March Brown Bag Session

March Brown Bag Session De-briefing

Introductions, Transitions and Conclusions – pt. 2
March 25, 2010

In part two of our two part discussion on Introductions, Transitions and Conclusions we picked up where we left off in February. Since everyone was comfortable with introductions and transitions we again focused on conclusions and used the session as an informal discussion. Art shared an excellent technique to test if the theme came across to the visitors by concluding with a question. The audience’s answer is the re-statement of the theme.

Asking a question to the audienceProgram: Art’s “Birdman of Alcatraz”Introduction: Asks two questions to audience. Why did Robert Stroud spend 54 years in prison? and Why was Robert Stroud known as the “Birdman of Alcatraz”?

Conclusion repeats questions to audience: Robert Stroud spent 54 years in prison. Why?
Robert Stroud was known as the “Birdman of Alcatraz”. Why?
Audience response restates the themes that Robert Stroud was his own worst enemy and that he got his famous nickname to market his biography.

Another excellent technique was shared by Sharlene. Using a quote to conclude a program can be an effective way to sum up the program using the subject’s own words.

Using a quotation
Program: Sharlene’s “Floyd Hamilton: Back from the Dead”
Theme: Good things turn bad and bad things turn good for Floyd Hamilton.
Content: Covers Floyd Hamilton’s life and how he turned his life around after failing to escape from Alcatraz.
Conclusion: “Luckily for me, Alcatraz became my birthplace and not my grave.”

John shared some insight from his Al Capone program highlighting the fact that a program is not static. Instead a program develops and evolves after months and years of delivering it. Consequently, the theme, introduction and conclusion can change as time goes by, sometimes for the better and sometimes not. We spent some time discussing the pros and cons of the current conclusion and brainstorming new ideas.

Program: John’s “Al Capone”
Theme: Why do you know about Al Capone?
Current Conclusion: While Capone was the most famous and might be the reason you’re here tonight, remember that there are 1500 plus other convicts who each have a story to tell.

We agreed the current conclusion was an effective way to advertise other programs, ask people to reflect upon the success stories they heard about on the audio tour, and think about why Capone was so different from the rest. We also brainstormed other possible conclusions that could do an even better job at advancing the theme (or advancing a new theme).


Ideas for new conclusions:
Restating the theme in the form of a question to the audience: So, why do we know about Capone?
When Capone died he was an obscure figure. Nobody cared about Capone then, in 1947, why do we care now, in 2010?
Quotable Capone: Capone’s relationship with newspaper reporters and his famous quotes (whether real or imagined) were one of the things that made him famous and remembered. Finishing with a Capone quote might be a good way to illustrate that.

Art and Sharlene also shared additional programs. Art’s Indian Occupation was another good example of advancing the theme that the occupation was a cultural success but a social failure. The accompanying concluding statement, “Alcatraz is today what it was in 1969, a symbol of Indian unity” advances the theme nicely. Sharlene’s “Murder / Suicide” program uses an innovative theme highlighting her own personal journey towards investigating the truth of this dramatic story. We look forward to seeing how this program’s conclusion will develop over the next few weeks to add to the variety of effective concluding techniques.

Thanks everyone for attending and sharing! Let’s keep sharing our successes and learning experiences to continue to develop great new conclusions and improve our programs.

Stay tuned for info re: April and May brown bag sessions coming soon!