Day 3: Book Your Interview

We’re here! It’s Day 3 of your quest to launch your community using Social Workshops.

By now, you’ve established your community’s shared mission and created personas to represent your community members. You have prepared your email database and online registration forms to collect the necessary data from community members. You have also organized an email campaign to follow up on your workshops.

Now let’s turn our attention to your first Social Workshop:

The Presentation: A Listicle Interview

For the main presentation, avoid monologues with text-heavy slide shows at all costs. They're boring! Instead, conduct a "listicle interview" with an industry expert or thought leader. This format combines the popular list-style article with a question-and-answer session. 

A list of five tips on a specific topic makes for a nice and engaging conversation that is neither too short nor too long. In this interview, you will introduce your guest speaker and ask them to discuss five pre-planned points.

A Funny Example

For instance, I assisted a comedy festival producer in recording an interview called "5 Tips for a Successful Comedy Show Hosting." It featured an interview with an experienced comedian who submitted these points in advance:

1. Make the audience feel welcome right off the bat.

2. Doing material between sets? It depends.

3. Never comment on the comic who just finished unless it’s positive.

4. Introductions: Make them enthusiastic and accurate.

5. Be prepared to do anything management asks of you.

The Listicle Interview format is engaging for both the interviewer and interviewee, while also keeping the presentation short and concise.

STEP TWO: Find your guest expert.

Next, brainstorm a list of experts that could speak to each of these topics. They could be industry professionals, influencers, or even successful individuals from within your own network.

Reach out to these potential guests and invite them to speak at your event. Record your Listicle Interview before your Social Workshop to avoid any technical problems. I'll discuss that process in more detail tomorrow.

Book Your Interview Guest

Reach out to a potential guest with a short email that gauges interest. This lets them know that you value their unique expertise and experience, and shows that you're respectful of their time. If they express interest, follow up with a more detailed email that outlines what they can expect from the experience. Finally, make sure you create an online calendar invite to help you keep everything organized.

STEP THREE: Set up your event in Remo.

Once you've determined the details of your event, it's time to set it up in Remo. Create your event on the Remo backend. Give it a name, set the date, upload an image, and enter the other necessary details. If you are unfamiliar with Remo, you may want to spend some time learning the platform. It's very intuitive, but you will want to make sure that you understand how it works.

Up Next: Record Your Interview

Next, I'll show you how to record your presentation with your guest. This will ensure that you have a high-quality recording to share at your Social Workshop and online afterward.