Event Planning 101
You know that proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child,” right? And you’ve probably seen the Margaret Mead quote, that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens is the only thing that has ever changed the world, right?
OK…look, I don’t want to be the dark cloud raining on the socially conscious parade of activists and anarchists trying in their own special way to be thoughtful committed citizens changing the world…but sometimes I feel like a parent, and the event I’m at is a child…only no one is parenting it. And I wish I could ask someone, “where the frig is the village?”
When will someone helpfully point out that if you are going to be speaking in a public square to hundreds or (dare we hope) to thousands of people…you need a f%#ing PA system so people can hear what you’re saying! And if you are going to be a speaker at such an event, learn how to talk into the freaking microphone before you get on stage. I’m not kidding, it’s event planning 101.
It always makes me wonder if the organizers of THIS event haven’t stood in the middle of a crowd at ANOTHER event, while some speaker (we can only imagine is pontificating in a super articulate and informed way) hammers home the banner points of freedom and justice as the crowd liberally applies a smattering of confused applause around statements like, “ghmmmph summa manea bowtwa!!!!”
Seriously…I just finished teaching slam poetry at an elementary school for a week. Each class chose poets to represent their class at the poetry slam on Friday afternoon for 350 staff and students. On Friday morning, I took a PA, a mic and a stand into each room and taught 10-12 year olds how to set the level of the stand for themselves and speak into the mic so they could be heard when they slammed their poetry.
Cause it’s 1-0-freaking-1 man. Words matter…when you can hear them!
Rik Leaf is a professional Producer/Presenter, recording artist, slam poet & published author who spends the majority of his creative time & energy dreaming up ways to inspire people to live awesome lives.
