Spreading the message

Photo: Labour Behind the Label

Saturday, London: Labour Behind the Label were holding a campaigners weekend and asked Rhizome to deliver some of the skills training.

To that end we ran short sessions on using the media and another on successful street campaigning. The latter’s one of my favourite workshops.

Photo: Labour Behind the Label

How difficult can handing out a leaflet be? For answers we looked at the participant’s own experience of on-the-street interactions, whether with leafleters, beggars, Big Issue vendors, or the notorious street fundraisers. Sadly people have a wealth of negative encounters to draw on. Then we practiced with a focus not just on what we say but tone of voice and body language. Then back into thinking mode for sharing strategies for dealing with ‘awkward’ people. Then back into roleplay mode with participants trying out some of those awkward roles and the strategies needed to deal with them effectively.

The weekend was evaluated at the end of Sunday. I’ll be speaking to LBL staff soon to get some feedback.