Active Listening at your next event
Amanda smiles at the camera while holding their conference badge with their name and Active Listener title. Behind them is a blurred background of their resource table.
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:
- supportive conversations for guests to decompress before they leave the event
- provide connection through compassionate listening so folks feel less alone
- creating comfortable spaces for conversations to 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.
Want to stay in touch? Join my mailing list I will send emails periodically (not too often!) but if it gets too much, you can always let me know to take you off the list.
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. 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.
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 while in our care.
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.
Got Questions? Want to know more?
Amanda (they/them) is a recovering perfectionist and empathic human living in Tkaronto. They have been involved with creating accessible and emotional support to over 90 events including conferences, podcasts, film production, film and theatre festivals, workshops and panels across Canada. As a visual artist and active listener, all their work centers on finding connections between oneself and others. Growing up in an intergenerational home of Chinese immigrant parents helped spark Amanda’s curiosity for creativity, storytelling and discovery of internal worlds. They enjoy discussing creativity, films and self-care strategies.
Bookings: It’s always best to book me and be on my contact list as soon as possible. I am selective with who I work with and have limited emotional capacity for all events presented to me. Reaching out to me as soon as possible allows us both to best support one another’s work and ensures that I am available when you need me.
Knowing more about your event will help me understand your needs. Rates will vary from 2 hours to full day events. Please contact me through the contact form to share your event details: date, times, any content warnings to be aware of, type of people and attendance expected, 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.
I love learning and consider myself a work-in-progress. Lived experience is the most valuable way to empathize and connect with another fellow human being and should not be limited to their formal education.
Additionally, here are some ways I have nourished my curiosity for learning and enhance my skills: I have been trained by IONIA’s 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.
