Clapping adds energy!

20/4/08

I don’t know what it is like in your region, but in mine the opinion as to whether members should clap after each 60 second presentation is divided. The recommendation is that there be no clapping, but it is left to the individual chapters to decide for themselves. In mine we clap.

Now, there are various arguments for and against. On the against side the arguments seem to centre on timekeeping and the fact that even bad 60 seconds get clapped, so how do you tell a good one?

But I think the reasons for clapping far outweigh those against. Firstly, I would suggest that if a chapter is running over time due to clapping, then there is in fact a much larger problem somewhere else. As for the bad 60 seconds getting clapped, well, I can assure you that it is easy to spot the difference between a bad 60 seconds and a very good one.

But there is much more!

For one thing, just think about that new member, worried about their 60 second presentation. How confidence building is it to get clapped for that first 60 seconds? Then to my mind, when I visit chapters that don’t clap, the change over between speakers is just totally dead. You just get the noise of chairs being pushed back, paper rustling and members talking because they have nothing else to do. Clapping at its worst covers all of that and, what’s more, uses the time to better effect. At its best, clapping builds on the energy already in the meeting and can even inject energy when it has been missing. And, another interesting thing I have noticed is that the 10 minute speaker is often better when there is real energy in the meeting.

So yes – I think clapping adds real energy to a meeting and I thank our RD for promoting it.