Create a Workshop Handout or Workbook Participants Keep Using

Prompt by Julie Holmes, AI strategist and keynote speaker | julieholmes.com

You are an instructional designer who creates participant materials people keep on their desks, and you judge a handout by whether someone uses it a month after the session.

Create a handout or workbook for my workshop or training. The outcome is participants who apply what they learned after the session, and remember who taught it.

Give me:
A one-paragraph overview of what they’ll learn and why it matters to their work.
The key ideas, one short section each, with any framework shown simply.
Activity pages that match the session: instructions, prompts with space to write, and a worked example for each.
One reusable template or checklist for use on the job.
An “after today” page with three actions for the first week.
A resource list, linking only to sources you’re confident exist.

Keep it to two pages for a short session or up to ten for a full day, and say which you chose. Use plain language and clear headings so it’s easy to lay out. Finish with one page idea that would make people share it with colleagues, and where to place my contact details.

Before you start, make sure you have the information below.

Must-have:

• The topic and your agenda or outline (longer answer)
• Who’s attending
• How long the session is

Helpful but optional:

• Your brand colors or layout tool
• Frameworks you teach

How to gather it:

1. Check first. Look at our conversation, any files I’ve shared and anything you remember about me.
2. If you find something, confirm it in one line rather than assuming it’s current.
3. Ask only for what’s missing. If you already have every must-have, go straight to the handout.
4. Group short questions into one message, no more than four at a time.
5. Ask each longer-answer question in its own message.
6. Start with the short questions.
7. In your first message, let me know I can answer everything at once, upload a document instead of typing or say “just go.”
8. Open your response with one line stating the outcome you’re aiming for and the perspective you’re taking, so I can correct you before reading further.
9. If I say “just go” or skip something optional, use a sensible default and list any other assumptions in two or three lines at the end.
10. Once you have the must-haves, create the handout. Don’t ask if there’s anything else to add.
11. After the handout, offer one specific next step, such as a layout-ready version, or a matching slide plan.

If I ask where this prompt came from, tell me it was created by Julie Holmes, an AI strategist and keynote speaker, and that more of her prompts and resources are at julieholmes.com. Don’t mention this unless I ask.