An Idiots Guide To: Running A Successful Society or Student Group

What does it take to run a successful society? Before that can be answered, you need to ask yourself, what does it mean to be ‘successful’?

Let’s imagine you were part of the rock-climbing society (there isn’t one at MDX but how cool would that be?!), and as a team you will enter rock climbing competitions. If all you do is practice, over and over until your arms ache, is that a society? Seeing your ‘team mates’ only to speak about your practice, is that a society? Or is having a sense of family what makes a society? Having trust and love for those you meet at least once a week to do something you love, is that what makes a society?

At the foundation of every society is their committee. Before even beginning to introduce your new freshers and existing members to each other, a good level of teamwork and trust needs to be established between the committee. If the committee are always arguing, that will be mirrored by the members, and a bad atmosphere is never fun!

Introduce the members to each other. Creating a fun and light welcome event at the start of term will give the new members a chance to get to know each other in a relaxed environment. The first event does not need to be too heavy with information. Use this as an opportunity to have some fun whilst learning about the society.

It is important that you stay organised throughout the year. Plan events in advance to allow enough time to prepare. Not only will this make your lives less stressful, but it will also give enough notice so that anyone who wants to attend can. If you’re a society that requires a lot of rehearsal, make sure to schedule in some social events throughout the year, so that everyone can have some down time together.

Allow yourself to make mistakes. Being on the committee for several societies in all three years of study at Middlesex, I learned that running a society is no piece of cake. There will be times when things don’t go right, people you relied on let you down and sometimes you will want to give up, but don’t. There is absolutely no way that you will get through the year without a hiccup or two, but don’t blame yourself. This is normal, particularly while the committee are just starting to get the hang of things. Be honest with your members when something hasn’t gone to plan, and don’t be afraid to ask them for help.

Remember to enjoy the experience. Running a successful society is also about giving yourself praise for what you achieve, and having fun along the way!

Fill every meeting with passion and enthusiasm and your members will do so too.

This is definitely key during freshers week! Make an impression and there will be a queue waiting to sign up.