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[SCA] newcomers at general meetings
I'm curious how other SCA groups with predictable influxes (this usually means students) handle the introduction. We have demos at the beginning of the school year on our two major college campuses, so the first general meeting in September doubles as the "talk to the people from the demos who were curious enough to come to the meeting" meeting.
What often happens at ours is that each officer and each guild head gets up and gives a spiel about that particular area. There are about 30 such people, which IMO is at least 20 too many to speak at such a meeting. Even if you limit them to two minutes per, that's an hour of just sales pitches. Some people will not be limited, and we're collectively too polite to shut them up. I fear that we drive away people who would otherwise come back. I've seen this scenario happen year after year; some years are better than others, of course, depending on who's running the meeting, but it's a standing problem.
I have yet to meet a college freshman (the bulk of these attendees) who, at the first meeting, will care one whit about heraldic bureaucracy (commenting sessions), children's activities, becoming a first-aid officer (let 'em come to a fighting practice or event first), setting up tournmanet brackets (ditto), awards, or several other things that usually get covered. By definition, if you've gotten them interested, they'll have plenty of other opportunities to hear about such things, once they have context and interest. And there's a newsletter and a web site anyway.
At various times I've suggested to our officers either telling some positions they don't get to make pitches at all at that meeting, or choosing 4-5 offices/guilds a month to highlight and doing 'em all over the course of the academic year. So far it hasn't happened. A couple times I've quietly suggested to specific people that, hey, the meeting's long, and would you consider delaying your spiel? Apparently I have not mastered the right diplomatic skills, as that hasn't tended to work either.
So what do the rest of y'all in big groups do?
Our meeting is tomorrow night. Since that's also Rosh Hashana, I won't be there to see how it plays out this year. And anyway, it's probably too late to try to do anything now; this would best be done as consciousness-raising at the officers' meeting earlier in the month. So, thinking ahead to next year, what might I be able to do to encourage my group's officers to think about this issue differently?
(I am aware that several members of my local group read this journal and this might look like some sort of passive-aggressive BS. It's not. I'm interested in ideas, from anyone.)
What often happens at ours is that each officer and each guild head gets up and gives a spiel about that particular area. There are about 30 such people, which IMO is at least 20 too many to speak at such a meeting. Even if you limit them to two minutes per, that's an hour of just sales pitches. Some people will not be limited, and we're collectively too polite to shut them up. I fear that we drive away people who would otherwise come back. I've seen this scenario happen year after year; some years are better than others, of course, depending on who's running the meeting, but it's a standing problem.
I have yet to meet a college freshman (the bulk of these attendees) who, at the first meeting, will care one whit about heraldic bureaucracy (commenting sessions), children's activities, becoming a first-aid officer (let 'em come to a fighting practice or event first), setting up tournmanet brackets (ditto), awards, or several other things that usually get covered. By definition, if you've gotten them interested, they'll have plenty of other opportunities to hear about such things, once they have context and interest. And there's a newsletter and a web site anyway.
At various times I've suggested to our officers either telling some positions they don't get to make pitches at all at that meeting, or choosing 4-5 offices/guilds a month to highlight and doing 'em all over the course of the academic year. So far it hasn't happened. A couple times I've quietly suggested to specific people that, hey, the meeting's long, and would you consider delaying your spiel? Apparently I have not mastered the right diplomatic skills, as that hasn't tended to work either.
So what do the rest of y'all in big groups do?
Our meeting is tomorrow night. Since that's also Rosh Hashana, I won't be there to see how it plays out this year. And anyway, it's probably too late to try to do anything now; this would best be done as consciousness-raising at the officers' meeting earlier in the month. So, thinking ahead to next year, what might I be able to do to encourage my group's officers to think about this issue differently?
(I am aware that several members of my local group read this journal and this might look like some sort of passive-aggressive BS. It's not. I'm interested in ideas, from anyone.)
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Different people need different amounts of both. Remember what's-her-face who slammed the whole list?
People tend to forget what it's like to be 18. You're really fully developed in anything yet (most of them), and your trying out stuff - experimenting. It's tough to be entertaining yet cool to the younger adults for some people. I'm in an interesting place with that one. I don't want Otto to turn anyone off ("Yuck, it's a FAMILY organization! Not for me!") That's first impressions of course. I'm sure most of them would be cool with it after you get to know the person with the baby hanging off her hip, but still....
How to make that first impression so that they come back?
I'm in favor of several Monty Python quotes being dropped through the night. If they laugh, they are our people! Maybe StarWars, too. Heehee
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don't want Otto to turn anyone off ("Yuck, it's a FAMILY organization! Not for me!")
I suspect -- but do not know, no longer being in the target demographic, so I'm going based on memory -- that babies are not as big a problem as unruly children in the toddler-to-school-age range. Babies are luggage and can fade into the background; the obnoxious 8-year-old prone to tantrums is what'll drive people away. Fortunately, we do not have the problems with that that we once had here.