Call for Salon Leaders

The Event Leadership Institute will be launching a new hybrid course model in early 2016, marrying the most successful elements of their online and in person courses into a single, blended experience.

Under the new model, participants will watch instructional videos online, taught by the course director, in advance of each class.  The in person instructors, which ELI says will be more like ‘salon leaders’, will use class time for discussing the key concepts learned online, and how to apply them to various real world scenarios, utilizing case studies of actual events.

By not having to teach every concept from scratch, salon leaders also have time for more field trips, guest speakers, group projects and exercises.

Making In Person Class Time More Interactive

“When we spoke to the students taking our in person Professional Development Courses, they all said they wanted more of the immersive, hands-on experiences,” said ELI founder and executive director Howard Givner. “Guest speakers slotted for 45 minutes would wind up running 90 minutes. Students couldn’t get enough of these interactive, real world parts of the course.”

The challenge was that instructors had a lot of content to teach, limiting the time available for the experiential elements.  “At the end of the day, as animated as our instructors are, delivering straight content is something that can be done effectively online,” Givner added.  “The blended class solution enables us to leverage the in person time for things that really take advantage of the live experience.”

From Classrooms to Studios

An additional change is that instead of being in a neutral rented classroom, most of the in person salons will take place in the conference rooms, studios, or production facilities of the salon leader’s company, to provide a more immersive experience.

When Wedding & Event Design instructor Lindsay Landman opted to move her in person class this fall to her design studio, it enabled her to more easily integrate mock ups, design samples, proposals, staff and other parts of her day-to-day operations into each week’s lessons.

Building A Global Community

Taking the interactive component even further, course directors will facilitate a common discussion forum among students in all the various salons in different cities, enabling participants to share ideas and projects with each other.

“Students taking the in person course in Austin, for example, will feel connected to their peers taking the same course in Miami,” said ELI Education Director Sue Bender. “By weaving the various salon groups into a single community, we can build a richer experience for everyone, in addition to facilitating a wide range of personal connections in different markets.”

To Apply to Be A Salon Leader

ELI is currently accepting applications from experienced event professionals to serve as salon leaders in their local markets for several of their Professional Development Courses. To apply click here.