Council members training

Interactive drama for Council Member training .

Local elections coming up on May 4th.

Councillors give up so much of their time already that attracting them to training sessions is not always easy. Our light-hearted entertaining and participative approach makes the attendance a pleasure and a few hours well spent. Our professional role-play actors and expert facilitation have been a great success at many councils at district, city and county level. We have researched the role of the Councillor thoroughly and regularly offer tailored training.

Here are some of the training courses we regularly deliver.

Contact us now for more information

Chairing Meetings effectively 3 hours

If your council chamber and committee meetings are always run efficiently and effectively with great management of debate and discussion then this session is not for your councillors……but if they are not, then read on!

Topics

What are the main purposes of meetings?
What do we find irritating about meetings? What are the big turn-off’s?
What makes a `good` meeting, and what makes ` poor` one?
What are the skills of a good chair?
What is the role of a chair?
Why do meetings sometimes fail to meet their objectives?
Your planning and preparation checklist as a chairperson (and as a delegate)
Constructing an agenda – thinking about your objectives
The skills of a good chairperson – lets see them in action!
Handling latecomers and people who ramble and attract attention to themselves
Managing delegates who are negative and irritating
Controlling the meeting. Keeping it friendly and focused and professional
Handling disrupting members of the public
Summarizing and concluding the key points of the debate. (Making it easier for the minute taker!)
Handling `meetings within meetings’
Keeping the chair objective and a good facilitator of debate and discussion
Conforming to protocol, policy and procedures
Making meetings enjoyable and participative?!
Bringing in the `quiet` participants (if you have any!)
Getting the `climate` right for effective discussion
Final Hints and Tips
Action Planning

Presentation & public speaking skills for council members. 3 hours

This initial three hour session will give you an insight into how to maximise your impact when speaking in public! There are no long boring lectures, no-one has to role play and the session will be riddled with tips. You just bring a willingness to take part in the discussions and a sense of humour!

Topics

Planning & preparation. The `need to know` and the `nice to know`!
Identifying your objective(s)
Making an impact. Core communication skills; voice tone, pitch, pace, and projection. Body language and eye contact.
Managing nerves and the `worst that can happen` scenario
Using & abusing visual aids
Awkward questions and awkward individuals…some options for handling them!
Structure and content. Some options and ideas
Final hints and tips for making it memorable and persuasive!

Presentation & public speaking skills for council members – workshops 3 hours

This is where we can work with the councillors in small groups, give them individual advice, and ideas in order for them to have real influence both in the chamber and outside when addressing groups.

This session lets them put into practice the skills learned in the first session in a safe and supportive environment.

As always, the session will use professional actors who will pass on their tips, hints, and secrets and make the session fun but effective!

Handling the media. 3 hours evening or 5 hours Saturday

Why might the media want you? Why might you want the media?

Many councillors don’t like the media because they do not trust it to report on issues from their perspective. However, it could be a mistake to isolate yourself or your party. Learn how to relate to the media, how to handle interviews and interviewers, what to do when a crisis erupts and how to work with journalists

Topics

What is the media?
An interview? Yes or no?
How to handle interviews Newspaper, radio and television interviews
Handling a crisis
Writing a press statement
Working with journalists

Handling difficult constituents (3 hours evening or 5 hours Saturday)

All councillors have them and it can cause real problems that can disrupt both their time and lives. Learn the skills necessary to deal with the most awkward of constituents.

Topics

Identify when, where and why constituents are likely to get angry or `awkward`
Highlight the main causes of anger
Handle difficult constituents in an assertive, friendly and professional manner
Use disarming anger techniques
Turn difficult situations into an opportunity to get good PR for yourself, your party, (if relevant) and your council!
Handle constituents who just take up too much time
Actively listen to their constituents creating a climate of good rapport
Be aware of simple personal safety behaviours and habits

Overview and Scrutiny Skills 3 hours

Traditionally the problems here are members not knowing what to look out for and ask questions about, and how to handle it with the relevant Officer when they do! The emphasis will be on being effective in this role whilst maintaining good relationships with the Council Officers and/or expert witnesses!

Benefits of the training session

At the end of the training session, the delegates will:

Have a clearer understanding about their role on the overview and scrutiny committee
Have identified ways in which they can make themselves more effective
Be able to identify what documentation or facts to ask for in certain cases
Be able to pose supplementary questions when and where needed
Have a clearer understanding of when to “call-in” officers or relevant bodies
Be able to identify different types of questions to ask, and the rationale in asking them
Be able to ask probing questions whilst keeping the relationships and climate cordial
Be able to actively listen to other committee members and Officers of the council more effectively
Have identified ways of improving the way in which the committee operates including the room layout
Be able to choose from a variety of ways in which they can ask questions

Juggling time for Council Members 3 hours

This is a must for the busy councillor, especially those who are still in full time work or who have domestic commitments! Our actors will simulate a typical desk bound situation where time needs to be managed effectively

Topics

Where does our time go?/Introductions
Visualising the `new, organised, YOU`
Dealing with procrastination ………. no…………lets leave that… til later….
Reading documents quickly
Prioritizing – should we tackle that NOW? Motivating ourselves!
Managing your time wasters
Top ten tips for time management!
Handling constituents who `ramble` and take up too much of your time
Time savers – at work – at home – en route to work
Managing your desk and paperwork, and admin, and `bits` everywhere
Diary management
What about your `stuff` at home?

We will be using drama and interactive theatre to reinforce some of the learning points, and we will also focus upon handling the telephone, interruptions, and managing the wide range of people who you consider might waste your time!

Equality & Diversity for Councillors

Many of the decisions that are made in Council Chambers and on committees can have a profound effect upon different aspects of the community. This session highlights what those effects can be and introduces the council members to the world of Diversity

At the end of this session, the delegates will:

Understand the scope of the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty and the implications of these acts for both Councils and Council Members
Have explored ways in which Diversity affects council staff, the residents of their particular area, and their work as members
Be able to identify ways in which these issues affect policy and planning in their area/ward
Have been updated on what has been happening inside the council regarding the promotion of equality and diversity
Have familiarized themselves with the relevant policy for their local authority
Have explored the significance of Diversity when recruiting new senior officers on the council
Be able to highlight few key parts of the legal framework relevant to their role
Have a greater understanding of the demographic make-up of their own area and how it affects them and their role
Be better acquainted with how Diversity can and should affect council policy and planning

Running successful surgeries

Many members question the need for surgeries in these days of modern technology such as emails, texts and mobile phones This 3 hour session covers the benefits of holding surgeries and how to get the most out of them

Topics

Choosing a location and times
Advertising
Seating arrangements
Fears and concerns surrounding holding surgeries
Getting the maximum benefit from the surgeries- contact and feedback from constituents
Time management and scheduling during the surgeries
Handling constituents who ramble on and on – keeping it friendly and focused!
Handling ‘difficult’ and ‘awkward’ constituents…turning a negative into a positive
Some tips and hints on making the most of the surgeries
Taking the demography of your area into account ..how this may affect your surgeries

Influencing Skills 3 hours

This half day programme introduces the participants to the skills & techniques of influencing for council members. It manages to be fun and participative, yet highly focussed upon the participants own problems! There is no requirement for the participants to role play, no PowerPoint and no long boring lectures…that’s a promise!

At the end of the training the delegates will:-

Have identified areas where they would like to be more influential and need to improve their negotiating skills
Be able to distinguish between assertive aggressive and passive behaviour and how this impacts upon their work and relationships
Have explored a variety of techniques for making themselves more effective and influential
Be able to put some principles of negotiation and influencing into practice
Be able to highlight the key principles of win-win negotiation
Be able to `manage` effectively the wide range of different people that they communicate with
Handle conflicting views in a diplomatic and professional manner
Have constructed a self check, check list to monitor their own performance
Have had a chance to try out some of these techniques in a workshop

Topics include

Where do we want to be more influential?
Why do people resist being persuaded sometimes?
`Core` interpersonal skills, active listening, voice tone, body language, and questioning
planning and preparation
using simple sales and `closing` techniques
Win-win negotiation
can we make use of assertiveness techniques?
Influencing strategies
Action planning