Consider This Watch Party Toolkit

About Consider This

Since 2009, Oregon Humanities has hosted conversations with writers, civic leaders, activists, and artists in venues around Oregon. Originally called Think & Drink, the program was renamed Consider This in 2020. Each year, we select a new theme and invite guests connected to that theme to join us on stage for an unrehearsed, unscripted conversation. These conversation have taken place in Portland, Bend, Eugene, Astoria, Corvallis, Salem, Tillamook, Pendleton, Grants Pass, and Ashland. Each session is live-streamed and also recorded. You can find recordings of many of these events in our archive.

Why a watch party? 

While Consider This events take place in one location, there is an opportunity to participate from anywhere through our live stream and recordings. A watch party is a great way to get people together, watch a Consider This event, and reflect with others on what you heard. 

• Gather diverse perspectives: A watch party is an easy way to gather people from different parts of your network to reflect together. Introduce your book club to your aunties, or invite friends from yoga class to mingle with your neighbors. Even if the group seems homogenous, you may learn more about the range of perspectives in your circle. 
• Build community: Spending time together listening encourages people to share their own perspectives and ideas. Select a Consider This event that connects to a community issue that resonates for your community, such as houslessness and addiction, ecology and land use, or civic engagement and democracy. Getting conversations started about these topics can lead to stronger communities and even collaborative change. 
• Expand access to the humanities: Most of those who get involved with Oregon Humanities as contributors, facilitators, volunteers, or donors start out as program participants. Hosting a watch party lowers the barrier for participation and sets a welcoming tone for issues that can feel divisive or too big to tackle. Let attendees know about other resources and opportunities (through Oregon Humanities or other outlets) to further explore the ideas presented in Consider This. 

How to host a watch party 

• Get Familiar: If you haven’t attended or watched a Consider This event, you might want to do so before you host your first watch party. That way, you’ll be familiar with the general flow of a Consider This event as you think about setting up your watch party plan. Check out upcoming events on the Oregon Humanities web calendar or find recordings of past conversations on our YouTube channel.
• Sample agenda: We have found this timeline to work well for our watch parties, assuming the Consider This program starts at 7:00 p.m.
  • 6:30 p.m.: gather
  • 6:45 p.m.: turn on the livestream
  • 7:00 p.m.: watch the program together and submit questions for the Q&A
  • ​​8:00 p.m.: Q&A begins
  • 8:30 p.m.: Consider This live stream ends. 
    You can stop there or engage folks in conversation after. For tips, see the next section. 
• Technical Needs: Regardless of how you plan to watch (live stream or recording), you likely need the following. 
  • A strong internet connection to stream the event from our YouTube channel. 
  • A projector, screen, and laptop, a smart TV, or some other way for people to watch the event on a screen large enough for everyone to see what’s happening. 
  • Speakers if those aren’t built into the viewing system.
  • If you’re watching the live stream and want to pose questions in the chat, be sure to have another device available so you can continue watching while also typing your questions for the speaker into the YouTube chat. 
• Invite List: Think about who you want to invite. You might start with just people you know, encourage those folks to bring a friend, or put out an open invite to anyone who wants to come. You could host a watch party for your work colleagues, your book club, your swim team, your family, your neighborhood association, your youth group, or any other group of people you want to gather. 
• Collaborate: Consider who might help you plan the party. Maybe it’s a friend, or a coworker, a neighbor, a family member, or an organization in your town. 
• Pick an event: Look at the upcoming Consider This events on our calendar to see which one might work for you to do a live watch party. You could also look at past events on our archive page and hold a watch party of the recording on any day that works for you. 
• Location: Think about where you want to host the event. How many people will be there? Is the venue easy to get to? Is the meeting space accessible? Will it be where you live? Where you work? A community center? Your school? Do you need to reserve the space? Most Consider This events run about ninety minutes. Be sure to add time for set up and clean up. 
• Invitations: What’s the best way to get the word out to the group you want to invite? Email? Text? Invitations in the mail? Posting fliers? A post to social media? You are welcome to copy the event description and image from our website. Be sure to include any accessibility information (stairs, public transportation, parking, etc.) that will help people know what to expect. What ages are welcome? Will there be food served or available for purchase? 
• Let us know! We love to hear when folks are having watch parties so we can say hello to your group from the stage and also so we can help you if you need it. Please let us know if you are hosting a watch party by emailing programs@oregonhumanities.org. 
• Refreshments: Food and beverages is a great way to get people to your event. Will you be providing those? One of your collaborators? Ask folks to bring food to share, potluck-style? 
• Room Setup: Think about how you’ll set up the room so everyone can see the screen. Asking people to wear name tags can help them get to know one another.
• Start Watching: When you’re ready, simply click on the window for the event on your YouTube page and start watching. It’s usually nice to maximize the window so it’s big on your screen. 

How to spark conversation with a post-event discussion

Reflecting on ideas in the company of others through conversation is one way—among many—for people to think about their beliefs and the relationship between what they think and how they act in the world. It’s also a way to build community, gain understanding of a variety of perspectives, and strengthen how we work and live together. Keep in mind folks will have just watched a ninety-minute conversation and will likely need a break before the conversation. You might also want to limit the conversation time so the formal event isn’t too long. The facilitator is tasked with creating an open space for conversation, framing the questions participants will discuss, and guiding the conversation so that it is engaging and exploratory. Below are a few tips and best practices for leading reflective conversations, these are just a few ideas to get you started. 

• Sample agenda: We have found this timeline to work well for our watch parties with post-event discussions, assuming the Consider This program starts at 7:00 p.m.
  • 6:30 p.m. gathering
  • 6:45 p.m. turn on the livestream
  • 7:00 p.m. watch the program together and submit questions for the Q&A
  • 8:00 p.m. Q&A begins
  • 8:30 p.m. Consider This live stream ends. Take a break.
  • 8:40 p.m. group discussion with your group. End at a time that feels right for you and the group.
• Room Setup: Think about how you’ll set up the room so everyone can see the screen. It’s great if you are also able to move chairs around for the discussion portion so folks can see each other by arranging chairs in a circle. Circles are much more conducive to full participation and conversation. 
• Introductions: Think about how you want to start the conversation. If participants don’t know one another, a round of introductions can help people feel more comfortable sharing their perspectives and help “break the ice” by having everyone talking right away in the conversation. 
• Set a relaxed and open tone. People generally feel most comfortable when they know what to expect. Also, acknowledge that you understand that some folks are active listeners, are shy, or perhaps are uncomfortable speaking in a group. The more comfortable you seem, the more comfortable participants will be. 
• Get people talking: 
  • Good questions for stimulating dialogue don’t require specific knowledge and allow participants to connect an idea to their personal experience. 
  • Questions should be open-ended and also not have right or wrong answers, nor should you be able to answer them with a simple “yes” or “no.”
  • You might want to write down what questions the audience had for the event speakers and decide if those might be good questions to ask your watch party group. 
  • Structure the conversation in different ways. Have participants share in pairs or if you have a large group, have participants share in small groups and then share themes to the larger group. 
• Conclude in a meaningful way: 
  • Your goal is to inspire curiosity, but don’t feel the need to be exhaustive. One sign of a good reflective conversation is that participants leave with more questions than answers—and that they’re still talking when the formal program ends. It’s OK to end the conversation with ideas still in the air. 
  • Think about how you’d like to end the conversation with a prompt such as “What’s one thing you’ll take away from today’s conversation?” or “What’s one question you’re walking with?”

One last note 

Remember that the big goal here is to get people thinking, listening, and talking about ideas and questions that matter to them. There’s no just-right way to do it—and there are lots of good reasons to do it. Please contact Oregon Humanities if you want to talk about planning a discussion, inviting participants, facilitating, or anything else related to building community through conversation. We’d also love to hear about what you’ve done and how it went. Send a photo, and we’ll use it to spread the word about the power of conversation.
 

Get in touch

We would love to answer any questions you may have about Consider This. You can reach us at programs@oregonhumanities.org.

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