With the location, participants, and facilitators finalized, it's time to finalize the specifics of the conversation. These may appear to be details at first glance, but they can have a pivotal role on the impact of your event.
Scheduling: Determining a date and time will likely depend partially on the availability of your chosen space, but it's important to consider your audience when finalizing the schedule. Things to consider:
- Are there other community events that conflict with your chosen date or time?
- Is the date/time convenient for participants?
- Is there enough time for participants to adjust their schedules in order to ensure they can attend?
- Do you have enough time to fully plan the conversation?
Materials and Resources: When you have determined what your intended outcomes are, it's important that you have the materials and resources attendees need to ensure you reach the intended outcomes. For example, if you are looking to connect an under-served community with treatment and resources, make sure you have sufficient information (and possibly even representatives from local agencies, providers, advocates, etc.) to distribute. Plan on providing writing materials, stationary, name tags, etc. that might be useful.
Additional Logistics and Accommodations: Other things to consider when planning the conversations could include:
- Child care.
- Translators.
- Refreshments.
- Carpooling and transportation arrangements.
- Arrangements for hearing- or visually impaired participants.
Try to think of everything that will make it easy for your and your participants to leave feeling that the conversation was successful and had a positive impact.