Lab of Fun #7: It's All About the Teamwork (Getting people on board, sharing the load and looking after each other)

This workshop is Part 7 of our 9-part Laboratory of Fun Summer School series for community event makers. You can attend just this session, pick and choose a few, or register for the entire two-month series.

Want to join the full summer school? Click here to choose multiple sessions and 'add to cart' so you only need to register once.

It's All About the Teamwork (Getting people on board, sharing the load and looking after each other)

Here's the truth about community events: you can't do it on your own, and you shouldn't have to. The best events happen when people share the work, have a say in decisions, and actually enjoy being involved.

This session is about how to build a team around your event... whether that's three mates round a kitchen table or twenty volunteers you've never met before. We'll talk about how to bring people together, how to make decisions without endless meetings, and how to make sure your volunteers feel valued enough to come back next time. Because the people behind the event matter just as much as the people who turn up on the day.

What we'll cover:

- How to find volunteers and how to ask people in a way that doesn't put them off
- Sharing the work: matching people to tasks they'll actually enjoy
- Making decisions together without it turning into a three-hour debate
- How to look after your volunteers: keeping people motivated, saying thank you and spotting when someone's taking on too much
- What to do when things get tricky: managing disagreements and keeping the team together
- Building a team that reflects your community, not just the usual suspects
- Time for any questions you might have

Access:
Zoom closed captions are available for every session. This session has a BSL interpreter live in the session. If you have any additional access needs, email hello@funpalaces.co.uk and we'll do our best to make it accessible for you to attend.

Joining a session:
You never have to speak, be on camera, or share anything you don't want to. Cameras on or off, microphone on or off - it's entirely your call throughout. Taking part by listening and reading along is taking part and it's always enough. We won't put anyone on the spot and when we invite people to contribute, it's always an invitation, never an expectation. We don't record any of the sessions. This is a space to think out loud, ask questions and change your mind - which people find easier when not being recorded.

Who it's for:
Anyone who’s trying to do everything themselves (please stop!), anyone who wants to involve more people, or anyone who’s ever lost a volunteer and wondered why.

About the Laboratory of Fun

The Laboratory of Fun is a free workshop series from Fun Palaces, open to anyone who wants to bring their community together. Whether you're putting on your first event or building on years of experience, each session is designed to be practical, honest, jargon-free and full of our top tips gathered from Fun Palace Makers across the UK and beyond over the last 12 years. You don't need permission, qualifications, experience, a big budget. You just need to care about your community and the people around you.

Take one session or take them all!

Why 'Laboratory of Fun'? The name is a nod to Joan Littlewood, the radical theatre director who dreamed up the original Fun Palace in the 1960s. She called it a 'laboratory of fun' and a 'university of the streets'... a space where anyone could experiment, learn and create. The building was never built, but the idea never went away. These workshops are our version of that same spirit: a place to experiment, mess about with ideas and figure things out together.

About Fun Palaces

Fun Palaces is a national movement that supports local people to create their own free community events: sharing skills, passions and interests, and celebrating the genius that already exists in every community. As we continue to be concerned by division sown amongst our communities, there has never been a stronger case to bring people together, to find joy and fun and to celebrate the unique skills and talents we each possess. Fun Palaces are about taking some time out for an hour, a day, a weekend to dream something better, collectively, for the places we live in. And to put that dreaming into action.

You can find out more about Fun Palaces at funpalaces.co.uk