TIPS ON TABLING
Thanks to the GrassRoots Organizing Working Group, Green Party of California www.greens.org/cal-grow for this info.

WHY TABLE:

  • As a recruitment tool and to activate more volunteers
  • Increase your visibility - tell people about your group
  • Support for a campaign (i.e., surveys, signatures, donations)
  • Pass out information/educate people about an issue
  • Good time to train volunteers how to go out and talk to people, to educate the public about an issue.

    BEFORE YOU TABLE:

  • Put together a tabling kit. Include: Table with brightly colored cover or an ironing board, Chairs, Donation jar - start off with $1, Paperweights - rocks will do, Plenty of literature (multi-lingual if possible), a sign letting people know why you are there (i.e. Register Green!, and who you are if your group has a name), A sign-up sheet to boost your group's numbers or get in touch with other advocates who feel like you, A petition of some kind to get people motivated, voter registration cards, clipboards.
  • On your sign-up sheet have a place for e-mail addresses.
  • Can you use a VCR/TV to get your message across?
  • Make sure that you have literature available for different reading levels. (The average reading level in Sacramento is 4th grade.!)
  • Call the manager or contact of the location you will be tabling at least a week in advance. Ask for permission and what requirements they have for tabling. Ask If you are permitted to sell merchandise and/or collect donations
  • Keep a schedule of who is supposed to table and have a tabling coordinator call to confirm the night before. Don't forget about the Law of Halves "Flake Factor" when setting goals. If two people sign up for tabling, most likely, one will show.(especially with new volunteers) Schedule a more experienced volunteer with a less experienced one.
  • Have the tabling volunteers meet before the tabling day. (especially if new volunteers) Talk about goals of the tabling and what information they should get across to those who they interact with. Practice a tabling rap.
  • Make sure people know where to pick up the tabling box in the morning and where to drop it off in the evening.

    WHEN YOU TABLE

  • Pick a location where you can find the type of people you want to recruit. Make sure the location is comfortable for your volunteers
  • Be friendly and make eye contact.
  • Open with a question to involve the person being tabled in a dialogue. "Will you help us stop the ROTC from discriminating on this campus?" Don't ask them a yes or no question like "Are you registered to Vote?"
  • Know when to call it quits. Don't get hung up on a reactionary or on someone who agrees with you and wants to talk. Give them literature, set another time to talk, or invite them to a meeting, but don't waste your time while other potential activists are passing you by.
  • Get the clipboard/survey/ petition in their hands
  • Read the person, where are they coming from? Listen!
  • Stay on the side of the table or a few feet in front, so you can go up and talk to people, lead them to the table. The table is NOT your station you don't even need a table to "table." Clipboards are very useful for collecting signatures and working the crowd (free of the table). Also use the "buddy approach" which is to have one person working the people flow. This will draw people in (i.e. eye contact with everyone, saying things like "Support a peace dividend?"), get them interested and draw them to the table for the use of a pen or other information. The person at the table can take over while the floating person or people draws people in.
  • Be assertive, not aggressive
  • Have energy!!!! Get psyched and motivate people to join us and get involved! Be and work at the grassroots level!
  • If you're signing people up for something, put a name or two at the top. Nobody likes to be the first.
  • ALWAYS ASK FOR A CONTRIBUTION!!! "Can you help us with a contribution today?" "We are asking everyone for a dollar today" "If you can't sign up how about a contribution?"
  • If you do collect money, put it in a visible jar and put a few dollars in to start it out.
  • Don't spend too long talking to kooks or shooting the breeze with one of the converted.
  • Never (or almost never, especially in heavy traffic areas) petition for two things at once. It's very confusing.
  • FREE stuff does wonders in attracting people
  • Always have a sign and flyers advertising your next meeting and upcoming events.

    AFTER YOU TABLE

  • Make sure that all materials are returned to the headquarters or tabling coordinator.
  • Note what materials will need to be replaced in the kit.
  • Make sure that all contributions are distributed to your treasurer or financial agent.
  • Write up a brief report about the location you tabled and any issues that should be addressed for the next time.
  • If you have a special event coming up, contact the people who signed up at the table and thank them for their interest and invite them to it.

    RELATED SITES

  • Activist Handbook online--invaluable!
  • New Ways to Strike Back
  • Why Protest?
  • How to organize a protest, what to bring, and some tactics
  • How to write a press release
  • Free Student Front Page
  • CYBERCADRE