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Tabling Tips
Setting up a
table and talking to people who pass by is a great way to meet new
potential members. Opportunities for tabling abound at Community
Events, public parks, etc.
Main Goal
Recruit as many new members to the organization as possible.
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It is vital
that any interested person be encouraged to provide us with a
way to contact them further by signing the information sign up
list
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If they
don’t want to give us their information—make sure they have ours
so they can contact us later (e.g., brochure, biz card, etc.)
Initial Contact
When
someone walks by, smile, make eye contact and attempt to engage them
in conversation. This is most easily accomplished by saying,
“Hello.” When you say hello, they will either keep moving or slow
because they are interested. Before they have a chance to get away,
ask them something to the effect of, “Are you familiar with
Humanism?”
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Note: Some
will be familiar with Humanism, but most will have only a
sketchy understanding or no knowledge at all. Based on their
response—you will likely want to provide a quick overview of the
philosophy. (See examples below.)
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If they
already consider themselves a Humanist, then strongly encourage
them to join our organization by signing our info sheet.
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Be sure to
explain who we are and what our mission is (see brochure): “We
are a statewide association of Humanist groups and individuals.”
Inform them HFA is dedicated to solving contemporary social and
political issues. For example, “We promote the use of reason and
compassion to solve social problems” or “We are working to
create a more humane world,” etc.
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It is very
important to get THEM to talk. LISTEN to what they have to say.
You are trying to find out what their interests and concerns are
so you can relate their interests back to specific issues and
activities HFA is working on.
Get them to sign our mailing list
Ask
them to sign up for more information—if you don’t ask, they won’t
sign up.
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Once they
appear interested or have expressed some solidarity with our
views, encourage them to sign up for our mailing list: “We’d
like to send you more information. Would you please provide your
contact information?” or “If you would like, we will send you a
complimentary copy of our quarterly newsletter if you will tell
us how to reach you,” etc.
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If they do
not want to sign our list, thank them and make sure they have a
HFA brochure and direct them to our website for more
information.
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Once they
have completed their contact information, look at it and clarify
any ambiguous information. (This is critical since without
accurate information, we will be unable to contact them, and
handwriting is often indecipherable.)
Helpful
Hints
It is vital you
do not to talk too long to any one person. Again—your goal is to
meet as many NEW people as possible and to get them to sign our info
sign up sheet.
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Often times someone
is very eager to keep talking with you. Don’t let this interfere
with meeting as many new people as possible. Most
lingerers are generally interested in our organization and are
supportive and will understand that you need to talk to other
people. Continue to smile and acknowledge the statements made by
the lingerer, while you also politely continue to meet new
people as well. Once you are engaged in a new conversation, the
lingerer will eventually move on.
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If someone
else arrives at the table, politely thank the person(s) you’re
speaking to and say either, “We’ll be in touch,” or “We hope
you’ll check out our website.”
Tabling is a
great opportunity to meet like-minded volunteers and you will want
to get to know them. At the same time, do not get so caught up in a
conversation with each other that you miss out on talking to NEW
people.
The best way
to avoid this is to be aware of people passing your table and start
initial contacts when someone walks close by, regardless of how
interesting your conversation is at that moment. This requires you
divide your attention, but it is essential for a successful tabling
experience. After all, it is very easy to pick up the thread of a
dropped conversation, but impossible to bring back a lost
opportunity to meet someone new.
Short and Quick Definitions of
Humanism
Note:
it is often best to start with the short definitions and expand
later on the finer points of Humanism.
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Humanism is
a philosophy that advocates the use of reason and compassion to
solve human problems.
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Humanists
believe we can and should make the world a better place for all
of us to live.
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Humanism is
a pro-human philosophy.
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Humanism is
about being happy and helping others to be happy as well.
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Humanism is
the philosophy of Human Rights and of Democracy.
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Humanism is
a non-religious approach to solving our problems in a way that
benefit everyone.
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“Being a
Humanist means behaving decently without expectation of reward
or punishment after I die” – Kurt Vonnegut
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