5 Things Learned Programming to 4,000 Plus
by Jeff Frigon, Youth & Student Programs Coordinator
In the world of challenge course facilitation, there are small groups, and there are large groups, and then there are what I have recently started referring to as “supermassive” groups.
I use supermassive because I’m a science nerd and it refers to a class of black holes that grow so large, that entire universes revolve around them. They create gravity so strong that nothing can escape their pull (including light) and, in the case of supermassive groups, this apparently includes the facilitator’s ability for rational thought and speech.
Here is what I have learned:
1) Know your audience.
Know what words to use to make the instructions relevant. I have been working middle school groups in small (12 or less) and large (up to 300) groups for years, so I know what works and what doesn’t.
2) Know your activity.
The activities I used were ones I could “do in my sleep,” and had led literally hundreds of times with groups of all sizes and populations.
3) Get their attention: Call and Response.
Find a noise and action that are your call-and response. Use this to focus them and make sure they are ready for your instructions. I get the attention of just about anyone with the “Disco Call” I procured years ago from The Beastie Boy’s Paul’s Boutique album (specifically Egg Man)… the “Ooop-Ooop!” along with the admittedly silly dual hand motion indicating “raise the roof”.
4) Make them Laugh as soon as possible.
See: above “disco call”.
5) Timing is everything.
Fortunately, whether you can see them or not (and in my case, thankfully, I could not due to the stage lighting), the timing of an activity run with 3000 people is about the same as one with 300 people. Capture their attention (see #3) to give instructions, then give a little more time than you would a small group. Give them those little hints you would anyone else…just give it a couple more seconds to sink in and get carried out.
Here is a video of one of the activities I used during Stand-UP NH, a one-day program where 4,000 plus students take a stand against all forms of bullying. For more information about this program see their website: http://www.standuptobullyingnh.org/
Video courtesy of PA Connect.
