Open-Mic Night Ground Rules

General Ground Rules

1. Please be respectful – no interrupting while someone is speaking.
2. Audience may comment in the chat – comments must comply with NIAC’s Code of Conduct.
3. Please keep yourself on mute when you are not speaking. 
4. No pictures or videos of the event without explicit permission.
5. In order to maintain a safe space at our events, failure to follow any of these rules or abide by NIAC’s Code of Conduct may result in immediate removal from the event.

Speaker Guidelines

1. Please submit your poem or short story to [email protected]. Our Leadership Council members will review the length of your poem or short story. If your submission will run over 5 minutes, we will reach out to you ahead of the event to ask you to shorten your piece.
2. The order of presenters will be announced at the beginning of the event.
3. The event moderator will call you up to present and will request that the next speaker be ready to present. Unless stated that you have technical issues, please unmute yourself when you are called to present. Otherwise, the moderator will move on.
4. Your time will begin when you start speaking.
5. Speakers have 5 minutes to speak. You may use all or none of that time.
6. Moderator will indicate via direct zoom chat when you have 1 minute, 30 seconds, and no time remaining.