and purpose will keep all organizers on the same page (if you are collaborating); it will help with branding, bringing on sponsors, fleshing out content, selling out, and ultimately changing lives.
2. A Location That Reflects Your Vision & Vibe
Location isn’t everything – but it definitely holds A LOT of weight. Your location should reflect the vision of your retreat, amplifying the vibe you are going for at your event. How do you want attendees to feel? Energized, relaxed, focused, contemplative, exploratory, connected, stimulated, rejuvenated; determine how you want your attendees to walk away feeling, and then choose your location based on its ability to help accomplish that goal.
3. A Well Organized & Inviting Welcome/Registration Area
First impressions stick with people! Ask yourself these questions and the answers will guide you.
How easy was it for your attendees to find the event location after parking their car or taking public transportation? Imagine being a participant who has never previously been to the location of your retreat. Make sure that it is clear how to get from parking/public transport to the retreat location through branded signage. Once they arrived, did they feel awkward or at home? A well organized welcome/registration area will help ease attendees into a new experience by making them feel confident that they are being taken care of by you. Make sure name tags are spelled correctly. Smile, make eye contact, say hello, tell them you are so happy to meet finally meet them. Have a clear process for checking in attendees, handing out materials (schedule, swag bags, name tags, etc.), and following up on any loose ends like payments or dietary concerns. Make sure that all organizers are aware of the process, or that someone specific is responsible for the process.
4. Program/Schedule Of The Day Provided To All Attendees
The level of detail is optional of course, but it is important to share a schedule of the day with attendees so that they have a sense of what to expect and when to expect it. This can be as simple as outlining meals, session titles, and breaks, or it can be as complex as including all presenter bios, providing a description of each session along with the title, map of the location for ease of travel from session to session, list of sponsors/partners and their contact information, mission and vision of the event, etc.
5. Detailed Outline Of The Day Shared By All Organizers
Another must have when facilitating a retreat is a detailed outline of the day that is shared by all organizers, including notes about who is responsible for what. For example, the attendee schedule would include:
Attendee Schedule:
Noon: Lunch by Cucina Verde in the Founder’s Garden
Organizers’ Schedule:
11:45: Meet caterer to finalize last minute needs for lunch – Sheila
Noon: Lunch - Walk attendees over to the Founder’s Garden – Lizzy
12:30: Prep for Session Three – set out materials, move chairs into a circle – Lizzy
1:00 – Session Three in the Library – facilitated by Sheila
Make sure to leave plenty of space throughout the organizer’s schedule for notes, especially if this is your first time holding this event. You will want to have room to write down reflections as the day unfolds so that your recollection is accurate and strong. Did one of the sessions need additional time? Was one room too crowded? Were there any issues with the location facility? Your notes will be priceless at the end of the day when you are exhausted but want to recall how to improve for next time.
6. Delicious Food In Line With Your Core Philosophy & Values
Awesome food isn’t always reflected on attendee’s feedback forms, but terrible food definitely will be. People appreciate great food, but will remember bad food. Find a caterer that will create meals based around your core philosophy and values, and the needs of your attendees. At this point, being able to accommodate vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, etc. are essential to holding a successful retreat.
7. Personalized Touches Making Attendees Feel Like Honored Guests
Everything that can be personalized, should be. I am a crazy person about this part, but I believe it makes a huge impact for attendees to know that you didn’t just organize your event for a group of people, you organized it for a group of individual people, including and specifically for them.
8. Enough Space/Appropriate Space For Your Activities
When choosing your location, make sure that it can accommodate the activities you imagine you will plan for that day. For example, if you are doing yoga, make sure that there is enough floor space to accommodate the yoga mats of however many attendees will be joining you, plus space for the instructor and organizers. If you will be doing art making, make sure that there is a space with enough tables and chairs for your attendees to all be able to comfortably engage in the activity. If you are having a welcome and closing circle, make sure that there is enough room for that to happen.
9. Feedback Forms
Getting feedback from your attendees is crucial. I love to get feedback on the day of the event (using a paper form) and afterward (via email). The "day of" form might include things like location, registration, food, timing, sessions, activities, etc. The follow up via email might include broader concepts like how attending your event has helped them in their daily life. Processing the experience to provide feedback also helps your participants to solidify the retreat or workshop in their own mind and heart.
10. Opening & Closing Remarks/Circles/Activity
The way you open and close your retreat sets the tone for the day, and for how people will remember your event. Take this time to review shared expectations and goals, do an ice breaker to get everyone “warm”, review the outline of the day and answer any questions, and of course, begin your content for the day in whatever way you see fit.
