This week’s Tiny Revolution comes from Bethan Page, Fun Palaces Ambassador for North Wales. In this Tiny Revolution she shares how to host a coffee morning on Zoom.

How to: Arrange Weekly Coffee Mornings on Zoom 

1. Having arranged a day of the week and a time, publicise your Coffee Morning on local social media groups, and on your own feed or if you want to make sure it stays small send it to groups of friends. You will need to include a Zoom invitation. There are instructions online for doing this, or ask someone who has done it before. If you’re using a free Zoom account, your coffee morning will only last for 40 minutes. 

2. Don’t be dismayed if only one or two people turn up – it’s still an opportunity to chat! Keep on turning up every week at the same time and see how it goes. 

3. Continue publicising the coffee morning every week on the day before the event. With the participants’ permission you can take a screenshot of those who were present and share it on social media to encourage others to join you. 

4. As more people turn up, make sure people are introduced or have an opportunity to introduce themselves. Think of some gentle ways to encourage people to chat, for example invite everyone to bring an item along that means something to them, which tells a story or is interesting and take turns to say something about them. Otherwise ask if anyone has a recipe, craft technique or hobby that they could share – something that takes no longer than 5 minutes to explain – people will ask questions and ask for the recipe / instructions – it’s a great way to get people chatting! Try and relax, enjoy listening and don’t panic if there are any ‘awkward silences’. Someone will say something and the conversation will get going again. 

5. If you want to take a screenshot of everyone present, ask their permission first. 

6. Make sure you keep an eye on the time! If you’re on a free version of Zoom, start thanking everyone for coming a few minutes before your 40 minutes are up – it’s disappointing and shocking when the meeting ends abruptly and you haven’t said your goodbyes!

Bethan also wrote a blog about mobile coffee mornings, which is available here.

If you have a Tiny Revolution of your own that you would like to share – email it to amie@funpalaces.co.uk. No matter how tiny it seems – the world needs it! If you are not online – you can text your Tiny Revolution to 07747 182 865. If you’re unsure how to write up your Tiny Revolution, this form should help!