We'd only had one weeks notice and had only met each other once prior to the event. A great quote that I read about audience engagement through my Research Project this semester is "true engagement occurs when you have entered as a guest and left as a host." I strongly resonate with these words as I think that this is a great sentiment to have when empowering people to feel a sense of belonging.
Knowing that Paul and I would have limited time to officially prepare for the event, I thought back to all the other times I've had a really great time doing group work. In all those times, things always worked out when the whole team or duo understood or knew how the other person worked. Even though we might all work slightly differently, to me, being able to scope and adapt with the person, then create a common "sync" is the key to group work. So rather than being focused on "rehearsing", I thought I'd spend the time getting to know Paul more. And it all worked out really well, since we were comfortable with each other, we bounced off each other to build a comfortable rapport with the audience. Paul's a real pleasure to work with!
I think especially for multi-cultural events, it is very important to have event hosts who are able to make everyone else feel comfortable. Often for "outsiders" coming into a new idea or "thing", there are generally two responses: "intrigue" or "fear". It would be nice for most people to be intrigued and interested however some people are naturally inclined towards fearing the unknown. That is why if we can ease people into the event and at least make them feel welcome, even if they don't immediately understand everything, at least they become comfortable with difference. This particular thinking shift here holds a critical moment between opening a door and closing a door.
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