When you’re running an event – online or in-the-room – you want everything to go smoothly. You want your organisation’s message to be loud and clear. You want your boss, and the VIP guests, to look great.
Shiny slides. Positive vibes. Plenty of relevant participants, who provide a couple of expert questions after the speakers and stay until the end.
Or do you?
What if those participants left the event bitterly disappointed that their issues were not acknowledged, their voices not heard?
What if they took to social media to share their feelings publicly?
Like Nikki Bell after this week’s Chartered Institute of Fundraising convention, who posted this on LinkedIn: “Fundraisers have been, and are going through, the toughest years of their careers. They are burnt out, overworked, and facing the difficult task of raising money in ridiculous uncertainties. Many people have lost their jobs. But during the opening talk we were urged to ‘have more cups of tea’ and Tweet that we’re a #ProudFundraiser. Not one mention of the cost of living crisis, the injustices in our sector, the changes we need to see to make a better future for people whilst changing the world, or acknowledging that it’s really fu**ing hard right now and things need to be different. Fundraisers need to feel heard and that their feelings are valid.”
A lively thread ensued, with lots of Nikki’s colleagues agreeing with her stance. The comments included references to “polished, toxic positivity” and “a bubble of everything-is-fine”.
Nikki’s right.
These days, events – especially events for member organisations – should be more than platforms for (largely white, male) sages-on-the-stage. Quite rightly, participants expect to be offered opportunities for their voices to be heard, their live issues to be aired.
When that doesn’t happen, they’re disappointed – whether they say so publicly or not.
They’re less likely to come to the next event. They’re less likely to renew their membership.
It’s 2023, for heaven’s sake! You need to be planning your membership events for participation.
That doesn’t mean your events should turn into moan-fests or shouting matches. Professionalism and looking good still matter.
But it does mean organising things in ways that look, and feel, a bit different from what you’ve been used to. Highly-participative membership events don’t happen by accident.
Top tips for highly-participative member events
Designing highly-participative events, especially online, is what Rees McCann does. Give us a call! But meanwhile:
- Think about participation as early as possible, and definitely before you invite submissions from potential speakers
- Invite your experts to “lead a conversation” or “hold a workshop” rather than “give a talk”
- Build “structured informality” into your event plan. This is especially important online, where you can’t rely on the magic of coffee breaks to get the networking going
- Use techniques such as Liberating Structures (especially 1-2-4-all) or stripy sessions to ensure that a wide range of voices and opinions – not just the loudest – are heard
- Make sure session moderators, chairpeople etc are trained and experienced in managing highly-participative sessions. (Or hire professional facilitators. We can help.)
Who’s doing this well?
Are you a member of an organisation whose events are highly participative? Let’s catch people doing it right! Please comment below.