Get that good vibe feeling after a team briefing session.

Don’t let those months of planning, meeting with stakeholders and developing research questions go to waste with an improper briefing session of your engagement staff and helpers.

While workplace bullying and harassment is not acceptable, Dennis shares what he does to build rapport and maintain a calm environment in the face of anger and personal attack. For Dennis, leaving people professions isn’t an option, so he needed to find other ways to control the situation and adapt his style.

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the Engage2Act UnConference held in Melbourne. In true Community Engagement style, as delegates we set our own agenda for the day. Over 30 people submitted ideas and nominated themselves to run a session, we voted and selected the sessions we wanted to attend. (If you did this at any other conference, I’m sure all you would hear is crickets but let’s not forget the theme was ‘highly engaged’).

What a great consultation! People were engaged, interested and gave great feedback. So what happens next? Well like a good dinner party you thank your guests and close the loop!

In August 2015, Hurricane Katrina hit the coast of New Orleans with devastating effects. The damage and the forced displacement of people was unlike any disaster in the recent history of the United States, triggering a state of emergency that would require an unprecedented scale of emergency response. Although many residents returned within a few days of the disaster to assess their properties, many residents were prohibited from returning for several weeks as they waited for flood waters to recede from low lying areas and for clean up crews to finish removing debris.

With the average person exposed to 600* messages daily, we’re reaching overload. Desensitising and aware of fake news, what do we believe and where do we direct our attention or energy? Community engagement projects are not removed from this problem, we are competing for air time and brain space. How do we breakthrough the constant chatter? We get personal.

In asking ourselves if our community engagement program is truly inclusive, we need to start unpacking some really big issues. Issues of power, values, education, access, culture and privilege make our work so complex. It’s not easy to tackle these head-on, but by considering these five simple tips we can chip away at some institutional assumptions and build more inclusive practices.

We at Conversation Caravan believe nothing can replace a face-to-face conversation, however we recognise the many benefits of using online technology to support your consultation program. Online engagement can capture the momentum and visibility generated by in-person engagement; it can reach more people therefore bring more people into conversations; and it can support those with limited access to have their say and engage on the project being discussed.

Much of the thinking in this book can be connected to real life experiences and is useful in understanding why people behave the way they do. This thinking can of course be applied to our work in community engagement.

People like me attend town hall meetings and community workshops. I am engaged and interested in the subject matter, and if I make the time to attend a workshop at dinner time then you know you’ve got my attention. Not only that, but I also remind my neighbours, I drop flyers in their letterbox and remind them on the day of the workshop. Or in the case of this workshop pictured above, I even drove my neighbours to the meeting.

Conversation Caravan with the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council held two meetings with local creatives in Rye and Mornington to help inform and plan the future of arts and culture in the area.

Conversation Caravan was engaged by the Alfred Medical Research & Education Precinct (AMREP) to assist with the launch and revitalisation of its new brand and external identity – the Alfred Research Alliance.

It’s the end of the day. It’s been a long fruitful day of conversation and engagement. You survey the area, double checking to make sure everything has been brought in and packed away. The crowds have dwindled and it is now just you and your staff. You take a deep breath, and admit it; the rumbling in your stomach persistently draws your attention back to what is for dinner tonight.

Conversation Caravan worked with the City of Melbourne to consult with community members living, working or visiting Melbourne on its draft Climate Change Mitigation Strategy to 2050.  The purpose of the project was to discuss how the City of Melbourne can better prepare for and mitigate Climate Change.

Last Month, Conversation Caravan worked with the Alfred Research Alliance to engage onsite staff that work across the organisations of Monash, Deakin, Alfred, Baker, Burnett and Latrobe to find the qualities, characteristics and values that resonated with staff.

There is no simple solution or ‘one size fits all’ approach to identifying an effective engagement method. And, while public meetings provide an opportunity to consult large numbers of people, it’s often the same vocal minority who attend.