Just so you know; this is likely to be pretty chaotic! Don’t worry, it’ll get easier.
Most schools make an announcement in assembly calling for volunteers to be on the prom committee. Great; there’s loads of excitement and lots of interest. Then the first meeting happens, and tonnes of people turn up with loads of ideas and it turns into a mosh pit.
There’s a real difference between the people who will turn up at the first prom volunteers meeting and the people who will be at the last prom committee meeting: commitment. Not everyone at the volunteers meeting will understand how much work is involved, or that it’s not all fun ideas and putting up balloons. The thing is, you won’t know who the really great committee members are at this point. So how do you deal with a room of excited people all wanting to contribute?
Brainstorm!
Turn the situation to your advantage by getting everyone to calm down and then ask for two volunteers to be scribes. One needs to be happy to stand at the whiteboard and write stuff on it, the other has to be happy to write / type fast.
Then someone else has to be temporary chairman. This could be the head boy or girl or a teacher – someone who is used to fielding lots of shouting people!
The chairperson then asks everyone to give ideas about what they would want to see at the prom – don’t worry if they’re outlandish, or crazy – what’s important at this point is creativity and ideas – they can be pruned later.
The scribe at the board writes the ideas as bullet points. The second scribe copies these onto paper and also writes down things that might not be making it on to the board, such as other ideas they hear from the group (let’s face it, people are going to be talking over one another).
When all of the wishes are exhausted, the second scribe makes sure that all the bullet points on the board are down on the page and the board is cleared. The Chairperson calls for a bit of order and asks for ideas about what people definitely don’t want at the prom. The scribes do the same as they did before.
A word of warning
Don’t make any promises. Make it clear that this is just brainstorming and that ideas are being put on the table that may not be feasible when investigated further.
Finding the really committed people for the prom committee
The ideas that come out of this meeting will begin to shape the school prom, but at this point, they are only ideas. The next step is research, and this is where you can start to whittle out the people who aren’t committed.
The chairperson needs to ask for volunteers to take away something from the list to investigate. Make it clear that if a person volunteers, they need to come back in a week’s time with a list of three local companies that can provide that service and an example picture if they can find one on the web. If you really want to get down to business, tell the volunteers that if they can’t do their bit now, they won’t be on the committee.
At this point, some people will drop out. Some will take a task away, but not turn up with the goods at the next meeting – and not be on the committee as a result. It might seem harsh, but organising a prom is hard work and needs a team of people who are reliable and committed. Finding out who those people are sooner rather than later will take away a lot of stress down the line. Of course, if you prefer, you can let the process happen naturally.
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