Slot 1: Set the scene

No going back now. There are about 25 education slots ahead of you (and me). The good news is that you do not need to carry the can completely. If delegation isn't a word in your vocabulary - get out the dictionary. You do need to set the scene however and provide some kind of structure for your tenure. One very good reason to do a little leg work on this now is - you need to do this job well. It needs to appear structured and professional. If you don't - instead of boosting referrals you will receive - you are going to look like a twat. The education slot is an extremely important part of the whole meeting. If there are visitors on board - its pretty much the first piece of 'entertainment' they will get. Not that you have to be a stand up comedian. Instead you do have to provide some value to the group.

For my first session I have decided to do a little bit of market research on my group and find out what it is exactly they are looking for. I've loaded up the printer with some ink and prepared a survey. You can get a copy here.

Along with the survey - here is the script I will use. I've included some bits about what the education slot is for and how the membership can use it.

Good morning everyone. I'm back for another stint as the education co-ordinator. Taking a page from Pat Shannon's book (Pat is an ex member of our chapter) - I have come up with a simple survey. You guys are going to be listening to me every week for the next 25 weeks or so. I thought it only fair to give you a chance to pick out what you would like to hear about. I have come up with 25 topics which I would like you to rate. Mark each with either a 1, 2 or 3 depending on how useful you might find it. Just leave a blank if you don't think you need to hear my insights on the subject.

One more thing I wanted to mention before I finish up this morning. I just want to explain what the ed-slot is for. Basically - I'm here to relay the perceived wisdom of the BNI to the members. Specifically - the leadership team may feel like they would like to focus on a particular area. For example - lets say we want to improve our 60 second presentations, Tony (our chapter director) might ask me to give a few hints. Of course - I'm perfectly within my rights to delegate that back to him. I will try and call on the expertise within the room as much as is possible - so you might well be asked to pitch in . That is my lot.

Have a great morning guys.

The 'have a great morning' bit might be over-egging it but its strange with what you can get away with in the confines of a BNI meeting ;)

The Ed slot is good for business. It really is. The extra visibility in the meeting means that you do get a better supply of referrals than your average member. It also means that there will be a few hectic late night scrambles across the internet to find something worthwhile to empart.

I've already done one stint as an Education co-ordinator - and in an effort to raise the bar this time around - I am going to start blogging my efforts. With a bit of luck - if you are also an newly minted Education Co-ordinator - you might find something you can use for yourself.

If you do find something useful here - don't forget to make a post and give some feedback. Someone else might find it useful.