RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

o Be courageous

Speaking up can be difficult, especially in a room full of strangers. However, remember why you’re here and know that you’re amongst others with a common goal. The likelihood is that whatever you’re thinking about saying, there’s someone else in the room who’s already thinking it. So pluck up your courage, take a deep breath and speak your mind.

o Cameras

For best engagement, we ask that all cameras are turned on, however we appreciate that this doesn’t work for everyone. If you are blind, partially sighted, neurodivergent or have accessibility needs or are none of the above and just have technology gremlins working on the day, then that’s no problem. Keep your cameras off.

o Chat box

For best engagement we also advise that everyone uses their audio to speak, however if this is not possible for any reason, please use the Zoom chat box feature. The session facilitator will monitor the chat box as best as possible.

o Listen

It’s not possible to think clearly, without listening to others or even to yourself. We encourage you to actively listen to what’s being said before responding. Remember it’s not a race, so take your time, listen and respond.

o Open and safe

We want the town hall to be an open and safe space where everyone can speak honestly and freely without judgment. We appreciate that there will a mixture of people in the room, with different perspectives and viewpoints and so we ask for everyone to be respectful of each other. Feel free to challenge or support what others are saying, but please do so with politeness.

o Prompts

We know how awkward it can get when you have those uncomfortable silences and so to avoid those moments (unless the discomfort is related to a theme or argument, in which case do bring it up in the discussion), we have prepared a list of terms to be used as prompts. Feel free to familiarise yourself with these terms or come as you are, ready to expect the unexpected.

o Raise hands

Please use the raise hand Zoom function when you want to speak. The facilitator will moderate hands as fairly and quickly as possible.

o THINK

If all fails, we encourage you to THINK before speaking. Yes, THINK! We don’t want you to censor what you say, but by utilising the acronym THINK, consider whether what you’re saying is True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary or Kind?

o Time and response

We know how passionate people can get when wanting to get a point across. We encourage your enthusiasm but ask that everyone is mindful about how long you speak for. If you find yourself speaking over 2 to 3 minutes when it’s your turn, wrap up your point and give the floor to someone else. We won’t be monitoring how often you speak; you can respond as little or as much as you like, but just be mindful of giving the floor to others. The facilitator will also help to move conversations along.

o Transcription

If you are deaf, have hearing impairments or want to aid accessibility and clarity with conversations, please make use of Zoom captions and transcripts. These will be activated at the beginning of the meeting and all participants can control whether they display or not.

Finally, we want to remind everyone to have fun and to remember that by participating in the town hall, you’re already contributing to an important conversation.

We look forward to seeing you there and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

The Team at PILAA