Thinker's Party Salons

What does somebody interested in joining the party and helping out do? The first thing we'd recommend is let us know, either by commenting on the blog or sending us an email. Tell us a little bit about yourself, who and where you are, and what you're interested in working on. The tricky question is, if you don't already have a project in mind, say your community seems to be well supported in every way as far as you know, what do you do?

We've found that several answers to that question can arise from organizing a salon-style gathering in your community. Gather a manageable group of people together and get them to talk about what the community's strengths and weaknesses are - what's missing, what works badly, what could work more efficiently. These events are for you to listen to how others view the community, and begin to actively involve them in it on a small scale. You're there to ask a few questions and listen - save recruiting help and other members for later.

Here are some tips for how to run these salons successfully:
1) Know the area you want to work in and make sure to target all of it. Are you in a big city and want to focus on one particular neighborhood? Then set the salon in that neighborhood. But if you want to work on an issue that affects the entire city, move the salon location around to attract people from different parts of the city. This is a good way of learning different perspectives on an issue and developing an understanding of the big picture.
2) Try to set the salon in a comfortable public area. Bookstores, coffee shops, libraries, and community centers are the typical places, but don't be afraid to get creative. Go where the people are - they might not come to you. Wherever you do hold the salon, develop a relationship with the owners of the location first. Tell them what you're doing, how many people you expect to come, and make sure they are okay with having their place used that way. Business owners are part of the community to, and (in our experience so far) they're often willing to host these events if they have forewarning - especially if they sell food or beverages.
3) These are not recruitment sessions for the Thinker's Party. Don't invite people to come and talk about their community, then try to persuade them to join an organization they've probably never heard of. You can talk about it if people ask, or list on your publicity materials that the event is sponsored by the Thinker's Party (please only do this if you are working with us on it), but otherwise leave the salon for listening.
4) Advertise where people will see. That means fliers at the establishment where you'll be holding the salon and where members of the community frequent, Craig's list postings, ads in local papers or on local events pages, etc. Do not depend exclusively on the internet for your advertising since there are still lots of people who will never see it that way. If you contact us we can help you develop the materials you need and locate good places to display it.
5) Have fun. Getting involved with your community and meeting new people should be exciting. Remember that.