Give it a Go’s (GIAGs)

A Give-It-A-Go, or Taster, session is exactly what it says on the tin – it is a session that people interested in your society can attend without needing to purchase a membership. These are a great way for potential members to get to know you (the committee), the other society members and to find out what sort of activities you as a society get up to.

A person being shown information on a laptop screen.

When should you host a Give it a Go?

GIAGs are great to run in Welcome Week - you can advertise them to interested students during your promo stalls and grow your members

We now run 6 welcome fairs throughout the year, which could be 6 taster sessions you can run to continually bring in new members and grow your society. You choose when you want to host a Give it a Go and when you’ve got the event up on the website, will be able to tag the event as Give it a Go so potential members see it’s open to non-members.

What makes a successful Give it a Go?

  • Plan ahead of time! Get your activity requests in at least 2 weeks beforehand, and if you're struggling to think of an activity contact your coordinator!
  • Keep it easy to attend, accessible and inclusive:
    • Plan a low-key activity that relates to your society, for example a quiz, coffee and chat, meet and greet, crafting activity.
    • Consider what you want the impact of the activity to be: community building, awareness, education?
    • Location is important! The students attending are likely to be majority first years so they might not be familiar with university buildings, pick places you can advertise well or make a short story on how to get to the event before it starts. You can host GIAG’s off site but remember to direct people there or set a meeting point at a well-known location.
    • If you’re an academic society, work with your lecturers to take over a course hour for a GIAG. You can even share information on AULA!

What are the steps to host one?

  1. Submit an Activity request at least 2 weeks in advance of your event (Don’t forget to request we book a space if you need one booked)
  2. Once you’ve had confirmation the event can go ahead, start advertising to members, your I’m Interested list, and to the student body!
  3. Make sure you brief all event leaders who will be present on the day – the primary call to action for any Give it a Go is: “Get a membership”
  4. Reflect – What went well, what could be improved, when should you do the next one?

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