Meeting and talking to people doing fabulous things in communities.
This is our second podcast from Change in Progress, a gathering of UK based neighbourhood activists in Birmingham. This time Adam Askew from Oxfam UK tells us about the ten steps which can help you improve your public speaking, get your message across and manage those nerves.
If you’re looking for other tips which may help you campaign in your neighbourhood then you might like to listen to this earlier podcast on the mysterious art of lobbying politicians and the powerful.
Active citizens do it all the time, but what does it take to lobby effectively? This programme hears from two people about their experience of lobbying politicians and councillors. David Babbs works for Friends of the Earth and belongs to their group in Hackney. Georgie Bigg lobbys as part of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England – expecially in their efforts to resist the expansion of Bristol Airport.
Please scroll down to listen first. Here is a list of their most important tips in the order they emerged in the conversation:
1 Understand who has what power. Lobby the people who can make a difference and aks them to do things they have the power to do.
2 Find out what people think. The first step of lobbying is to ask those in power what their position is. They may already agree with you.
3 Work out what’s in it for them. What incentive might they have to help you? Do they have a personal passion which may be relevant?
4 People in power don’t always appreciate where public opinion is. If you believe the public is forging ahead of those in power tell them so, and most importantly prove it, perhaps with a petition?
5 Know what you want to achieve. This should probably be number one on the list. Be clear about what change you want to see before you meet someone. Stay focussed on that in the meeting.
6 Facts are critical. They persuade. Politicians are usually generalists so provide them with the information and ammunition to be experts in your subject. If you win their support show them how to act – give them the tools to be on your side and make your case.
7 Link the lobbying to a wider public campaign.
8 Don’t get angry – use the right tone of voice.
9 Try and get any commitments make in public – either in the press, at a public meeting, perhaps in parliament or on the minutes of a council meeting.
10 Be human – they are (I added that one – you may not agree!).
Lobbying and the blogosphere, some slightly random links:
Legitimate Lobbying, Bulletinthehead, Richard Edelman, PR Speak, Ray Collins (dead link), Digital Destiny (dead link), Paul Linford, PRWatch, David Maister (dead link).
OK so a slightly dramatic headline as you can see from the smiling photo. This programme is one of those occasional episodes when we manage to bring an active citizen together with the politician who’s thwarted their efforts (you might like to listen to Albert Bore and Natalie Brade).
For four years Simon Baddeley (the tall one) has campaigned with other Friends of Black Patch Park to protect this urban green space which is in Sandwell but sits just on the boundary with Birmingham. Sandwell Council had zoned some of the land for industrial development. The friends campaigned widely – including making their own media on youtube and using Flickr and Wikipedia to keep tabs on facts and images – until finally something moved. Earlier this year Councillor Bob Badham (cabinet member for Transport and Regeneration) said the council would review those plans, with the aim to preserve the park as a park.
This podcast is the first time the politician and the campaigner have had a chance to really talk, and I have to say that is part of what we try and do from time to time, create a space where relationships can grow a little.
We also mention a event coming up to explore neighbourhood policing in Birmingham. The Chamberlain Forum is hosting the Chief Constable of the West Midlands and Bishop of Birmingham to explore how policing is responding to what communities want. You are welcome to come to the free event in Digbeth on the morning of June 13th. Details of how to book can be found here.
Other relevant links are:
Neighbourhood Policing (PDF)
Our last podcast helped stir things up a bit. The Bishop of Birmingham’s intervention on behalf of Diversity Networks in Birmingham was reflected on the news site The Stirrer where supporters and critics of the networks also began to get to grips with some of the issues.
This time we have another podcast from the Grassroots Channel on the future of community networks in Birmingham, including thoughts from Chris Dyer of the Birmingham Community Safety Partnership, plus we hear from actress Lisa Tarbuck in Brierley Hill on hoodies, adolescence, the National Youth Theatre and stronger communities.