The Art of Hosting is a new host training series, where Interintellect producer Maria Górska-Piszek interviews experienced ii hosts in search for their secrets, hard-won lessons, tips, and best practices. In this episode, we’ll talk to Colin Gorrie – linguist, conlanger (maker of constructed languages), and experienced Interintellect host.
“Knowledgable and infectiously enthusiastic” – that’s how salon attendees describe Colin. Besides running a weekly course on Old English this summer, and another series on Beowulf earlier this year, he’s hosted many salons about languages real and invented, all receiving raving reviews from the attendees.
In this training, we’re going to ask Colin about his approach to hosting and try to find out what makes his salons so successful. Where do his salon ideas come from? How does he know whether some topic would resonate with people? Where does he look for potential salon attendees and in what ways does he encourage them to join his salons? And most importantly, how does he prepare for his salons and structure the conversation that makes it such an unforgettable experience for everyone?
No matter if you’re an experienced host or just about to embark on your hosting journey, we want you to leave this session full of Colin’s infectious enthusiasm, and inspired to bring people together to talk about your own passions and curiosities. Please bring your own questions for Colin, there will be plenty of time for this too.
This free, 60-minute host training session will be recorded and shared with fellow ii hosts. All Interintellect hosts and members are welcome! If you’re new to Interintellect, you can create a host account or become a member to join.
