Experience - Informational Email to Volunteers

Audience: Session chairs, session runners, registration staff

Hey there, volunteers!

Thank you so much for volunteering with DjangoCon US! We truly couldn't do this without your help, and we appreciate your time. Here are some things that might make your volunteer experience easier:

The volunteer handbook is online. This includes contact information for the conference staff, important phone numbers, a schedule of events, locations of important rooms, and some tips for sessions chairs and session runners.
Review the volunteer shifts you signed up for, and set yourself a reminder so you don't lose track of time. (It's easy to do at a conference where so many awesome things are going on!)
If you witness a Code of Conduct violation, or someone reports one to you, please call conference staff as soon as possible; let the person who reported the violation know you have done so; offer to stay with them until we arrive; offer to help them with contacting a friend, hotel security, law enforcement, or anyone else; and do not make any public statements about the event. Respect their privacy.

A couple of things just for session chairs:

Be sure you know how to pronounce your speaker's name.
Ask your speaker if they want to take questions at the end of their talk.
Confirm how speaker would like time kept: signs, hand signals, and when you should start counting down.
Before you start taking questions, remind the audience to ask appropriate questions. "Before we take questions, please remember to keep your questions short, on-topic, respectful, and formed as questions."
If someone asks a question that is not a question, say, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we are looking for questions only. Please save comments and feedback for later." There are more tips for dealing with unhelpful questions in the handbook.
If a presenter says something, or has a slide in their talk, that violates the Code of Conduct, contact the conference staff as soon as you can. If it's not that big of a deal, let us know, but don't stop the talk. If their talk is completely outside the realm of acceptable behavior, interrupt the speaker, discontinue the talk, and contact conference staff immediately. If you are not sure, step out of the talk, call conference staff, and ask us to come review the talk ASAP. [NUMBER] will reach a DEFNA board member at all times.
An example of a minor violation that does not warrant stopping the talk: A single slide that makes an inappropriate joke at the expense of a marginalized group. You should contact conference staff after the session so we can review with the speaker, but there is no need to stop the talk.
An example of a major violation that warrants stopping the talk: Most slides use sexual or racist imagery; and/or the speaker continually and repeatedly makes derogatory remarks or jokes at the expense of a marginalized group. "I'm sorry, but we won't be able to continue this talk at this time" is a useful script in this situation.

We hope your volunteer experience is fun and memorable! If you have any questions, conference staff will have organizer ribbons on our badges so you can flag us down easily. You can also respond to this email.

DjangoCon US Team