Warm up

We like seeing people rise to the challenge. That’s why so many of us are glued to our screens watching the Olympics.

Seeing communities rise to meet the challenge of the tricky topics we engage them on is as rewarding as watching an underdog win gold. Or perhaps that is just the response of engagement nerds like me 😊.

Like the athletes currently competing in Tokyo, people at our engagement sessions and workshops come from all walks of life. Residents, business owners, students and workers. Different ages, abilities, skills and interests.

We’re bringing them together because we want their ideas and suggestions. We want to understand their concerns and aspirations. What they share will help us make decisions on infrastructure, strategy, resources, services and budgets. There’s often a lot at stake.

Mostly, we’ve been working on the topic for months, if not years. We know the content inside out and can forget that others can’t make head or tail of it.

It’s our job to make sure they can. If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of preparation. It’s key to designing effective engagement. We also need to prepare participants. This means giving them the information they need to do their work together.

We have to work alongside our technical expert colleagues to create compelling content for our participants. Clear, relevant and succinct information, given to them in plenty of time for them to digest over a cuppa. Pictures and infographics get bonus points.

Armed with good information, community members consistently rise to the challenge that the topics we are engaging them on present. People without a financial bone in their body ask thoughtful questions about deficits. Others who’ve never picked up a set square – or its digital equivalent – compare and contrast plans for roads and buildings with gusto. Yet others question the perspective of world-leading clinicians on health services.

With good information, people come prepared to ask thoughtful and pointed questions. They are prepped for debate and discussion.

And a plea. Participants must have more time to read it than the Executive has to sign it off. They have busy lives and need time to digest it and formulate their own questions, well before they meet.

Nobody would expect an athlete to perform at their best without a warm up.

Let’s not expect communities or stakeholders to participate in our engagement activities without a warm up.

I love creating compelling content before any engagement workshop. If you’d like help with yours, just email me with ‘content’ in the subject line and we’ll book a call.

(Image credit: Gabin Vallet on Upsplash)