Five things I learned from organising the Digital Prototyping Weekend
Volunteering has many benefits and opens many doors, especially at a place like The Shortcut, where events, trainings and activities are happening every, single week. You can feel the creative energy right when you walk through the door from the ideas being shared, concepts being developed, and people coming and going. So as a volunteer or intern you have so many opportunities to learn, take ownership and make one of these events your own.
That can still be a bit scary if you have never organised an event before. The beauty of being a volunteer and being in the startup environment is the beautiful concept of learning by doing. If you are curious and want to learn how to organise an event, you’re pretty much good to go.
That’s pretty much the story of how I ended up organising the Digital Prototyping Weekend in late March this year. This was a challenging experience for sure, but a challenging environment is what helps you grow.
Here are five main learnings I had from organising a 2-day event for 45 people.
1) Solution-oriented
When you are doing anything with people involved, a tight schedule, and a hackathon style pitching competition, there are always going to be problems. If you have any tendencies to perfectionism and wanting to control everything, this can be hard to accept. But learning to face the reality and doing your best to find the right solution in that moment, is not only necessary but also a great skill to have. This will make your life so much easier.
2) Positivity
Staying positive is a really important element as well. Especially since the things that might go wrong, might seem overwhelmingly big in your head, but most probably no one else will ever notice it. If you don’t let a small mistake or problem turn into a crisis but instead try to deal with it with a smile and a deep breath, it’s more likely that it will not turn into a crisis.
3) Ask for help
If things are becoming chaotic or stressful, remember that you most often have people around that can help you. This was a great learning I had. I should definitely have thought of what tasks I would need help with so it would have been easier to ask someone to help me out. Don’t try and do everything yourself just because it might seem easier than involving someone. Make sure you’re prepared and willing to delegate.
4) Front stage & back stage
Don’t panic. No one will be served by you freaking out and looking like everything will fall apart. They will notice if you look stressed out, so try and be considerate of what energy and mood you’re showing. Most of the time, as I mentioned earlier, the participants probably don’t even notice the smaller things that go wrong, but they will notice if you’re upset. So be mindful with what signal you are sending.
5) Relax & enjoy!
Finally, and this might be one of the most important ones, relax! Relaxing and taking a deep breath will most probably make the four above suggestions a lot easier to follow. This is also where the element of volunteering comes in. No one is expecting you to do everything to perfection, most probably you’re not a professional event organiser, you’re a volunteer. So remember to take the time to enjoy, relax and take in the experience. There are many things to learn from organising an event, so make the most of the opportunity. At the end of it though, remember to pat yourself on the back and take a moment to notice what a good time everyone is having.
Are you curious about organising events and volunteering yourself or maybe interested to know what other cool things we have on the programme for the upcoming weeks? Contact us at volunteer@theshortcut.org or join our Facebook group here!
