Choose a business or motivational topic--any topic. It’s probably been covered at a seminar or workshop. Visualizing is Realizing. Ins and Outs of Outsourcing. Creative Ways to Find Your Soul Mate. Ethics-What You Don’t Know Might Hurt You. The list goes on.

Why have seminars and workshops become so popular? Because they’ve tapped into the insatiable need for packaged information by an “I-want-it- now” society. They’ve guided entrepreneurs in the decision-making process. Career-changers have successfully switched fields using ideas harvested from these workshops. The benefits you reap from attending seminars range from simply satisfying your needling curiosities, to making a powerful and lasting impact on your life: that of creating a physical, emotional or mental makeover--or all three.

Audio and video seminars offer greater flexibility and reach a larger audience, but live presentations provide an energy and excitement beyond the promised information. How do you fully experience a live seminar or workshop? Simple: be a proactive participant. Try the following tips to help you become one.

1. The night before the seminar, go over the reasons why you signed up. To get tips on investing wisely? To improve a relationship? To learn a new skill? Your boss made you? Keeping these reasons in mind will keep you focused on the aspects of the seminar that are most useful to you. Having a clear why makes it easier to absorb the how.

2. Double-check the directions to the seminar. Allow ample time for wrong turns, missed exits, rush-hour traffic, and parking.

3. Connect with your fellow attendees. Don’t waste precious networking opportunities by being glued to your blackberry or chatting only with someone you know. That stranger sitting beside you could be your future boss, or at best, a lifetime friend.

4. Give the seminar your full attention. There are times when the speaker discusses a subject that doesn’t seem to apply to your particular situation and doesn’t interest you. Resist the urge to leave the room (mentally and physically). You may not be able to use the information now, but circumstances change. If you’re an employee, stifle your yawn when the speaker talks about the types of retirement plans available for the self-employed. No one knows what the future holds. An unwelcome change in your employment status might motivate you to become an entrepreneur.

5. Ask questions. Put them out there as they occur to you, unless the speaker prefers otherwise. Don’t be timid-participate! Not only will you satisfy your own curiosity, but you’ll be verbalizing questions that others may have in mind, too.

6. Get all the information the seminar has to offer. Keep all handouts, even those you don’t think you can use. You might change your mind later. Record the seminar (if allowed) or take notes. Make sure you can read your notes!

7. Chat with the speaker. Speakers have been known to impart practical and valuable information during breaks and immediately after the conclusion of the seminar. (If other attendees already have the speaker’s attention, try to get close enough to hear his or her responses to post-workshop questions.) And don’t forget the compliments! Your first sentence should be “What a great seminar!” But only if you mean it.

8. Relax and enjoy. Most seminars are informative AND entertaining. Be open to fun. Laugh freely. Many speakers are not only experts on their topic, but are great story-tellers and blessed with a wonderful sense of humor. You might also find the seminar location fascinating or intriguing--take pictures! Appreciate the diversity of the attendees – in ideas, in personalities, in culture.

9. Digest the seminar information within 24 hours of attending. Your brain will retain it longer. Go through the handouts, listen to the tape and read your notes. Did these prompt more questions? Most speakers and seminar sponsors will answer participants’ questions well after the seminar. Did you get what you came for? If not, can you apply these ideas to some other areas of your life?

10. Write down any new goals inspired by the seminar. Whether they are related to your purpose for attending or not, you benefit, either now or in the long-term. Apply the insight you gained.

Attend a seminar with the above steps in mind and you’ll discover what a difference it makes to be a proactive participant. Informative, stimulating and fun –aren’t these what all learning experiences should be?

Author's Bio: 

Editha Rodriguez has enjoyed attending hundreds of live seminars in each of her careers as a certified public accountant and creative writer. She is the author of The Busy Couple’s Guide to Everyday Romance: Fun and Easy Ways to Keep the Spark Alive.