To keep meetings interesting, consider inviting a variety of guest speakers to offer their stories, advice, and motivation. Speakers can be both entertaining and educational!
Find out what topics Pod members would be interested in having covered.
Explore your own network. Remember that speakers do not have to be celebrities.
Post in online plant-based support groups and check LinkedIn contacts.
Invite Pod members to speak: There are likely a few who have seen exceptional health benefits by switching to a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle. Find out if anyone holds a Center for Nutrition Studies Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate, or is certified through the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine “Food For Life” Program, and could give a short presentation on a specific subject. Also, request that members share their recovery stories - a series of these types of stories might be particularly inspirational.
Be considerate that some people might not have a lot of experience with speaking in front of a group, so work with them to find out what they would be comfortable doing. For instance, they may prefer to speak while everyone’s eating at a potluck rather than stand in the front of a room with no distractions. Also, carefully consider the time allotted to a speaker. Experienced, vetted speakers can be allotted more time, and new speakers can have more limited time which will reduce the new speaker’s anxiety and also minimize the impact on the meeting if they are poorly received.
Reach out to Pod members to see if anyone has suggestions; many people have contacts, and that is often the easiest way.
Do not rule out speakers who live far away or who cannot attend your meeting in person! See if they would be comfortable using Zoom or a video conference option to speak to your Pod.
Ask Pod leaders of other Pods for recommendations. Post on the Pod Leader Facebook Group asking whether anyone has had speakers they would recommend.
If you listen to Podcasts and hear a really motivational speaker, try contacting that person to see whether they would be willing to give a short talk and answer questions over video.
Think outside the whole food, plant-based box and consider getting speakers from complementary areas, such as:
Environmental organizations
Master gardeners
Local healthy food restaurant owners or health food store owners
Representatives from a local farmers' market, food co-op, or community-supported agriculture (CSA)
Recreation/fitness groups
Local university
Animal sanctuaries or other animal protection group
Ethical Choices Program - provides trained speakers for free to classrooms and delivers balanced thoughtful presentations. Pods have successfully had representatives from this group speak at evening Pod meetings held in the vicinity of the local school where there was a day presentation.
Coalition for Healthy School Food - can provide resources for introducing plant-based foods and nutrition education to the whole school community.
There are a number of points to consider if you invite someone to speak who is not WFPB, or who has a particular cause they care strongly about and may want to promote. Make sure to understand what your speaker's agenda might be and ask them to share their presentation with you in advance. Send an email (so it's in writing) asking them to agree not to promote anything which is in conflict with the PPC Culinary Philosophy (e.g., not WFPB). If they'd like to speak about controversial topics, ask that they first discuss them with you so that you may decide whether or not they are appropriate topics for the meeting.
