Active Listening at your next event
Amanda smiles to the camera holding a yellow name badge with a purple landyard around their neck. Badge reads Active Listener at The Fringe Festival in front of a colourful painted wall mural by Elicser Elliot.
Hello, my name is Amanda (they/them). I help mid to large-scale conferences and event organizers create accessible care spaces for their guests to feel emotionally supported – even if the subject matter doesn’t seem to provoke deep feelings.
I do this through my care space consultation and active listening services. I help them gain clarity and confidence around:
- support practices to have a space for guests to decompress
- someone to talk out thoughts
- create comfortable spaces for conversations that de-escalate and reground those affected by emotionally challenging subject matter.
This helps their teams to focus on the event organizing and have their guests emotional needs considered.
I have experience with over 90 provincial and national events including conferences, film and theatre productions, festivals, podcasts, workshops and exhibitions to provide organizers with the peace of mind that guests leave feeling heard and considered.
If you want your event guests and staff to feel present, and cared for, share your event with me on my contact page to book a 30 minute call to discuss how we can work together.
My Intention at every Event
My goal is to leave every conversation knowing that the individual feels a little more heard than when we first started. To me, active listening isn’t just about having listening skills, it is also providing the space for someone to just sit and be present with them. I share resources to support the person, if they desire, to give the person further support outside our time. Each person is responsible for their own well-being. As the Active Listener I am there to support them within the time of the event.
As event organizers working with me, I want to ensure that we collaborate together to create a comfortable way for folks to engage with the service. It is important to me that organizers feel their guests are taken care of before, during and after their experience.
My experience has been in both online and offline settings. Connecting with folks is the common goal however, they require different skill sets to achieve. My style is to be a person’s cheerleader and provide a empathetic listening. I am so grateful for the opportunity for people to trust me with their feelings.
Content viewed and discussed at events can stir up emotions, ones that perhaps folks didn’t know they had within. That is the beauty of art and conversation. The ways we connect and learn from each other have a wonderful way of transforming and deeply connecting us – uniting us as human beings and to feel less alone.
Got Questions? Want to know more?
Amanda (they/them) is a recovering perfectionist and empathic human living in what is now known as Toronto. They have been involved with creating accessible and emotional support for film and theatre festivals, workshops and conferences across Canada. Amanda was inspired to provide support to others since they started their mental health and addiction journey. Their style is focused on collaborating with the individual. Whether it is to provide resources, a listening ear or just to sit in silence with another person, their goal is to leave every conversation knowing that the individual feels a little more seen and heard. Amanda loves to discuss creativity, films and mental health and has an ongoing drawing and painting practice where they explore their ever-developing, Chinese, neurodiverse and queer identity.
Rates: please contact me through the contact form. Share your event details (date, times, any content warnings to be aware of, type of people, description of event and any information to help me get a better sense of the expectations).
This is a peer-to-peer emotional support service. During events there will be engaging and honest discussions about the human experience. Materials can be difficult for some and I offer self-care strategies and emotional support. I am there to create a space for ease and an environment of care. This services can be in-person, online or a hybrid. The Active Listener service allows participants to:
- gain access to a peer with lived experience.
- speak to someone during/after the event.
- talk to a compassionate, empathetic, trauma-informed individual to listen.
- receive mental health resources, if desired.
- separate from the event to reground and regroup before leaving the event or continuing with it.
There are similarities in that our goal is to listen to folks and provide emotional support. However, how we approach the role is very personal to who we are and our personal lived experiences. Finding the right person for your event to serve your viewers and attendees, in my opinion, is the priority. Taking care of people is the main goal.
In the case you want another Active Listener, contact me for my referral rate. I qualify, source and communicate your needs to fulfill the role.
Every event and production is different. Through my consultation services, we can collaborate on how we can best create a welcoming space for your guests and team.
Typically, I have a special place or room where we create a warm and inviting space for folks to engage with the service. During online events, I am introduced in the promotions of the event and during the introduction of the event so people know they have access to support.
Learning and educating myself is on-going. The lived experience of someone is the most valuable way to empathize and connect with another fellow human being and should not be limited to their formal education.
This is a short list of ways I enhance my support skills: I have been trained by IONIA under their Peer Support Specialist Training, received a certificate for Peer Support Core Competencies Training from the Centre for Innovation in Peer Support, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) from Mental Health Commission of Canada, trained in ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) by LivingWorks, and have been to many anti-oppression, anti-ableism and anti-sanism workshops.
Selected clients include:
- Bell Let’s Talk (production, podcast, screenings)
- Toronto International Film Festival
- Hot Docs International Documentary Festival
- Ontario Non Profit Network’s Nonprofit Driven Annual Conference
- Family Services Toronto’s Campaign 2000 Conference
- Digital Arts Resource Centre (DARC) Ottawa Conference
- Toronto Fringe Festival
- Firefly Creative Writing
- JAYU Human Rights Film Festival
- Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
- Rendezvous With Madness Festival
- Workman Arts Training Programs
- Being Scene Exhibition
To see what folks have said about me, please go HERE.
It’s always best to book me as soon as possible. This allows us both to best support one another’s work and ensures that I am available when you need me.
