Clubhouse Tips for Lawyers and Law School Students (and everyone else too)

Clubhouse Tips

Here are 12 tips to help you enjoy the new Clubhouse “audio only” platform. Please connect with me on the platform and never hesitate to reach out with questions or, if you’d like help moderating a room. A big “thank you” to behavioral scientist Clarissa Silva for inviting me on to the platform.

[update- a related post is now available, “Tips for Moderating a Clubhouse Room]

#1 Mindset

Have the mindset of building relationships, networking and adding value. Give, give and then give some more. Don’t promote yourself or pitch your products and services—unless asked to do so.

#2 Complete Your Profile

Take time to complete your profile. The first 3 lines are very important because that’s what someone sees when they click on your profile picture. Make a good initial impression. Also add your Instagram and Twitter accounts to allow for further conversations in your Instagram and Twitter DMs. I use my “Note” app on my laptop, desktop and iPhone to create my profile and then copy/past over into the app. If you use iCloud it will sync with your phone and then you can copy/paste. Or, you can email the bio to your phone and copy/paste that way.

#3 Join Rooms and Listen

Get a feel for the app by simply joining rooms and listening. You’ll quickly figure out how the process works. If you want to see my rooms and how I’m engaging, follow me on Clubhouse (I use my name “mitch Jackson”) and when you click and go to my profile, click the little alert bell. This will let you know when I’m in a room speaking or moderating a room. The CH etiquette is pretty straightforward and takes just a few minutes to figure out.

#4 Watch Good Moderators

See how effective moderators work the room. Include everyone in the conversation (it’s a dance). Work the room top to bottom, left to right (most of the time). Set the rules so everyone is on the same page.

#5 Use Co- Moderators

Start rooms with a co-moderator. This allows you to each bring in an audience. Use the “+” button at the bottom of the screen to invite people in your community to join the room. You can do this while other people are talking and, you can remind everyone in the room to “bring in people and friends who may find the conversation interesting or helpful by tapping the “+” button at the bottom of the screen. Need a co-moderator, reach out 😉

#6 Share on Social

If you schedule a room for a future time and date, think about promoting your room on the other social platforms. You can use the “share” buttons at the bottom of the new room you create. I usually copy and paste over into my “Notes” and then modify the language to better compliment the platform I’m sharing on. Sometimes I’ll jump on Canva and create a graphic to help promote the show on my other social platforms.

#7 Reset the Room

Every 5-10 minutes, think about resetting the room. Take 10-15 seconds to remind everyone what the topic is and, how you’re handling the process of bringing people up on stage. This allows new listeners to know what the current topic is. It also reminds others to stay on point.

#8 Encourage Engagement

While moderating the room, and even if you’re a guest who has raised a hand and been asked to join on stage, recommend that people follow others who they find interesting or who they would like to support. Remind everyone to dive into profiles and connect on Instagram and Twitter. Let people know they can do this while listening to the conversation. It will not remove them from the room. It’s OK to multi-task on your phone while listening to Clubhouse.

#9 Don’t Self Promote

Shine a light on others and add value to the room. See #1 above.

#10 Be Consistent

Show up, host and participate on Clubhouse. Eventually, think about starting a club.

#11 Manage Your Stage and Audience

If you’re moderating or co-hosting a room, be aware of how many people are on stage. There’s a balance between keeping everyone involved and the “image” you create with your room (hey, there are lots of people on stage so this must be a popular room!) with having too many people on stage. Every now and then, consider moving people back down to the audience after they’ve asked their question and have been part of the conversation (let the room know this is what you’re doing so nobody’s feelings will be hurt– it’s OK and standard practice on the platform.

When making unplanned speakers moderators, use discernment. Ask yourself, is this person going to add value (i.e. subject matter expert, unique perspective or experience on the room topic, etc.). Moderators can also shut down the entire room so it’s always a good idea to know who you give this power to.

There’s nothing wrong with tapping on someone’s profile picture and then the 3 dots to remove someone from your life on Clubhouse. There are people on the platform that I don’t want in my Clubhouse life and so I’ve blocked them. No big deal.

#12 Your Avatar/Photo

Use your Avatar/Photo to share resources or information. I set up a folder a Clubhouse folder on my iPhone with a few different avatars and images. Have a screenshot that offers information on resources and swap your photo at the appropriate time to share those resources. Ask your audience to PTR (pull to refresh) every now and then to see the current avatars and speaker lineups.

Clubhouse is adding new features weekly so pay attention to the updates. Just today they added a feature that lets you swipe left to right in the room list to remove that type of room (“get rich quick” stuff for me) out of your feed. Here’s a great guide with links to help you do all of the above put together by Ed Nusbaum. 

Enjoy the conversation and new relationships you make on Clubhouse. It’s a powerful platform. Embrace what it offers and make the most of this new opportunity!

Between now and next time, enjoy the journey and make each day your masterpiece!

PS- I’d like to thank my Clubhouse friend, and fellow lawyer/mediator, Jason Castle, for helping me put this list together and, co-hosting rooms with me. You can and should connect with everyone I mentioned above, including Jason on Clubhouse and Instagram.