Oclubs - Club Leader Tips - Are You Using the Best Meeting Format?

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Oct042009

Are You Using the Best Meeting Format?

Sunday, October 4, 2009 at 5:17PM

You've organized an Objectivist club, found members, and figured out the topics you want to focus on. What meeting formats work best to further your understanding of Objectivism?

Moderated discussions

Our meetings were often most effective when we used a moderated discussion format. You can use this format on its own or in combination with another format.

In a moderated discussion, you are able to control the direction of the meeting while keeping everyone intellectually engaged. Also, you can prepare for moderated discussions simply by coming up with a list of discussion topics or questions, or you can encourage others to prepare a discussion. In contrast, if you try to lecture every week, you may find that it requires too much preparation, and, unless you are an expert speaker, may not keep members engaged.

Keep discussions focused, and alternate between discussing abstractions and related concretes. Don’t let the discussion get too off-topic or bogged down in borderline or irrelevant examples.

Short individual presentations

Consider asking members to pick an Objectivist topic of interest and give a short presentation. This encourages more participation and self-study. The presentation can lead to a discussion afterwards.

Read out loud

Read short articles or sections of Ayn Rand's fiction out loud, and stop every few sentences to discuss and carefully analyze what was read. This fosters a precise understanding of Objectivism. It can also be useful at times during the semester when students are overwhelmed with class work and are less willing to prepare ahead of time.

Audio and video

The Ayn Rand Institute makes audio and video recordings of lectures available to campus clubs. These recordings can be especially helpful when everyone is very busy. But be careful, don’t allow your meetings to become passive; make sure to discuss the lectures as well as listen to them. You can discuss afterwards or by pausing as you listen. A general rule of thumb is that you should use 45 min or less of recordings and they should be no more than 50% of the total meeting time. Just show the best parts.

Experiment with your meetings and ask for feedback. Even when you do find a good method for your group, don't be afraid to try something new. You may find that something else works even better, or that a temporary change in format provides needed variety. When you get it right, you and your members will learn a lot about Objectivism and how to apply it to your lives.

Travis P. and Colleen S. are both former presidents of the University of Chicago club. This article was originally posted Mar 1, 2009.

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