THE TOASTMASTERS SPEAK EVENT PLANNING GUIDE

Transcription

1 THE TOASTMASTERS SPEAK EVENT PLANNING GUIDE Table of Contents: About the Film p. 2 About the Grassroots Screening Campaign p. 2 Getting Started pp. 2-4 Getting the Word Out p. 4 Structuring Your Event pp. 4-5 Frequently Asked Questions p. 5 1

2 ABOUT SPEAK In a society based on free expression, a surprising number of people have no voice. Their silence comes from fear with the most primal fear of all being the fear of public speaking. Set in the multi-faceted world of Toastmasters International, where 250,000 members strive to overcome their fear of public speaking, SPEAK follows six unforgettable finalists in the Toastmasters International Speech Contest as they prepare and compete in a grueling contest to be named World Champion of Public Speaking. Each struggles with seemingly insurmountable personal and professional difficulties, but in the end, one contestant bravely emerges as the World Champion. Conducting hundreds of interviews about public speaking anxiety, and capturing every stage of the tense, highly competitive Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking, SPEAK is funny, inspiring, moving and utterly absorbing a contest film like no other! SPEAK is a feature-length documentary. Run-time: 1 hour and 29 minutes. ABOUT THE GRASSROOTS SCREENING CAMPAIGN For all our differences worldwide, we share a common thread: a foe that has defeated some but inspired others to overcome humankind s #1 fear: public speaking. Our goal is to use SPEAK the movie as a tool for education, inspiration and self-empowerment. Beginning in January 2012, SPEAK embarked on a grassroots screening tour across the United States, in partnership with Toastmasters International and the National Forensic League. You can join our effort to bring this film and these issues to communities nationwide by hosting a screening for groups large and small to continue the dialogue and share in the joy and inspiration that is this wonderful film! To make hosting an event easy, resources, publicity materials and this event planning guide are available for free download on the website. GETTING STARTED WITH YOUR EVENT Practical details: In order to show the film to a group, it is necessary to purchase Public Performance Rights (as opposed to home viewing rights), which grant you either a single or a multi-use license to show the film in a public setting. Information on the licenses and prices involved can be found here: Hosting a screening is a great way to promote your organization s efforts Below are 4 steps we recommend you think about as a first step in moving forward with your screening. 1. Define Your Objectives Determining your objectives is the first step in planning a successful event it will help you to set the tone of your event and plan accordingly. Ask yourself how hosting a screening can support your longer-term objectives. Are you interested in sparking dialogue about the benefits of joining your organization? Do you want to bolster your organization s profile and build new partnerships? Do you want to open up a conversation about the fear of public speaking and how to combat those fears? Here are some possible objectives, though this certainly isn t an exhaustive list: 2

3 Educate community members about the fear of public speaking and benefits of perfecting the skill. Highlight the work of your organization or group and generate both public interest and press attention. Generate additional funding and support for your work. 2. Identify Your Target Audience By defining your objectives, you should have a sense of who your target audience is. Are you hoping to engage people already involved in the issues or your organization or are you looking to reach a totally new audience? If your organization does not have direct connections to your target audiences, you can think about partnering with organizations that do. See the next section for suggestions. 3. Research Venue Options Where you host your screening depends both on budget and what is available to you. On a most basic level, all you need is the ability to play the DVD and hopefully project it onto a large screen and a room that can get completely dark. This might be in your office s basement, a large living room, an auditorium or classroom. If your organization or school doesn t have something suitable available, you could look to other organizations in your area that may be willing to open up their space to you for little or no cost. Local universities, community centers and libraries might be a good place to start. If you have the budget and are looking to put together a more formal, professional screening, you could consider doing your screening in a private screening room or in a movie theater. These locations however normally have rental fees that can vary from $200 to over $1, Inviting Partner Organizations We often recommend to screening hosts that they consider inviting other groups or organizations to partner with you on your event. This not only helps broaden and maybe diversify your reach and/or credibility, but they can also share in some of the costs involved. Moreover, in some cases, the partnership you build for the event could lead to a more long-term relationship that benefits both of your organizations and memberships. There are a number of ways that partners could get involved in your event ranging from serving as a co-host (sharing ideas, resources, time, costs), to just helping you get the word out about your event on their listervs, websites or social media outlets. Here are some tips for reaching out to groups that you have never worked with: Offer background and context. Send them a link to view the trailer of SPEAK: and include a brief synopsis of the film. Make the event relevant to them. Highlight the elements of the film that you think will resonate with their constituents and their organizational goals. 3

4 Advertise partner benefits. Explain how joining your event can help them raise awareness about their organization, recruit new members, spotlight their work GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT YOUR EVENT Spreading the word about your event is critical! And in order to ensure a well-attended event, you do have to put in the time and effort to get the word out. There are of course multiple ways to spread the word from ing you and your partner organizations mailing lists, posting flyers in your community, having your event added to organization calendar listings etc. Here are a couple of tips for getting the word out: Publicity Materials. You can order hard copies of movie posters and postcards through us, or you can download them here. Additional Resources. Check out our SPEAK Screening Resource Kit here. In this you will find statements from the Directors (from which you should feel free to pull quotes!), a template press release and character bios, an online outreach guide, a template screening invitation and more! You can also download production stills here to include in any materials you distribute. E-Blasts. Sending out an blast through your and/or your partner s listserv is probably the simplest and fastest way to reach a wide audience. Make sure you have all the details of your event confirmed before doing so (that means the exact time, location, venue, ticketing/rsvp process.) We would recommend that you send out an e-blast at least two weeks in advance of your event, and then again as a reminder one week before and again one the day of your event. Community Calendars. It can be very useful to get your event on the calendar listings of your city s weekly publication. If you have a website of your own, make sue to post information about your event there, and ask any partner organizations to do the same! STRUCTURING YOUR EVENT There are many different ways to structure your event, which will depend in large part on your objectives and your target audience. Below are a couple of suggestions and suggested actions that might help kick start your thinking! Host a Post-Screening Discussion: Having a speaker or hosting a panel discussion is a great way to put the film in context, allow the audience to address any questions, concerns, comments they may have and encourage audience members to stay around following a screening. SPEAK can serve as a brilliant tool to be used to open up a meaningful, powerful and engaging conversation not just about Toastmasters and speaking competitions but also about what makes a successful speech, the importance of message vs. delivery, the comparisons to be drawn between the creation of a speech and 4

5 making a movie. Check out our Screening Resource Kit for more detailed tips for hosting a post-screening discussion as well as discussion prompts. Talk About Your Organization s Work: Take advantage of the gathered audience to share information about your work, as well as your partner s work should you be cosponsoring the event with someone. Keep in mind that audiences who have seen the film and engaged in discussion following the screening are likely energized to begin or expand their involvement in your work. It s also a good idea to have materials and resources available about the work you re doing and how to get involved. Stay In Touch: Make sure you have a system in place to collect people s addresses at your event. In our Screening Resource Kit, we provide you with a form that we ask you to send back to us. But, you should feel free to keep a copy for yourself! It s always a good idea to follow up with audience members a couple of days after an event and to begin to cultivate a relationship and broaden your reach! FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS How do I get started with organizing my screening? After having reviewed this guide, the next step is to fill out our Host a Screening Form and someone from the SPEAK team will then be in touch within 3 business days to confirm your event, go over all the details etc. Are there costs involved in hosting a screening? Yes. In order to host a screening of SPEAK it is necessary to purchase Public Performance Rights. There are a variety of different licenses available. Check out our Host a Screening Form here to learn more. How much time should we plan for? The film runs for about 90 minutes. If you re having a post-screening discussion or event, you should allow for at least 45 minutes. Will the filmmakers come to my event? Both the filmmakers and some of the speakers featured in the film are interested in attending and speaking at screenings. However it is subject to their availability, and their travel, lodging and honorarium must be covered. Thank you for your interest in SPEAK! If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please contact us at speakthemovie@gmail.com 5