Lecture Organizers: Make It a Social Gathering!
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And Let's Have the "Get Together Spirit," Says S.T.R., "The Commercial Motor" Costs Expert and Lecturer, in Describing the Kind of Meeting He
Thinks the Best
FOR two years I have been addressing meetings df hauliers and other users of road motors. The work-, if hard, has, nevertheless, been most pleasant. There are definite signs, too, that what I have had to say has been received with the same degree of pleasure by those who have heard me.
And there's the rub. I have had large audiences and I have had small : good audiences all the time. who have paid me the compliment of listening to me for an hour or more without the sound of an interruption.
But, with one or two exceptions, I have always felt that the audience might have been larger and, as is more to the point, that those who are absent are the ones whom I am most anxious to meet. I feel, if I may say so, rather like the parson who said that the congregation to whom he preached was outside the church.
The question is : Can any improvement be made? I think it can, in. the manner of arranging the meetings and in their conduct.
One Object. . .
Let me get right down to funda mentals for a start. What is the object of these meetings? What am I trying to achieve?
There is only one object—a simple one, with no frills or complications. I want to make their costs known to all operators, and especially to hauliers.
I am positive that, if I could personally give every haulier and coach owner that knowledge, I should remove the principal cause of rate cutting. If I can impart it to C-licensees, I shall make them more willing to acquiesce in the increased rates which most hauliers must charge them.
It is true that, in what I say at these meetings. I go a little farther than that. I give an indication of what earnings should be—on the basis of these minimum costs—and I suggest means for checking my figures for costs, as a guide to those who do not keep proper records and who are appalled at the complicated systems of costing which are sometimes suggested to them.
Now, it is perfectly obvious that the men I wish to meet are those who have no knowledge of costs, who quote for a job on the basis of what the other fellow is getting, less a " tanner " or so per mile per ton or per hour, as the case may be.
My efficiency, therefore, is almost directly measured by the percentage of that type of man in the audience. I say "almost," because I have so many times been informed, by those who do keep costs, and even by those who are experts in the matter, that I have told them something they did not know, shown them that they are omitting something from their calculations. That, at least, is something to the good.
Cast the Net . . . .
Clearly, the problem is to .devise means for attracting the right type of man to the meeting. The first thing that almost jumps to the mind is : invitations must not be confined to members of the Association under the auspices of which the lecture is being given. It must be open.
Next—and now I am going to draw upon the results of my personal observations and experiences during the past two years—the meeting must be informal. I hate to be billed as a lecturer, and I think it is a mistake to announce the event even as an address or a talk.
Make it a congenial affair, with tables and chairs, and provision for drinks to be served. And invite the ladies. They know on which side of the bread is the butter. Moreover, in a good many cases it is a woman who keeps the books, if any.
Bigoted . . .
I know that there is a difficulty here—that there are some who do not like the idea of drinks being served: there are even those who have objections to a meeting being held in a public house.
They should be talked to and persuaded that the end justifies the means. For them there is lemonade. The fact that their womenfolk are going to be there will also reassure them as to the character of. the " entertainment " that is to be provided.
It is the friendly set-together atmosphere that is so necessary, and there is no better way of achieving it than to_ make everyone feel at home, sitting with his "pals" and feeling that his affairs are just as important and interesting as any which are likely to be brought forward.
Absolutely the best way—and here I am definitely speaking from experience—is to make the event a kind of social evening. "A bite and a sup—and that chap, S.T.R., of The Commercial Motor, will be there." That is how it was done at Dartford, and it was one of the best of my meetings.
Such an evening need not be expensive. I believe the tickets, on that occasion, cost Is. 6d. a head, for which we had a good spread of cold meat and salad, a sweet and cheese._ Drinks were extra, of course, and it was arranged so that . when the meal was over the seats could be turned around, friends could get together, and the same kind of intimate atmosphere achieved as I have mentioned above.
"ClosingBogy. . . .
Again—and this is important— make arrangements beforehand that the meeting need not come to an end at "closing time." Try to arrange that we can go on talking and chatting after the tables pave been cleared, so that everyone has a chance to say what he Wants, before we are, as it were, turned out.
Don't mind me, or have any regard to hours or convepience, so far as I am concerned. I am always entirely at the disposal of the meeting. I will never let anything interfere with prospects of attaining the objects in view.
I am not merely just willing, but anxious to do all that I can. And I get all the support and encouragement that is necessary from my principal, The Commercial Motor.
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Secretary, Mr. Organizer, do your best on these lines, and the good that has already been done by these chats of mine— and there is no doubt that good has been done—will be multiplied many times this winter.