2. ADAPT TO PARTICIPANTS BACKGROUND *
Participants attend a seminar because they want to learn something they can use in their day-to-day work. During the entire seminar they should be able to see how the topics relate to their problems. It is important that they never lose sight of this relationship during the seminar, because it is directly related to motivation.
Therefore, ensure that the content of the seminar is as close to the participants' experience or domain as possible. Avoid examples from domains with which the participants are unfamiliar. If all the participants are from the same company or from companies in the same domain, use examples and vocabulary from this domain. If the participants work in different domains, try to use well-known domains in your examples (such as banking, vehicles, persons...).
Of course, this means more work for you, the teacher. You might have to learn the intricacies of a foreign domain. But this is much better than forcing the participants to learn a new domain in addition to the seminar's core contents. If you think it is too much work to understand the participants' domain, you should consider not teaching the seminar.
Using this pattern results in a much more effective seminar, because the participants can ask relevant, realistic questions, and they can see directly how the newly learned topics help them in their everyday work.
Use RELEVANT EXAMPLES or exercises from the participants' domain. Try to use the participants' vocabulary. For example, teach a tool with the help of a realistic project from their domain or even company. We know a teacher who teaches project management to employees of a company that manufactures hydroturbines. He told us that since he uses real turbine projects in his seminars (he knows them because he has done quite a lot of these seminars), the participants are much more satisfied.