Planning Guidelines

What are the main issues to consider when you plan your event? This will outline the key stages in planning your dialogue event.

1. Choose a topic

Once you have chosen the broad subject of your event you must decide on specific angles of the issues concerned. The key success here is detailed research. This is likely to be the longest part of the process as the issues within a certain area can be varied. The particular angle can completely affect whether or not the event is controversial and whether it creates meaningful dialogue.

2. Research the topic.

This is likely to be the longest part of the process, the issues within a certain area can be varied. This is the time when you have to take all of these and collate them into the main themes of the event.

3. Choose themes.

Having researched the subject you should now be able to put together a series of themes which will be the focus of the event. You should choose no more than 5 and they should all be related in some way.

4. Writing copy

By using this set of themes you should now be able to write the copy for the event. This should be no more than a paragraph outlining what will be discussed. See below for examples:

Car design, the battle of the sexes.

Many cars appear to be the product of the macho fantasies of male designers. What would happen if women got the car designs they actually want? Would they design a shopping trolley with a baby seat? Would they bring about a revolution in the way we think about car design?

Join a discussion on whether men have too much influence over car design and, if so, what can be done about it.

Death and sexuality: The two taboos

Death is one of the few certainties in life yet it is a topic rarely dealt with openly in Western culture. Our death is one of the most unique and defining features of our lives. But why are we so frightened about confronting it?

Our sexuality is a vital part of our identity. Where does our sexuality come from? What influences do our genes or our social environment play? And are we any closer to solving this mystery?

5. Write objectives document.

It is now time to put together an Objectives Document outlining for yourself and others what you intend to happen at the event.

6. Finding speakers

Having researched the subject you will have come across a number of potential speakers or chairpersons. Approach speakers with different opinions about the subject to keep the event balanced The chairperson or facilitator is crucial to the success of the event, if they are biased, weak or dominate the discussion themselves it is unlikely that your event objectives will be met. Ensure that they are thoroughly briefed in how you want the event to run and what you hope to achieve. They do not need to be an expert in the subject being discussed, in fact they can help the audience by asking the 'simple' questions that the audience don't want to admit they don't know the answers to. However, they must have some knowledge of the key facts and 'big words' to provide a bridge between the audience and any invited expert participants.

7. Approaching speakers

If they are interested then send them Briefing the Chair / Speakers. This means that they will understand what you hope to achieve at the event and provide clarity to the proceedings. Once a speaker has agreed send them a confirmation letter giving them the dates and times of the event. Go on and get another until all places on panel are filled. It is useful (E.g.. for press or marketing purposes) to get an outline of what each speaker will be saying at the event. Contact the speaker and ask for a summary of their views on the subject. At this time you should also enquire about their audio-visual requirements, whether they will be using Power Point, slides etc.

8. Audience

The audience must feel that they have enough knowledge of the subject to contribute. From your research provide background information for the audience on the issues for discussion and pointers to sources of further information. You can do this either through web information or briefing papers on the night.

9. A note on marketing

The event must provide what it says it will. The audience will become disinterested or feel out of place if what they thought was going to happen does not. Event themes and style must be clear in the marketing i.e. is it a debate, a Q&A session, an informal discussion or a performance. The most appropriate marketing strategy will depend upon the target audience and style of the event. Marketing should begin three weeks prior to the event. The following are efficient ways to publicise your event:

• Press release to journalist
• Adverts in magazines and newspapers e.g. Time Out, Metro, The Voice
• Listings in magazines
• Posting to mailing lists and web sites
• Flyers

10. Ticketing

Issuing tickets helps keep track of expected audience numbers even if there is no charge. This may require manual collection of ticket requests from the audience and manual distribution of tickets. If tickets are free, expect around two thirds of those who requested tickets to turn up.

11. On the night itself

The layout of the room is very important for overcoming physical barriers to dialogue. If people are seated in rigid rows then dialogue within the audience is unlikely to take place. It is far more successful if the seating is raked, in small groups or arranged around the speaker, performance area or focal point. If introductory and summary presentations are to be made all of the audience must have a clear view of this point.

Inability to hear presents another physical barrier. To overcome this everyone must use a microphone. A roving microphone should always be used for taking questions from the audience even though some people may not feel comfortable doing so.

The timings of the events are critical. Evaluation has shown that the best length for an event is between 1.5 and 2 hours. It can take around an hour for good dialogue to occur depending on how much the audience already knows about the subject. Therefore it is imperative that introductory talks are kept strictly to no more than ten minutes, as longer talks will reduce the time for dialogue.

The audience often arrive at an event early to ensure they get a seat. The use of music and visuals helps them feel more comfortable and is also a good opportunity to promote other events you may be organising.

12. And finally

Ensure that you thank participants properly after an event and ask for their feedback after some time for reflection.

Prepare for an event debrief where you reflect on your aims and objectives and whether they were met, the overall success of the event and useful learning outcomes for future events.