Imagine this: 500 new students. 50 committee members. The members are mostly from 2 batches of students. That makes 25 committee members from a batch of students. That also means that (about) 25/500 = 5% of students per batch will make up the committee members from 1 batch for the next year. 500 past comments, but only 25 of them have a chance of improving the program next year, and they didn't read the comments. The other 25 may come from new members and ex-members. Experience is definitely at a premium. That doesn't sound very inspiring when it comes to future improvement.
The intricacies of being a committee member for a program goes beyond doing your specific part of the job; and the oversight needed is even more-so when you are a committee of a program like Taaruf Week. I think it's good to make this post, because the majority of students will not become a committee member, and will not understand the nature of difficulty of organizing a program. A significant number of committee members will not have past experience handling the same program from previous years. The lessons stated here are applicable for any program, to be used by anyone. These are, in my opinion, the most important 8 general rules:
Lesson 1: Follow the binomial distribution. Especially in your treatment of the subjects. Some like to be given freedom, some prefer to be given detailed instructions. Some like things formal, some don't. Some like leniency, some prefer strictness. Whatever it is, follow the distribution. Take the middle ground. At the same time, there will always be two extremes; attempting to accommodate both will be a nightmare. Take note of the age and composition of the audience.
Lesson 2: Engage your subjects. Lack of it creates boredom. Be too formal, and you will create distance. Be too informal, and the subjects will become wild. Whenever there's space between sessions, engage the audience. Heed lesson no. 1.
Lesson 3: Contingency plan here, contingency plan there. Always prepare for the worst. You won't regret it.
Lesson 4: Some specialized people, like multimedia gurus, MC's, protocol/PR specialists, etc., are as common as Ringgit bills in London. Many don't become committee members; those who do should teach others.
Lesson 5: Know what's going on. In big programs, getting lost is easy as 4-5 groups of committee members may be doing something all at the same time.
Lesson 6: Heed lesson no. 5. Committee members are vulnerable to extreme fatigue in big multi-day programs, and thus are prone to oversleeping, or even outright falling ill. Be prepare to cover for others. Can't do that without following lesson no. 5 now, can you?
Lesson 7: Read comments with a pinch of salt. Follow rule no. 1. If the majority liked the program, then that's the verdict. Applies for both positive and negative comments. If negative comments sounded like coming from spoiled brats, whose comments make you mutter, "let's see you in our shoes," obviously those comments deserved to be placed...in the trash. Negative comments which show maturity of the writer should be heeded; they are words of wisdom. Note to commenters before you fill any evaluation sheet: what would you do in that situation? Clueless? Then just save that ink.
Lesson 8: Speed comes from productivity, which in turn comes from specialization. Know your friends, their strengths, and use them till death, knowing that their 50% effort in doing something is more than your 100%. Increased speed allows for reallocation of resources when emergency situations arise.
This is fun. Feel free to comment.
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