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Training Principles

Training has several benefits. It assures that everyone is working from the same game plan. It gives people a chance to share ideas and get questions answered. It also makes them more comfortable with the tasks they are being asked to do and helps give them ownership of a campaign.

Specific training agendas depend on who you are training, what subjects you need to cover, and how much time you have to work with. The following are principles you may apply in designing training sessions:

Learning through discussion. Many people learn more through discussion than by listening to lectures.  By discovering answers for themselves, they not only tend to remember what they learned but also feel increased confidence and group spirit.

Start with their knowledge and experience. When you recognize the experience in the room it gives people the feeling that they have something valuable to say and it makes the training more relevant to their lives.

Identify a subject and then let the group come up with as many of the points as possible.  For example, you might go through a process like this: “This group is going to design a membership survey. Let’s brainstorm ideas on what we could do to make sure the answers are as meaningful as possible … how we could get the greatest number of people to fill it out … how we could use it as an opportunity to educate our members … and how we could use the results to publicize our goals.”

You could write ideas the group suggests on each question on a chalkboard or large piece of paper, and then add any points that the group did not cover.

When you add new information to their body of knowledge, link it to what they already know and understand. For example, if you are training committee members, ask them to think about other committees they were part of or knew about worked or didn’t work.

If appropriate, conclude by having the group agree on a plan of action based on the ideas discussed.

Finally, you could hand out tip sheets or other training material to keep for future reference. Often, it is better to use training material that way—to sum up discussion—than to pass it out before discussion and have some people reading when you want them to be listening, talking, or conceiving of new approaches.

Learning by doing. An important part of training is to give people the chance to practice the skills they are learning. For example:

• If they will be doing worksite or neighborhood organizing, have them role play one-on-one contacts and conversations.

• If they will be setting up or staffing up a phone tree, have them work in groups to set up the necessary charts. Give them a situation that might come up during the campaign and have them write the actual phone tree message. Role play asking a reluctant committee member to make calls.

Learning by example. Include presentations from leaders, staff, or members of other organizations, chapters, or local unions who have successfully gone through similar campaigns. Or have more experienced staff or members from your organization describe past campaigns and discuss what worked and what didn't. These people can share skills, describe the learning process they have gone through, and assure other members and staff that they can do what needs to be done.

Learning from experts. Most people who come to training sessions appreciate being provided with hard information and being taught concrete skills. As a change of pace after a brainstorming session, you might want to present information on a specific topic they will need to know about.

Learning from reflection and feedback. Give participants a chance to summarize what they have learned, plan how they will apply it, and discuss problems they may run into.

Keep giving feedback during a campaign. After each event or pivotal moment debrief with those who experienced it. Ask them what they have learned and what they might do differently next time.

Courtesy of TheWorkSite.org