👥 Target Audience: Office Hours Hosts
You’ve been tapped to host an Office Hour but don’t know what topic to discuss, who to invite or where to start. Fear not, we’ve put together some simple tips to make your session inspiring and informative. |
1. Define your purpose/goal
Start by determining what you want the audience to get out of the discussion — establishing the purpose early on will provide the framework for running your event. Having clear objectives keeps the discussion from being too broad — the more precise, the better.
To develop a clear purpose and topic for your session, consider a few questions:
What am I currently working on?
What expertise do I have to share?
Would other colleagues or teams be interested in learning about this?
Would knowing what I'm working on help others be more effective at their jobs?
Answering these questions will help you formulate a specific purpose for your Office Hour session. Browse our easy-to-use templates to get inspired.
2. Choose your topic
When it comes to choosing the topic of your Office Hour make sure it aligns with your current objective or project. Use this list of Office Hours topics as inspiration for the type of session you can host. Make sure your topic is clear so attendees know what to expect from your session.
3. Consider the size of your session
When hosting your Office Hours session consider how many people you want to attend.
Start by thinking about the purpose of your event. Is hearing feedback from the audience integral? If so, make sure you keep the size of your event small and intimate so people feel heard — too few, and someone might monopolize the conversation.
Here are some tips:
Q&A: Attendees should take turns asking the host questions. A host can also simply respond to questions sent in advance during the RSVP process. The maximum number of attendees per session should be 25
Roundtable: Each participant should be provided with 3-5 minutes to talk. Maximum number of attendees per session should be 15.
4. Employee-driven agenda
Through Office Hours you can easily create your event’s agenda using questions submitted by attendees when they RSVP to your session. This option ensures attendees gain the most out of your event, while also allowing you to prepare your talking points.
Your agenda should include the following:
The topic clearly stated
The purpose of your session
The primary discussion points
Your session timeline — start and end
Session guidelines (i.e. how to participate)
5. Collect your feedback
Feedback collection is made easy using Office Hours. At the end of your session, attendees are sent a simple survey of questions on what they liked or disliked. They are also given the opportunity to suggest improvements and recommend topics for your next session.
This information will be useful in making improvements, enhancing your attendees' experience and adding even more value to your next session.