Facilitator’s Guide

SNAP-ED LIA Messaging Workshop

Prepared by RSE

for The California Department of Public Health’s Training and Development Branch


Introduction

This in-person messageworkshop completes the LIA Messaging Series, which includes three 90-minute presentations that were originally delivered as a webinar series in January 2017. The PowerPoints and videos from the series are also available to be provided as local-level trainings either by webinar or in-person.

This Facilitator’s Discussion Guide is a description of how to lead the in-person workshop, which can be delivered as one 6-hour training or two 3-hour trainings. Given the high degree of interactivity, the ideal number of trainees for this workshop is 10 people per facilitator.

This workshop is intended for trainees who have watched the recorded webinar series or participated in a live training of the core LIA Messaging Series. It is important that trainees have this foundation to be able to fully engage in discussion and make the most of this training experience. Facilitators should make sure this requirement is clear in all communications or invitations.

During the workshop detailed in this guide, participants will practice using the tools and techniques from the series under the guidance of facilitators and in coordination with their fellow trainees. While trainees gather valuable skills they are also being prepared to teach these skills to their staff, partners and volunteers.

Workshop Description

SNAP-Ed LIA Messaging Training is a four-part train the trainer program for developing and delivering effective communication. Those who attend the full series will learn how to create more meaningful messages and tell more compelling stories that deliver results for their SNAP-Ed program. Trainees will:

Learn how to create powerful messages by:

­Articulating a communication opportunity

­Understanding their audience

­Customizing a target

Learn how to better connect to your target audiences by:

–Appreciating setting and context

–Identifying tools

–Tapping into emotion

–Illustrating through images and stories

Learn how to more effectively deliver your messages by:

–Using persuasive techniques

–Messaging in sequence

–Creating a dialogue

–Engaging the right messengers

–Utilizing methods & tools

What You Will Need

The workshop has been designed to work in any space with minimal equipment. Below are recommended supplies:

  • Presentation PowerPoint – A basic PowerPoint provides description of the exercises and it can either be projected or printed out.
  • “Day in the Life” Video Series – We reference videos from the webinar series, which can be shown from a laptop or played as a DVD if a TV is available. Keep in mind these videos are incorporated into the webinars, so if no video capabilities are available these can be left out without taking from the workshop.
  • Pads and Easels – We recommend providing Post-It pads to each group that can be on easels or on a table. These will be used in the various brainstorm exercises.
  • Post-It “Super Sticky” Notes (8 in. x 6 in.) – These colorful Post-Its are ideal for the icebreaker activity. Only one sheet per trainee is needed. You can also use colorful sheets of paper with tape for the same effect.
  • Whiteboards – Whiteboards are ideal for the exercises of this training, particularly the audience profile and message editing, but Post-It pads can also work.

Pre-Workshop Communications

Two weeks prior to the training, remind trainees that they will need to have watched or participated in all the webinars prior to the training and will need to bring their completed set of worksheets to the workshop. They can complete this on their own or with others from their organization.

Workshop Set-up

The ideal set-up for the training seating is a U-shape so trainees are facing each other. If that arrangement isn’t possible, do your best to get everyone facing each other. This will improve conversation and encourage participation.

Workshop Agenda

Below is the proposed agenda for a full-day training. As noted, this can also be conducted in two parts by dividing the morning session and the afternoon session. While you can choose to divide this even further, it is not recommended as momentum created moving from one activity to the nextaids the learning process and helps with retention.

Facilitator’s Agenda

The agenda below is intended for the training facilitator. Each activity includes a detailed description and proposed timing. With any training, it’s important to be flexible to accommodate learning styles of trainees.

Activity / Description / Timing
Registration / 8:30 – 9 a.m.
Icebreaker / Begin the day with the “Six Word Story” activity in which trainees share a story using only six words. These should be written on the Super Post-Its. Each trainee will be asked to introduce themselves and deliver their story. Facilitator should probe a bit after each story to learn more and also help trainees connect to each by finding similarities between stories. / 9 – 10 a.m.
(It’s important to give it the time it needs.)
Introduction
(10 minutes) / Explain the agenda and set expectations for the workshop. Assess how much information trainees retained from the webinar. / 10 – 10:15 a.m.
Putting it All Together / Watch the “Day in the Life – Amber Stott” video. Before the video begins, prompt trainees to look for where Amber delivers her messages, listen for key messages, and consider how she delivers messages. After the video, lead a discussion around these questions. / 10:15 – 10:45 a.m.
Worksheet #1
(45 minutes) / Participants will share their communication opportunity and key messages. If participants did not complete the worksheets, trainer should lead a brainstorm on types of opportunities that trainees have had/might have, Ask the group to choose one to pursue during the workshop. / 10:45 – 11:30 a.m.
Worksheet #2
(60 minutes) / Participants will share or determine one or two target audiences for the communication opportunity. The facilitator will lead the group in brainstorming each target audience, being sure to drill down to minute details to help make the target as real as possible. / 11:30a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch / During lunch, the facilitator should draft three key messages based on the Think, Believe, Do formula and write them on large pieces of paper or the white board. These do not have to be perfect messages because the trainees will edit these as a group in the next session. In fact, the facilitator should be sure to include long words, long sentences, negative or neutral tone, etc. to help with the demonstration. / 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Worksheet #3
(15minutes) / Facilitator will review the messaging formula and talk about the role of emotion in messaging. The group should identify the types of emotions they want the audience to experience and the tone the messages should have to match that emotion (mood). / 1:30 – 1:45 p.m.
Worksheet #4
(45 minutes) / At this point, the group is ready to review and edit the key messages using the Message Editing Checklist. Facilitator should invite one or two trainees to help lead the rest in conversation. Ideally use a red marker to circle or underline problematic words or phrases and ask the group to offer stronger suggestions. Continue editing each of the three messages (about 15 minutes per message). / 1:45 – 2:30 p.m.
Message Delivery – Content and Context
(15 minutes) / Watch the “Day in the Life Video – Eric Guerra.” Ask trainees to watch for all of the places where they could deliver messages to Councilmember Guerra. Review these places after the video. Discuss how the various scenarios would change the message and delivery. / 2:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Worksheet #5
(30 minutes) / Trainees will be asked to find a partner and each partnership will be assigned two or three tips from the Attention-Grabbing Techniques worksheet. They should identify some scenarios where they would deliver a message to the identified target audience and come up with an example to demonstrate the assigned technique(s). They will teach the techniques back to the group. / 2:45 – 3:15 p.m.
Worksheet #5 Cont’d
(45 minutes) / Facilitator will review Monroe’s Motivated Sequence. The partners will continue to work through the dialogue sequence using the available messaging. When they are finished, the facilitator will call on a few volunteers to role play their completed dialogue. / 3:15 –4 p.m.
Wrap-Up / Workshop concludes with a brief Q&A. / 4 p.m.

Trainee’s Agenda

The agenda below can be provided to trainees.

Activity / Description / Timing
Registration / 8:30 – 9 a.m.
Icebreaker / The Six Word Story Icebreaker Activity / 9 – 10 a.m.
Welcome / Agenda Review
Webinar Series Summary / 10 – 10:15 a.m.
Putting it All Together / “Day in the Life” Discussion / 10:15 – 10:45 a.m.
Communication Opportunity / Review Worksheet #1 / 10:45 – 11:30 a.m.
Audience Profile / Review Worksheet #2
Small Group Activity / 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch / 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Connecting Through Emotion / Review Worksheet #3
Group Brainstorm Activity / 1:30 – 1:45 p.m.
Writing and Editing Messages / Review Worksheet #4
Editing Activity / 1:45 – 2:30 p.m.
Message Delivery / “Day in the Life Video” Discussion
Review Worksheet #6 / 2:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Organizing Content / Review Worksheet #5
Attention-Grabbing Techniques Activity
Sequence Activity / 2:45 – 4 p.m.
Conclusion / Q&A / 4 p.m.

Activity Descriptions and Guidance

  1. The Six-Word Story

The six-word story activity is a storytelling exercise that dates back at least 100 years and is often attributed to Ernest Hemmingway. As legend goes, he was challenged by fellow writers to write a powerful story using just six words. On a napkin, Hemmingway wrote “For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.” His story was based on a longer story in a local newspaper about a couple selling off the belongings of a baby who had died. With this sad short story, Hemmingway won the bet (as the tale goes).

More recently, various media outlets have used the six-word story device to engage readers, listeners and viewers in storytelling competitions. NPR has a recurring challenge inviting listeners to share stories on news of the day. The slides for this exercise in the master PowerPoint include some examples from a 2010 edition of Oprah magazine in which select readers’ six word stories were published in a special feature. Many examples of the story activity can be found online and used in replace of the images in the existing PowerPoint.

You can share the information above to set up the exercise. As you do, hand out the large Post-Its or colorful sheets of paper and makers to each trainee. Ask them to write a six-word story that they will share with the group. The story can be about their personal journey, their job or just their day. If they are having trouble, they can just write six words that describe them or something that’s on their mind right now. There is not right or wrong way to do this activity. The point is to get them writing and talking to start the day.

When everyone is finished, ask for volunteers to share their story in front of the room. As a facilitator, be sure to ask questions about the story to draw out more detail and get the trainee talking. Stick each story on the wall to add color and interest to the room.

This exercise achieves many objectives:

  • Breaks the ice, especially among trainees that do not know each other
  • Sets a tone of storytelling throughout the day
  • Helps the facilitator learn more about the trainees and provides insight into managing conversation during the training
  • Starts the day off a positive and energetic tone
  1. “A Day in the Life with Amber Stott” Video

Several “Day in the Life” videos were created for the webinar series to introduce trainees to members of the target audience, demonstrate key points from the lessons, and show success in action. The video featuring Amber Stott of Food Literacy Center is one such video that shows effective messaging in a variety of settings and to a variety of audiences. This video is used here to help set the goal for the day of what our communicators in training should strive to be. Trainees will watch the video and then discuss components.

To ensure active viewing, before you begin the video ask trainees to look for the following:

  • Where does Stott deliver messages?
  • In each setting, who is her target audience?
  • What are the different messages she delivers?
  • How does she change the focus of the messaging depending on setting or audience?
  • How does she bring emotion to her messages?

After the video, ask these questions again and use the prompts below to help brainstorming. Record the answers on the whiteboard or sheets of large Post-It paper that can be placed on the wall later for reference.

-Where does Stott deliver messages?

  • What kind of grocery store is it? Why is that important?
  • Which news outlet interviews her? What kinds of viewers watch this show?
  • When she’s at the school, what are the different settings she’s in?

-Who are the target audiences?

  • Which target audience shops at Whole Foods?
  • Who watches morning news in Sacramento?
  • Who is her audience when she’s driving in her car? (Answer: us!)
  • Who are her different audiences at the school?

-What are her key messages?

  • Go through each audience and list the message
  • Note to the group the differences between messages. For the shoppers, she is telling them to take action right away. For the viewers of the morning news program, she is providing broader information that would be meaningful to more Sacramentans.
  • What do the trainees imagine Stott might have said to those potential funders at the restaurant? How is that different from what she said to shoppers?
  • Talk about Stott’s word choice. How does she make her messages interesting and paint a picture with words. Consider her usage of the word “Canvas.”
  • How does she bring emotion to her messaging? How does Stott make people feel when she talks? How did the trainees feel? What does she do to create that mood? Talk about colorful language, body language, surroundings, and even the clothes she wears and the car she drives.

This activity should help trainees visualize the goal of great messaging and prime them for the following discussions.

  1. Worksheet #1 – Communication Opportunity

Begin by asking trainees to talk about the opportunities they identified in their completed worksheets. If trainees have not done this step, ask them to talk about opportunities they are working on or aware of in their organization. Write these down as they discuss. After a few minutes, ask the group to select one opportunity they will use for remainder of the day to continue through the worksheets. Ideally, the group is from the same or similar organizations so the opportunity is relevant. Be sure to talk through all of the questions on the worksheet for that particular opportunity so the entire group is on the same page.

  1. Worksheet #2 – Audience Profile

Review the audiences identified in first worksheet as those who are needed for the opportunity to succeed. These are the target audiences. Depending on the size of the group, ask trainees to choose 1 or 2 target audiences to focus on for this opportunity. Divide trainees into two groups to do self-guided profiling using the worksheet. Groups should write all the answers and details on one or two large Post-It papers, which will later be posted on a board or wall for everyone to see. Allow the groups to work on their profiles for at least 15 minutes. Be sure to walk around and prompt them to go deeper. Some fun prompts to throw out include:

  • What is the target audience member’s name?
  • How old are they?
  • What is their physical description?
  • What keeps them up at night?
  • What do they love to do on the weekends?
  • Do they have pets?
  • If they are from another country: What is their country of origin? When did they come to California? How old were they?

The point of going this deep is to remind everyone that people’s opinions and decisions are motivated by many factors. Even small details like whether or not they own a dog may matter when it comes to your message. What if you were proposing a community garden for a plot of land and your target audience felt strongly that it should be a dog park? The more you know, the more you have to work with when it comes to persuasion.

  1. Lunch

Use the lunch hour to prepare three key messages based on the opportunity that trainees chose to focus on for the day. Ideally, trainees chose an opportunity for which worksheets have already been completed in which case these messages can just be transcribed. The messages should be based on the “Know, Believe, Do” formula. Write messages on the whiteboard. If only large Post-Its are available, write one message per sheet and place all the sheets up in a place where the group can see and where it’s okay to write on the sheets.