Resort to blackmail if necessary. It's good to start out with an intimate party and serve lots of wine and beer. Then about mid-evening, start taking pictures. The negatives come in handy when trying to find chairpersons for the committees.
Sew feathers in your underwear. It helps to keep that `happy-go-lucky' smile on your face that's necessary for recruiting help. Even if you don't find anyone to join your committees, at least you had a good time.
Buy a cow and have it cut up and packaged in `stroganoff-size' portions for the many "why-don't-you-come-over-for-a-casual-little-dinner" recruitment techniques. It works fantasti-cally if you don't break out with a rash from all the sour cream...or the feathers in your underwear!
Practice a hearty reassuring laugh to be inserted after someone says "Will it mean a lot of meetings?" Remember, never answer the question, just laugh. This way no one can accuse you of lying.
Practice catchy phrases like: `grow with the movement,' `innovative techniques,' `your unique talents and strengths,' `why not just take 5 minutes and fill this out for our records,' `how's the family,' `so, you're a printer are you,' `how 'bout another helping of stroganoff'?
Call someone on their first day home from their vacation. Before they can say anything, tell them about all the work you've been doing during the past two weeks, and then remark "but then I just know you two have been working just as hard." Their guilt will have a remarkable result!
Paint dark circles under your eyes, spray your telephone ear red, and make sure your typewriter is on the dining room table at all times, just in case one of your committee people drop in on you. Keep them in awe of your involvement.
Serve wine in sixteen-ounce glasses. It saves a lot of the `no pressure/no commitment' talk you have to give because you can push them into anything without them minding a bit. Of course this technique requires a `first thing in the morning call' to say "Well, you two are really special people volunteering for a job like that! Why, if the tape recorder hadn't captured it I wouldn't have believed it myself."
Start your meetings with specific sharing questions to break the ice. Questions like:
How do you feel about doing your share?
Have you ever been a victim of nasty rumors?
Ever hear the saying `He who doesn't work doesn't eat'?
How do you feel about everyone's hard work going down the drain because of all the freeloaders?
Practice your praying techniques—the right wording can be very effective: "Thank you Lord for sending us the chair couple of next year's carnival. May they hear Your Voice as we have. Please be merciful and patient with them if they say no to us."