People believe what they choose to believe. For some people choosing means weighing verified, peer-reviewed facts on all sides of issues, and for others it means agreeing with whatever and whoever reinforces how they want to feel. Read More …
Eventually we’re going to have to figure out how to talk to, deal with, and work with people that we don’t agree with or maybe even don’t like very much. That’s going to require (re)developing a skillset that feels like we’re losing. I’m seeing more being written about the need for these supposed soft skills. Calling… read more →
Most meetings and hearings are naturally scheduled evenings when more people are available, which makes perfect sense most of the time. Some time ago it was decided that most government organizations can’t spend taxpayer dollars on even basic refreshments for people who come to these meetings – the ubiquitous cookies and water. Meet the hangry public.… read more →
Government agencies are supposed to be the epitome of how a society organizes and authorizes things to be done for the common good, which, although necessary, easily gets out of hand, intimidates constituents, sometimes feels very arrogant and really ticks people off. So one of the dozens of things that we discuss in our Outrage courses is the… read more →
Digital communication has truly transformed public participation but it’s not an automatic or comprehensive solution to working with the public. It does not solve everything. Thus, it is important to choose your digital tools wisely in order to promote the collaborative process. What’s In Your Toolbox? When I look at my digital toolbox I think… read more →
OK, let’s just say really good facilitation. If you’re looking for some tried, true and methodical suggestions for handling groups, we think you’ll find this useful. Being called an expert in anything always sounds a little blustery, but developing real expertise is always an honorable goal. Expert vs. expertise is probably just a case of toe-may-toe vs. toe-mah-toe, but achieving… read more →
OK, so this may not be the most politically correct headline for a blog today, but I will stand by it. For over 20 years, before cell phones made the effort moot, Ma Bell and later AT&T used this slogan to get people to call long distance. It turns out to be more than just… read more →
We’ve talked a lot in past newsletters about the nuances of facilitating groups toward conclusions, but we haven’t yet said much about the first order of business – getting people to actually show up. If they’re already mad at you, it’s pretty easy. But, otherwise, just because your little gathering is important and interesting to… read more →
We help organizations overcome dysfunction, both with the customers/public that they serve and internally. People need control of their lives and jobs and if they don’t get it, they disengage.
It was that first night, after a few hundred public meeting attendees started hollering at me about the things they were scared of or mad about, that I became very seriously interested in risk communication. I was barely aware of the term prior to then and only a select few academics were researching, writing about,… read more →