Student Leadership: 3 Easy Ways to Make Event Planning Innovative, Fun and Successful

Leaders in the community are usually in charge of many different events. Junior high and high school students will be the future leaders in the community. Therefore, schools need to have student leadership training in their curriculum so teens can learn how to plan events and make them successful.

Jane's class is having graduation soon, and, as president of the class, it is up to Jane to plan a graduation party with a committee of fellow students. The graduation is only weeks away, and she is feeling overwhelmed and concerned. "What can be done to make planning easier and more fun?" she wonders.

Three important processes that will make planning easier and more fun for student leaders are brainstorming, storyboarding, and delegating.

• Brainstorming allows you to come up with several creative ideas.


• Storyboarding helps you to view those ideas in an organized fashion.


• Delegating helps you to determine which people will be responsible for the various tasks that will be needed to prepare for the event.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is the process of getting creative ideas from a group. The purpose is to come up with as many different ideas for the event as they can.

• Individuals are encouraged to call out their ideas, no matter how off-the-wall or outrageous they may seem.


• No negative comments are allowed, and no criticism can be given.


• One person's idea can lead to other group members' ideas.

For example, if you are planning a graduation party, your group members may come up with different ideas ranging from making it formal, to having a jazz band. One member may come up with the zany idea to make it a costume party, which can lead to other ideas like having a magician or performers.

Storyboarding

Storyboarding is the process of organizing the ideas that come from the brainstorming session:

• The ideas are put on Post-It notes.


• The notes are then placed on a wall under different categories.Some event planning categories may include Food, Music, Activities, and Miscellaneous.

For instance, the idea to make the event a costume party may be placed on the wall under Miscellaneous, while having a jazz band, magician or performers would be put under Entertainment.

If several miscellaneous ideas have the same line of thought, group them under a new heading.

Delegating

Following these procedures, the students can then vote on each idea with a show of hands. The ideas that are voted out have the Post-It notes removed from the wall.

Then the teens must determine the necessary tasks and delegate them to different people. This can be done by using a task list and a delegating list. The tasks from the task list can be put next to the names on the delegating list. They will correspond with the person who will be assigned to that task.

Voila! Now you have an event all planned out.

Planning an event does not need to be overwhelming and stressful for youth leaders. It can be fun, using the processes of brainstorming, storyboarding, and delegating. Teen leaders can learn to use these techniques in student leadership classes. They will then be on their way to becoming our community leaders of the future.