Campaign Guide

FIRST EDITION:
November 2010
DISCLAIMER:
This booklet is a collection
of different views and
does not necessarily represent
the views of UMSU.
1. INTRODUCTION 4
2. RUNNING A GROUP 5
3. GETTING PEOPLE INVOLVED
IN YOUR GROUP 19
4. HOW TO FACILITATE EFFECTIVE
MEETINGS 20
5. DECISION MAKING PROCESSES 26
6. GOOD PUBLICITY AND OUREACH 35
7. COMMUNICATING YOUR
CAMPAIGN MESSAGE 42
8. USING THE MEDIA 47
9. INDEPENDENT MEDIA 59
10. PUBLIC SPEAKING 60
11. ORGANISING AND
FACILITATING WORKSHOPS 62
12. BANNER MAKING 70
13. MAKING A FILM 72
14. CAMPAIGN STRATEGY AND TACTICS 74
15. HOW THE STUDENTS UNION CAN
HELP YOUR CAMPAIGN 81
16. GUIDE TO UNIVERSITY STAFF 82
17. FUNDING 83
18. ULTRA VIRES 84
19. FUNDRAISING 85
20. LOBBYING 88
21. NON-VIOLENT DIRECT ACTION 93
IDEAS 96
PLANNING 100
AFFINITY GROUPS 104
BUDDIES 106
ROLES 107
BLOCKADING TECHNIQUES 115
22 LEGAL OBSERVER 131
RESOURCES 133
3 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Contents
CONTENTS
One person can change the world?
Maybe. Maybe not. But what is certain is
when a few determined individuals get
together they can change the course of
history. Anyone who tells you that youll
never change anything needs to look
back and check the examples of the civil
rights movements in the US, or the brave
women of the suffragettes who started
here in Manchester. In a world with more
inequality, poverty and environmental
destruction than seen ever before in
human history, now is a good time to start
a campaign. Whether it is to get people
recycling in your halls, protecting student
housing, or building understanding
between previously differing groups, no
task is too small or too large to take on.
What we hope to provide here is a way to
help you start or continue that key
campaign that is so important to you.
With the techniques and ideas laid out
here hopefully you can help change the
world! Also we hope that you can see that
campaigning is not just a tool to change
the world positively, but is also creative
fun, can give you life skills and help you
find people who share the same values.
Running a campaign requires many
different skills so its good to get a group
together to do the campaign collectively.
This is to share the workload, to share
different skills and to bring different ideas.
This book cannot claim to be a complete
guide to campaigning. No book ever
could. Political landscapes, technology
and attitudes are changing all the time
and our campaign work need to reflect
this.
This is mostly an amalgamation of other
peoples work. In particular the resources
from Seeds for Change have been
particular useful. You dont need to read
this book cover-to-cover. Treat it like a
reference book, dipping into the chapters
as and when you need.
This book is Anti-Copy Right.
Copy and distribute it freely.
For a PDF version of this guide visit
http://www.umsu.manchester.ac.uk/
campaigns/
or email
campaigns@umsu.manchester.ac.uk.
INTRODUCTION
1. Introduction
4 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
If youre fired up about an issue, then
getting together with others can help you
address it. Seek out other like minded
individuals and collectively think about
what you can do. Before you start
organising as a group theres few things
worth thinking about:
what is the purpose of the group.
Is this written down anywhere for others
to see? Once you know why you exist
you can organise accordingly.
how can people get involved in your
group? How do you publicise your
events?
Roles
What are the different roles your group
needs? e.g. Chair, facilitator, treasurer,
spokesperson? If youre registering as a
student union society, you will need to
choose a Chair. Secretary and
Treasurer. And two of these people will
need to be card holders to book
rooms, equipment, etc. These roles
may reflect how you want to run your
group with an official chair and
secretary for the entire year. Or these
may just be formalities on paper. You
may wish to rotate the role of chair
through different
people in your
group so that
everyone gets
skilled up in the
different tasks.
Its up to you.
Meetings
Meetings are nearly always necessary for
organising. But you dont need to be
having meetings for the sake of it!* Ask
yourself how often do we need to
meet? Are we getting things sorted in
meetings? Are our meetings well
publicised? Are they short and snappy or
do they drag on?
Having regular and consistent meeting
times e.g. Mondays at 5pm in the
Students Union can help people
remember when they are and improve
attendance.
What about people who arent into
meetings? What else does your group do
that offers people a way of getting
involved or finding out more? e.g. stalls,
film nights, club nights, cake sales, etc.
*However, it may be that your meetings
are the end-goal for your group existing.
For example, a support group for victims
of domestic violence will meet to share
experiences and offer support to one
another.
For a toolkit for Meetings and Workshops
including:
Introductions and Starting Meetings
Building Trust
Tackling Issues
Encouraging Participation
Resolving Conflict
Energisers and Games
Evaluating
see: http://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/
free/tools.pdf
5 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
2. Running a group
RUNNING A GROUP
RUNNING A GROUP
6 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
TooIs
for Meefinqs ond
Workshops
Inc|udes Too|s for:
Infroducfions ond Sforfinq Meefinqs
8uiIdinq Trusf
TockIinq Issues
Encouroqinq Porficipofion
PesoIvinq ConfIicf
Enerqisers ond 0omes
EvoIuofinq
This is a compilation of tools that we have found useful when working in groups. Often it is
best to have someone facilitate these exercises and to set some groundrules together with the
group, such as 'No-interrupting' and 'Stick to time'. Some general points to bear in mind:
Every group is different. Some tools may not be appropriate in a specific group or
situation. Don't force a tool on a group or an individual, do let people decide for
themselves to what extent they want to participate.
Be flexible. Don't let the process dominate the spirit of the group, but allow tools to
evolve organically with the group. Be creative and invent your own tools.
Make use of visual aids such as blackboards. Use them to write down instructions,
questions to consider and to record responses from the participants.
Be aware that people might not be happy to share with the whole group everything that
was said in a pair/small group.
Do explain the purpose of a tool before asking the
group to use it. That way people feel in control of what
they are doing, allowing them to participate more fully.
Too|s for In1roduc1ions
und S1ur1ing Mee1ings
These tools help people get acquainted with each other and
are best used at the beginning of a meeting. Check out the
web for more ideas, for example:
www.wilderdom.com/games/gamesspecific.html
Personu| In1roduc1ions: Each person gives their name,
where they are from and one other fact about themselves.
This third fact could be freely chosen by each individual or
the facilitator could suggest a theme (e.g. What kind of food
they like, why they are at the meeting, something good that
happened in the last week).
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RUNNING A GROUP
Puir Introductions: Ask people to pair up with people they don't know or know less well.
One person interviews the other for three minutes, then roles are swapped. Questions can
include the reasons why the person is there and what they are hoping to learn/achieve during
the meeting/workshop. When the whole group re-forms the pairs introduce each other, giving
as much detail as they can remember. The facilitator could also suggest specific themes to be
included in the interview.
Nume Sumes: There are countless games that help people remember everyone else's name.
Here's one of our favourites: The group stands in a circle facing each other. Everyone needs to
think of a verb (action word) that begins with the same letter as their name. Have an initial
go-round where everyone says what their name is (e.g. jumping James). When everyone has
said what they're called, start off by throwing a (real or imaginary) ball to someone while
saying their name and acting out the verb (so you throw a ball to Jumping James, and Jump
while you say his name). James then throws the ball to the next person, while saying and
acting out their name (Laughing Lindsay)...
Cocktui| Purty: Ask people to image that they are at a cocktail party and get them to mill
around, meet each other, shake hands and chat. You can change the scene after a bit to a
nightclub, on the beach, etc.
Peop|e Mup: Create a human map to show where people consider their home. Indicate
North, East, South & West, and allow participants to position themselves to create a map. Ask
people furthest away where they are from. Proceed to each cluster of people. People can also
reposition themselves. You could vary this by asking where people would like to live/go on
holiday etc.
Ecitement Shuring: People share something exciting that has happened to them recently.
Examples are: 'I've harvested the first peas of the year', 'My friend from New Zealand came to
visit', 'I've got a new job'. This creates a lot of positive energy for the meeting and puts people
more in touch with each other's lives. You can use this instead of introductions when people
already know each other. Make sure people keep it brief. Discourage comments or questions.
Don't confuse excitement sharing with announcements.
Fee|ing Shuring: Ask people to listen inwards and to consider how they feel. Then have a
round with people describing in a couple of sentences how they feel, for example curious,
nervous, tired, excited. This allows the facilitator and the group to tune into each other. If
people are tired have an energiser and open the windows. A variation is to ask people to
visualise a plant that relates to how they feel and to share this with the group.
Setting Present: Sit in a circle so that everyone can see and hear each other. Ask people to
share in turn bothers, distractions and events that are on their mind. For example: Im giving
a presentation this afternoon and I feel nervous. My daughter had a baby last night. Its my
first grandchild. Ask everyone to give their full attention to the speaker. As facilitator you
can help people if they appear stuck. Interventions could include: Is there any action you
want to take? Is there anything else you want to say about that?
This tool is suitable for groups that work together closely and where there is a high level of
trust.
RUNNING A GROUP
8 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
TooIs for uiIding Trus1
These exercises help build trust in a group by
sharing personal details and feelings with each
other.
SkiIIed Hund Eercise: Hand out paper
and pens. Ask everyone to draw around their
hands and to write something they do well into
each of the fingers. Split into pairs. Take turns
discussing things you do well and how you
acquired those skills. This exercise not only
helps people find out more about each other,
but also develops people's confidence.
Pic1ure YourseIf: Hand out coloured paper
and coloured pens. Ask people to draw/paint a
picture that expresses who they are. When
everyone has finished ask people to pair up and
explain their pictures to their partners. The
partners then introduce each other to the group
using the picture.
AI1ernu1ive CV: Hand out coloured sheets of paper and coloured pens. Ask people to draw
a pattern of their choice on their piece of paper. When everyone has finished ask people to fill
the pattern with words or phrases describing what they like about themselves, skills they have
and skills they would like to have. Ask people to write their name on this. Pass around the
finished patterns for everyone to look at or hang them up on the wall. This exercise helps
people to appreciate themselves and others for who they are, laying a good foundation for
working together.
A Journey of Discovery: Go outside into a garden or woodland. Form into pairs. One
person closes their eyes, the other guides that person by the hand and takes them to discover
natural objects with all their senses apart from sight. Swap roles after a set time. Participants
need to be very careful not to abuse the trust placed in them by their partners. It is very
pleasant to touch and smell a flower, but not a thistle! This can be quite a lot of fun especially
after or in the middle of a long, tiring session.
Mirroring: Split into pairs standing opposite each other. One person makes movements, the
other tries to mirror them as well as they can. Swap roles. When both have played both roles,
they can try to coordinate movements with each other, so that both become player and mirror
at the same time. This works best with slow movements and needs a lot of concentration. Try
not to talk while playing.
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RUNNING A GROUP
TooIs for TuckIing Issues
ruinstorms are a tool for sparking creative thinking and help to
quickly gather a large number of ideas. Begin with stating the issue
to be brainstormed. Ask people to call out all their ideas as fast as
possible - without censoring it. The crazier the ideas the better.
This helps people to be inspired by each other. Have one or two
note takers to write all ideas down where everyone can see them.
Make sure there is no discussion or comment on others' ideas.
Structured thinking and organising can come afterwards.
Pros & Cons: Got several ideas and can't decide which one to go
for? Simply list the benefits and drawbacks of each idea and
compare the results. This can be done as a full group, or by asking
pairs, or small groups to work on the pros and cons of one option and report back to the
group.
Spectrum Lines: They help to explore and visually rank the different views on an issue
within the group. Start by creating an imaginary or real line through the room (chalk or
masking tape are good for indoor spaces). One end stands for I agree completely, the other
end for I disagree completely. Outline the issue under debate and formulate it into a
statement to agree or disagree with. Ask people to position themselves along the line
according to their views. They may try out several spots before making a final choice. Ask
them to have a short conversation with the person next to them, explaining why they are
where they are. Then invite participants to share their viewpoints and feelings with the group.
Repeat this exercise with other statements that explore the issue under discussion and see
whether and how peoples viewpoints change. You could also use a curved line so that people
can see each other. This exercise taps into both our intuitive and rational sides and needs to be
done quietly and thoughtfully. A Spectrum Line may require strong facilitation to stop the
group from slipping into general discussion.
Urgent/Importunt Srid:
A classic time-management tool that can be applied to group prioritisation! You can use this
tool on paper, or as a Spectrum Line (see above). The group can rank ideas according to
their urgency and importance:
To use as a Spectrum, divide up the
room into 4 quarters. Get the group to
imagine the axes (marking these out with
chalk or tape on the floor will help).
Label the axes Urgent, Important, etc.
as in the diagram and ask people to stand
where they feel appropriate for the first
option, then the second etc. Your priority
should be the things that most people
feel are both urgent and important.
CIeuring Out: Agree on a topic (Things that make us angry, Destruction of the Earth
etc.) Ask everyone to write down things that come into mind onto a large piece of paper. Give
the group the chance to look at all that has been written down, then get everyone to tear up the
Urgent
Not Important Important
Not Urgent
Priority
area
RUNNING A GROUP
10 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
sheet of paper and to drop it into the bin or the fire bit by bit. It's very liberating after an
analysis of the depressing state of the world and before brainstorming actions that we can
take, as it helps us to overcome the feeling of being helpless. It's also great fun.
Mupping: Use large writing where everyone can see it. Arrange key words in groups or out
on their own. Use connecting arrows, colours and pictures. This is a lot more organic and fun
than a simple list. It can allow people to make new connections. The writing could be done by
one person or everyone in the group.
P|us-Minus-Interesting {PMI} is a process that allows the expression of opposing views
without generating too much conflict. This tool can be used in the whole group, in small
groups or individually. Write the topic across the top of a large sheet of paper. Draw a plus
sign, a minus sign and an I (which stands for Interesting). Start with the plus and ask people
to list anything that they feel to be positive about the topic. Write these without comment
around the plus sign. When everyone has had their say move on to the minus sign and list
everything that people feel to be more negative. Around the I sign list everything that
people find interesting, ideas that could be explored further etc. Then move back to the plus
sign and start a second round. The first round finds out whats happening with the group. The
second round builds upon it. One particular issue can come up in every section as people
might have different opinions. Issues can have both a positive and a negative side!
Huss|e Lines: are a form of quick role plays. They are great for getting people to explore
their emotional responses to a situation, to look at body language or to prepare for a particular
situation such as aggression from the public or the police during an action.
Participants form two lines, each facing a partner. The two lines are given roles and a brief
scenario and then step towards each other and play their roles. The left row for example may
11 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
RUNNING A GROUP
take on the role of protesters, the other side of unsympathetic passers-by, making a
provocative comment such as get a job, you dirty hippy.
After a short time (thirty seconds to two minutes) the facilitator stops the role play and asks a
few people for their comments, e.g. how it worked and how it made them feel. Roles can then
be swapped and scenarios varied.
Ro|e P|uys: In this form of improvised drama players take on roles in a given scenario as
preparation for a real life situation or to evaluate a past experience. Role plays also help to
understand people's reactions, and give insights into the thoughts and feelings of opponents.
Select a situation to be played out. Ask yourself what you want to examine and why. A simple
situation is best. Explain the situation carefully, including the groups represented and the
physical layout. A role play is used to learn what to do in a situation or to study a particular
role and reaction. Define one of them but not both as that would restrict spontaneity.
Ask people to volunteer for roles that they do not identify with strongly. Give them a few
minutes to get into their roles. Ask everyone who is not playing to be active observers.
The facilitator stops the role play when enough issues have been uncovered, the play comes to
a natural end or people want to stop. The play should also be stopped if a player shows great
tension / gets too involved. Have a short break and then evaluate the role play.
Evaluation gives players and observers the chance to assimilate and analyse what has
happened. Start by asking the players how they felt in their roles. Ask observers for their
impressions and then allow discussion. What have people learnt and how they will apply their
insights in real life? Discourage comments that tell players what they should have done.
Compliment people for acting boldly in difficult situations regardless of the outcome. Role
plays are there for learning. Use encouraging language such as Another option that you
might try is..., Perhaps this would work..., I learned ... from your tactic and would like to
try.... Evaluation should not go on too long. If new insights come up the group might want to
try them out in a new role play rather than talk about what might happen.
Reverse Ro|e P|uys allow people understand both sides of a conflict. They can help people
entrenched in one position to think more flexibly. They are useful for examining a critical
incident that occurs repeatedly or is expected to occur and for developing a definition of
acceptable behaviour (e.g. conflicts over power, sexism, ageism etc.).
Set up a situation involving two sides. At an important point in the role play, have everyone
freeze. Ask people to take the opposite role and take up the conversation where it left off. The
facilitator may have to help people remember what the last lines of the dialogue were. It can
help if the facilitator physically moves people to their new positions and says You are now
X, and you are now Y. Give people a moment to mentally shift to their new identities and
resume the role play. Follow the role play with an evaluation.
Too|s for ncouruging Pur1icipu1ion
Hund Signu|s: A simple technique that can make meetings and workshops run more
smoothly and also help the facilitator see emerging agreements and common ground. Three
simple signals should suffice:
Raise a forefinger when you wish to contribute to the discussion with a general point.
RUNNING A GROUP
14 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Raise both forefingers if your point is directly relevant to the current discussion. This
allows you to jump to the head of the queue, in front of all those people raising just one
finger. Use wisely and discourage overuse!
'Silent applause' when you hear an opinion that you agree with, wave a hand with your
fingers pointing upwards (also called 'twinkling'). This saves a lot of time as people don't
need to chip in to say I'd just like to add that I agree with...
Keeping u Speukers List: A tool which involves asking people to raise a finger (see
Hands ignals) when they wish to speak, and noting them down in order. They are then invited
to speak in that order. The group will soon become impatient with people that ignore this
protocol and just barge in and interrupt.
Active Agreement: is a useful groundrule for every meeting or workshop. It asks everyone
to take an active part in making decisions. When the group is asked a question or has to make
a decision, insist on active agreement. Too many bad decisions are made because people stare
at their feet rather than clearly agree or disagree. Later on those same people may feel that the
decision was not one they supported, leading to tension in the group. By insisting on active
(dis)agreement this can be avoided and decisions that represent the views of all can be
reached. Silent applause, or lack of it, (see Hand signals) can be a useful way of showing
active agreement.
The Purking Lot makes sure all ideas get recorded and participants don't
feel like they've been ignored. Whenever anything comes up that's not relevant
to the discussion at hand park it in the Parking Lot (a large sheet of paper on
the wall). In other words write it up on the paper and deal with it later. This
allows you to stay focussed but reassures participants they will be heard. Of
course if you want to avoid people feeling ignored, make sure you do deal
with parked items! Consider having a space reserved on the agenda to deal
with parked items.
So-rounds: Everyone takes a turn to speak on a subject without interruption or comment
from other people. Go-rounds are useful for equalising participation and giving everyone
some clear space to express their opinion. Allowing people to pass means that quieter
people dont feel put on the spot. To keep it focussed clearly state what the purpose of the Go-
round is and write the question on a flipchart where everyone can see it. You can set time
limits as necessary.
Working in Smu|| Sroups: There are many reasons why you may want to split into
smaller groups:
Large groups can sometimes become dominated by a few people or ideas, stifling
creativity and the contributions of others.
It can be difficult to discuss emotionally charged issues in a large group.
Effectiveness: many topics are discussed more effectively in a smaller focus group - for
example the details of layouting a newsletter .
Smaller groups allow time for everyone to speak and to feel involved. They are a lot less
intimidating too.
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RUNNING A GROUP
Think about the sort of group you need - a random split (e.g. numbering off or by eye/hair
colour etc.) or specific interest groups? Explain clearly what you want groups to do. Write
specific questions / topics on large paper / a blackboard beforehand and give them to each
group. If you are going to have feedback at the end, you need to say clearly what they need to
feedback.
Tu|king Sticks: You can use a stick or a conch shell or almost any other distinctive object.
Place the talking stick in the centre of the group. Speakers take it from the centre, say their
piece and return it to the middle. Only the person holding the talking stick is permitted to
speak (you can set a time limit if necessary). This tool allows people to consider and take their
time in voicing their views as they don't have to be afraid that some one else might jump in. It
also makes people conscious of when they interrupt others and helps them to break the habit.
Mutchstick Discussion: This can be used to place limits on dominant
or over-eager speakers. It also encourages shy speakers to contribute. Each
person is given the same number of matches (one to five matches
depending on time available.) Every time someone speaks s/he gives up a
match. When someone has used all their matches they may not speak
again until everyone else's matches are gone too. Decide beforehand
whether people may give their matches to other members of the group.
Cross Eercise: Draw a cross in the middle of the room with some
chalk. This cross symbolises the proposal. Everyone positions themselves in the room -
depending on how strongly they identify with the proposal closer to or further away from the
cross. This exercise can also be used to find out how strongly people identify with the group.
Think und Listen in Puirs: This tool creates a space where everyone is heard, enabling
participants to explore and formulate their own thoughts/feelings on an issue without
interruption. It can help in uncovering and resolving conflict as well as allowing people to
gather and consolidate their thoughts before a group discussion. Listening in pairs is also a
good way of developing skills in active listening.
Split into pairs, one person is the listener, the other the thinker. The thinker speaks about her
thoughts/feelings on the issue. S/he may also be quiet or laugh. Encourage the thinker to
speak first thoughts - that is to speak as thoughts enter the mind without analysing or holding
back. This may seem difficult at first - think of it as holding an internal monologue, but out
loud. The role of the listener is to give full attention to the thinker without interrupting,
questioning or commenting. The listener can provide an attentive and supportive atmosphere
through eye contact, body language, encouraging noises, smiles and nods. If the thinker gets
stuck the listener may ask neutral questions such as How does that make you feel? Why do
you think that? After a set time (3-5 minutes is usually plenty of time) thinker and listener
swap roles.
This exercise can be followed by a go-round in the full group, with every participant
summarising her/his thoughts or summarising those of their partner.
RUNNING A GROUP
16 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
TooIs for PesoIving ConfIic1
Here are some tools that are useful in
uncovering and resolving conflict within
the group. Conflict resolution tools
generally benefit from strong
facilitation. Lay down clear rules and
don't let discussions get out of hand. Do
not feel afraid to stop the process if
necessary.
Mediu1ion: Where two people have
fallen out badly, one to one mediation may be necessary. Sometimes it is sufficient to have a
single mediator; but if the whole group can be present to hear what is said, it can demonstrate
a lot more support for both parties. The exact process will depend on sensitivity to the
particular circumstances, but you could try the following: Ask both parties to speak
uninterrupted for as long as they like to give their perspective on the situation, using I feel...
statements. Then clarify any disagreements or facts, where possible. The mediator(s) can then
put questions to one or the other of the disputants, to see if there are any points of consensus.
Finally if the atmosphere is relaxed enough, participants can talk directly with each other,
with the mediator(s) ready to slow down things again if necessary.
Con1roIIed DiuIogue: This tool is helpful when two people find it difficult to listen to each
other and understand each other's concerns. Form a group of three, one observer and two
speakers/listeners. There are three phases to this form of dialogue, each given a set amount of
time:
1. The listener repeats word for word what the speaker has said. Only then is s/he
allowed to answer.
2. The listener summarises what the speaker has said and then answers.
3. When answering the listener addresses all issues and concerns of the speaker.
The observer makes sure participants stick to the format and helps out if necessary.
Particularly in the first and second phase the speaker should concentrates on essential points
as listening requires a lot of concentration. You can also use this exercise to practise listening
and responding skills in the group.
Shuring Wi1hhoIds: Withholds are thoughts that we keep to ourselves. They usually have
to do with judgements about ourselves, others, or what is happening in the group. There needs
to be a climate of generous listening, before sharing withholds is possible. Set up an
unstructured round asking people to make statements beginning with: If I could change one
thing in the group it would be..., What upsets me about this group is ... Do not allow
anyone to respond to the withholds or start a discussion. Make sure that everyone has a say -
it is highly unlikely that someone is completely happy with a group. At the end of the round,
see if any themes have emerged and if anyone wants their issue discussed. This exercise takes
about 30 minutes depending on size of the group.
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RUNNING A GROUP
Fee|ings Meeting: Similar to Sharing Withholds. A meeting which is solely concerned with
feelings. Participants do not have to deal with decisions and actions. Such meetings allow the
group to involve and support members as whole people and to resolve concerns, problems and
conflicts before they become too serious. It helps to use tools such as talking sticks or go-
rounds to encourage active listening. Encourage people to use I... statements instead of
speaking for other people too. Begin by asking people about where they are at in their lives
outside the group, giving everyone a context for their reactions within the group. Listen for
what is not being said. Some people/groups find it hard to admit to negative feelings and
tiptoe around conflicts. Create a safe enough space so that people feel able to open up.
nergisers und Sumes
When people stop concentrating or become irritable in a meeting, this could simply be
because they've been sitting and listening for too long. A stretch or a game, can re-energise
people. Games also help people to get to know each other better and lift the spirits in the
group. Be sensitive to the group and individual members - the idea is to relax people, not to
make them feel embarrassed or isolated. Don't coerce people into playing games. If people
don't feel like playing, they could get themselves a cup of tea or go to the loo. Also remember
mobility issues. Sometimes a simple break or a stretch works just as well.
Ruin: A facilitator talks the group through this energiser. Get everyone to stand up. Start
tapping your head lightly with your fingers imagining soft rain. Let it slowly get heavier the
further you move your hands down your body. Let the rain turn into a thunderstorm on your
calves. Clap them hard with your hands. Then move your hands back up you body, ending
with soft rain on your head.
Wuking up in the Jung|e: People think of their favourite animal and its noise, and at a
signal pretend that they are that animal waking up. As the animals wake up they stretch, move
and get louder and louder. A good quick game for sleepy groups.
Sreen Trousers Sume: Form a circle and take one seat away. One person stands in the
middle and calls out something like "Everyone with green trousers". Everyone with green
trousers then jumps up and runs to a seat vacated by someone else. The person left without a
seat remains in the middle to call out something else.
Knot Sume: Stand in a circle, close your eyes. Walk towards the centre of the circle with
outstretched hands. Find another hand for each of yours. Then open your eyes. Unravel the
knot without opening hands. Involves getting physically close to others, stretching, laughing
and problem solving. Works best in groups of 10-20 people. Form two knots if necessary.
Puir Tug: In pairs, one is the chaser. With a big group, this allows for lots of hiding behind
others - fun and active. Swap partners after a bit.
Animu| Sounds: Participants are blindfolded and assigned an animal. The challenge is to
use animal noises in order to meet up with other animals of same species. Aim to have at least
three animals of each species. Releases energy. Loud, fun, chaotic, then gradually order and
unity.
RUNNING A GROUP
18 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
TooIs for EvuIuuting Meetings und Workshops
Ask
everyone to
list two or
three high
and low
points of the
event.
Draw up a
questionnaire
and distribute
it amongst
the
participants
for filling in.
Ask What are
you taking
away from this
session? This
rapid review
can help
people notice
what they have
learned.
Have a round
where
everyone
sums up their
feelings or
ask everyone
to write
down
comments on
a large piece
of paper.
Use the Plus-Minus-
Interesting format
individually or in small
groups. Report back to the
whole group. Discuss
solutions to problems and
their implementation.
Evaluation allows us to learn from
our experiences. It should be a
regular part of our meetings and
workshops as it give us the chance
for honest feedback on the process
and content of the event, allowing us
to improve in the future.
Everyone who participated in an
event should be encouraged to take
part in its evaluation. Bear in mind
that there will be differences of
opinion and that it is not necessary
for the group to come to agreement
on the matter.
It is important to point out what was
successful as well as what could have
gone better. Begin with positive
evaluations wherever possible.
The structure of the evaluation
should be planned carefully - how
will you draw out what type of
information? Keep evaluations of the
process and of the content of the
events separate.
List the expectations that were gathered at the
beginning of the meeting. To what extent were
they satisfied or changed as the event
progressed? Do the same with goals.
Use a graph on a large piece of paper representing the
entire meeting/event. Each participant, using a different
coloured crayon or chalk, draws a line from one end to the
other, drawing it above or below a central line depending
on how much s/he has enjoyed/gained from the session.
The phrasing of the question is important.
19 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
GETTING PEOPLE INVOLVED IN YOUR GROUP
New people at your meetings?
If you see someone new arrive, welcome
them, talk to them just don't ignore them.
Bring a friend or neighbour to the group.
Word of mouth and encouragement are the
most effective ways of involving new people.
Act as a mentor, or buddy, for a new
member, explain things if necessary, such as
references to previous work done by the
group. Generally check they're comfortable.
What to do with new people?
Share out tasks among members. If you are
working on something, try and include at
least one person who has never done that
particular sort of work before.
Get small working groups to do particular
jobs, reporting back to the main meeting for
support, to answer any questions and to
check its OK to continue. These smaller
groups should try and have someone new
involved and not be made up exclusively of
regulars or the most experienced.
Can new people get involved in
your group?
Regularly consider the practicalities of your
meetings how accessible, or easy to find,
are your meeting spaces? When do you
hold your meetings? Try different meeting
times and days, and ask people when is
better for them. Consider young people,
parents and carers.
Recognise the value of peoples different life
experience.
Take account of peoples different abilities to
commit time and energy.
Now and again plan activities that
encourage wider involvement. Make sure
that all the usual
suspects get involved, and talk to new
people. What might seem like a simple
piece of work to you may be really exciting
to a potential new member.
Where do you publicise the group and its
meetings, if at all? If you want to do
something about a gender imbalance, or
want to work with more black and minority
ethnic groups, does your publicity/word of
mouth go to where these people will see or
hear about it? Does it welcome them
explicitly to your group? Does it encourage
them to get involved?
Keeping People
Publicise and celebrate your achievements.
Make your own posters or newsletters, to let
people know you're successful.
Dont forget to thank people when they do
something. Giving people recognition and
praise for things they do well either in
public, private or both is really important
for peoples motivation. When things are
going well in a group say so.
Pass around an agenda at the beginning of
each meeting so that people can add their
points to it.
During meetings, do you challenge put-
downs or discriminatory remarks? Does
your group have an understanding of
equality of opportunity and what this means
practically? Do you set aside time in any
meeting to consider these issues and how
they affect your group?
Agree basic rules for the running of your
group (such as how decisions are made,
what the structure is, how meetings are run)
together with everyone involved. Write them
up and make sure everyone has a copy of
these. This makes it more transparent and
easier for people to be involved.
3. Getting people involved in your group
adapted from Seeds for Change
HOW TO FACILITATE EFFECTIVE MEETINGS
20 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
4. How to facilitate effective meetings
Facilitating
Meetings
Meetings are a necessary part of working in any group they give us the
chance to share information, to reach decisions and to get jobs done. But
too often they drag on and on, with tempers running high, people talking
over each other, and no decisions being made. Bad meetings leave you
wondering why you bothered turning up. Unfortunately this pattern is
very common in groups. However by using some facilitation skills it's
easy to turn around the style of meetings and actually make them an en-
joyable and inspiring experience.
What is facilitation?
Facilitation is about helping the group to
have an efficient and inclusive meeting. It's
also about making sure everyone can be in-
volved in discussions and making decisions.
It combines a series of roles and tasks. Some-
times these are taken on by one person the
facilitator, however there's no reason why
they can't be shared between one or more
people in the meeting. Good facilitators stay
neutral, winning the trust of everyone in the
meeting and treating everyone as equals. At
no time do they make decisions for the group
or take sides in a conflict.
short guide
Was the meeting
successful?
Tasks What got
done? Did you get
the necessary res-
ults? Were problems
solved, and were the
objectives of the
group met?
Maintenance How
did it get done? How
did people feel and
how will this affect
morale and group
cohesion? Did the
meeting make good
use of the pooled tal-
ents? Was it enjoy-
able?
21 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Key facilitation tasks
Help the group plan the meeting
agenda. Think about timing and
order of agenda items, and how
to tackle each point.
Prepare the room so it's comfort-
able and everyone can participate;
sort out materials the meeting
might need e.g.: paper, pens.
Introduce the meeting, what it's
about and how the meeting works
(e.g. consensus or voting,
handsignals, breaks).
Keep the group to the agenda and
decision-making process
Keep the meeting focussed on one
item at a time.
Help everyone to participate.
Keep track of who wants to speak.
Draw out quiet people and limit
those who talk a lot.
Challenge aggressive or discrimin-
atory behaviour and put-downs.
Introduce techniques such as
ideastorming, go-rounds and
working groups to make the
meeting more efficient and
participatory.
Clarify and summarise points,
make sure everyone understands
the discussion.
Test for agreement and get clear
decisions made.
Ensure that action points and de-
cisions are recorded.
Keep the meeting to time.
Help the group deal with conflict.
Listen for underlying issues, con-
cerns or emotions. Help bring
them out so they can be dealt
with.
Co-facilitation roles at a meeting
Instead of just one facilitator you could have two or more people sharing
the different tasks:
Co-facilitators can take turns facil-
itating and support each other.
Taking hands: the job of keeping
track of whose turn it is to speak
next and of giving appropriate time
limits to speakers.
Vibes-watchers pay attention to
the emotional atmosphere of the
meeting, They watch out for indi-
viduals' feelings and intervene if
necessary.
The timekeeper keeps track of the
time and the agreed time frame for
the different agenda points, negoti-
ating extensions if needed.
Notetakers or recorders take
minutes or notes, collect reports,
and also draw attention to incom-
plete decisions e.g. who is going
to contact so and so, and when?.
The doorkeeper welcomes people
in, bringing them up to speed on
the meeting and practical stuff.
22 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
A facilitator's skills and qualities
Facilitating consensus
Many grassroots groups use consensus decision making rather than vot-
ing in their meetings. When working to reach consensus we bring togeth-
er different ideas and try to find a proposal that is agreeable to everyone.
Consensus is about participation and equalising power. Good facilitation
plays an important role in helping a group to reach agreement.
The key to helping a group towards consensus is
to help all members of the group express
their needs and viewpoints clearly, find
the common ground and find solutions to
any areas of disagreement. Active
listening, summarising and synthesis are
three skills that help the facilitator with this.
Respect for all par-
ticipants and in-
terest in what each
individual has to
offer.
Good listening skills to
hear underlying concerns
in the group. This in-
cludes strategic ques-
tioning to be able to un-
derstand everyone's
viewpoint properly.
Assert-
iveness
know
when to
intervene
decisively
and give
some
direction
to the
meeting.
Neutrality on the issues discussed. Avoiding
taking sides or manipulating the meeting towards
a particular outcome. If this becomes difficult, or
you know in advance that you'll struggle to remain
impartial try:
letting someone else facilitate;
making it clear when you're expressing
your own opinion and when you're inter-
vening as the facilitator
Under-
standing of
the aim of
the meeting
as well as
long-term
goals of the
group.
Clear thinking and observation pay atten-
tion both to the content of the discussion and
the process. How are people feeling? What is
being said?
23 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Some Facilitation Tools for Meetings
(For more tools see our briefing Facilitation Tools for Meetings and Workshops)
The agenda provides vital structure
for the meeting. Either draw up the
agenda at the beginning of the
meeting, or prepare a proposed
agenda in advance. Allow everyone
to have an input. Start by collecting
agenda items from the group.
Estimate the time needed for each
item. Think about priorities for this
meeting what could be tackled
another time or in separate working
groups? Be realistic: if the meeting
is only an hour long, there should
only be an hour's worth of items on
the agenda! If the meeting is longer
than 1 hours plan in breaks.
Think about effective tools for
controversial topics.
Write up the proposed agenda
where everyone will be able to see
it (on a whiteboard or flipchart, for
example) or make copies to give to
everyone.
Group Agreement: the group
agrees at the beginning of the
meeting what behaviour will help
make the meeting a safe, respectful
place for everyone. May include
things like: switch off phones; no
smoking; one person speaking at a
time; no put-downs; respect etc.
Go-rounds: everyone takes a turn
to speak without interruption or
comment from other people. Go-
rounds help to gather opinions,
feelings and ideas as well as
slowing down the discussion and
improving listening. Make sure that
everyone gets a chance to speak.
Handsignals can make meetings
run more smoothly and help the
facilitator see emerging agree-
ments. Three simple signals should
suffice:
Raise a hand when you wish
to contribute to the discussion
with a general point.
Raise both hands if your
point is a direct response
to the current discussion.
This allows you to jump to
the head of the queue, so use it
wisely and discourage overuse!
Silent applause'
when you hear an
opinion that you agree
with, wave a hand with
your fingers pointing upwards. This
saves a lot of time as people don't
need to chip in to say I'd just like
to add that I agree with...
www.seedsforchange.org.uk 2009
24 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Ideastorming gathers a large
number of ideas quickly. Start by
stating the issue. Ask people to say
whatever comes into their heads as
fast as possible without censoring
or discussion. This encourages
creativity and frees energy. Write
down all ideas for later discussion.
Paired listening creates a space
where everyone is heard, so
participants can explore and
formulate their own thoughts and
feelings on an issue without
interruption. In pairs, one person is
the listener, the other speaks about
her thoughts and feelings on the
issue. The listener gives full atten-
tion to their partner without inter-
rupting. After a set time swap roles
within the pairs.
Parking space: when
something comes up that's
not relevant to the dis-
cussion at hand park it in
the parking space (a large sheet of
paper on the wall) and deal with it
at an appropriate time later. This
allows you to stay focused but
reassures participants they will be
heard.
Small Groups create safer spaces
for people to contribute to the
meeting. They can also make meet-
ings more efficient any topics are
discussed more effectively in a
smaller task group, and different
groups can discuss different topics
simultaneously. Explain clearly
what you want groups to do. Write
up the task where people can see it.
If you want feedback at the end,
ensure each group appoints a
notetaker to report back.
Talking stick: people may speak
only when they hold the talking
stick. This makes people conscious
of when they interrupt others.
Throw back to the group many
facilitators feel they have to deal
with all the problems that arise in
meetings. Where possible, let the
group do the work. If someone asks
a question, you don't have to
answer it so throw it back to the
group. Get them to make the major
decisions about things like time,
and priorities for the meeting.
For more briefings and
training workshops see:
www.seedsforchange.org.uk
25 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
1. Active Listening
When we actively listen we suspend our own thought processes and
give the speaker our full attention. We make a deliberate effort to un-
derstand someone's position and their underlying needs, concerns and
emotions.
2. Summarising
A succinct and accurate summary of what's been said so far can be
really helpful to move a group towards a decision. Outline the emer-
ging common ground as well as the unresolved differences: it seems
like we've almost reached agreement on that element of the proposal,
but we need to explore this part further to address everyone's con-
cerns. Check with everyone that you've got it right.
3. Synthesis
After discussing the issue freely move on to finding agreement on what
needs to be done. During this stage, sometimes called synthesis, you
need to find the common ground, find connections between seemingly
competing ideas and weave them together to form proposals.
Start with a summary of where you think the group and it's different
members are at. Then start building a proposal from whatever agree-
ment there is. Look for ideas on how the differences can be resolved.
Focus on solutions that address the fundamental needs and key con-
cerns that people within the group have. It's not unusual for people to
be willing to give way on some things but not on others which affect
them more closely. The solution will often be found by combining ele-
ments from different proposals.
To make summarising and synthesis easier it is helpful to write up key is-
sues on a flipchart as the discussion happens.
For more information read our in-depth facilitation and consensus brief-
ings, available on our website.
DECISION MAKING PROCESSES
26 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Theres different ways your group can
make decisions. You could elect an
almighty leader and let them make all the
decisions for all of you - but that isn't very
empowering for others, nor do you get to
hear everyone's opinions and utilise their
experience.
So most groups will make their decisions
democratically to allow everyone to have
their say. Two methods are commonly
used - majority voting and consensus-
based decision making.
Majority Voting
This will be familiar to most people. To
make a decision, those in favour of a
proposal put up their hands to be
counted. Then you do the same for those
against the decision. The majority side
'wins' the decision. You may require a
proposal to pass or fall by 51% or you may
set it higher - e.g. a two thirds majority
may be. There may also be abstentions -
people who are neither in favour nor
against the decision. They may not have
an opinion, or they may not care enough
to vote.
Advantages majority voting is simple
and easy to understand for most people.
Disadvantages majority voting can leave
a lot of people disappointed with the
decision. Although they may be a minority
- they may be a large minority - up to
49%! Also, majority voting can encourage
people to become entrenched in their
positions, knowing that if they can muster
a majority they'll get their way. This can
lead to aggressive debating stances, with
one group trying to 'win' the argument
over the other, rather than trying to
understand different perspectives and find
a common way forward.
Consensus decision making
To counter these disadvantages, many
groups use consensus based decision
making. This is where the group tries to
reach a decision that everyone is happy
with, rather than just a simple majority. At
first, the process for reaching consensus
can seem complicated and this is often
cited as its disadvantage. But many
groups find that the advantages can be far
more beneficial namely: having to listen
to one another, creating trust and respect
and reaching a decision that everyone
feels ownership over and is willing to
implement.
Insert short guide to consensus decision
making here.
http://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/free/
shortconsensus.pdf
5. Decision making processes
27 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Consensus
Decision Making
Consensus decision making is a creative and dynamic way of reach-
ing agreement between all members of a group. Instead of simply
voting for an item and having the majority of the group getting their
way, a consensus group is committed to finding solutions that every-
one actively supports or at least can live with. This makes sure that
all opinions, ideas and concerns are taken into account. By listening
closely to each other, the group aims to come up with proposals that
work for everyone.
Consensus is neither compromise nor unanimity it aims to go further by
weaving together everyones best ideas and most important concerns a
process that often results in surprising and creative solutions, inspiring
both the individual and the group as whole.
Working together
At the heart of consensus is a respectful dialogue between equals. Its
about everyone working together to meet both the individuals and the
groups needs working with each other rather than for or against each
other, something that requires openness and trust.
Consensus is looking for win-win solutions that are acceptable to all - no
decision will be made against the will of an individual or a minority.
Instead the group adapts to all its members needs. If everyone agrees to
a decision they will all be much more committed to making it happen.
Consensus decision making is based on the idea that people should have
full control over their lives and that power should be shared by all, not
just concentrated in the hands of a few. Its about having the freedom to
decide ones own course in life and the right to play an equal role
in creating a common future. This is why it is
used widely in groups working towards a
more just and equitable society such as
small voluntary groups, co-operatives
and campaign networks.
short guide
28 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Conditions for consensus
Common Goal: Everyone in the group needs to share a clear common
goal and be willing to work together towards it. Work out together what
your goals are and how you will get there. If differences arise later,
revisit the common goal to help to focus and unite the group.
Commitment to reaching consensus: Everyone needs to be willing to
really give it a go. This means being deeply honest about what it is you
want or dont want, and properly listening to what others have to say.
Everyone must be willing to shift their positions, to be open to alternative
solutions and be able to reassess their needs.
Trust and openness: We need to be able to trust that everyone shares
our commitment to consensus and that everyone respects our opinions
and equal rights. It would be a big breach of trust for people to manipu-
late the process of the meeting in order to get the decision they most
want.
Part of this is to openly express both our desires (what wed like to see
happening), and our needs (what we have to see happen in order to be
able to support a decision). If everyone is able to talk openly then the
group will have the information it requires to take everyones positions
into account and to come up with a solution that everyone can support.
Sufficient time for making decisions and for learning to work by con-
sensus. Taking time to make a good decision now can save wasting time
revisiting a bad one later.
Clear Process: Its essential to have a clear process for making decisions
and to make sure that everyone has a shared understanding of how it
works.
Active participation: In consensus we all need to actively
participate. We need to listen to what everyone has
to say, voice our thoughts and feelings about the
matter and pro-actively look for solutions that
include everyone.
29 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Key skills for consensus
Active Listening: When we actively listen we suspend our own thought
processes and give the speaker our full attention. We make a deliberate
effort to understand someones position and their needs, concerns and
emotions.
Summarising: A succinct and accurate summary of whats been said so
far can really help a group move towards a decision. Outline the emer-
ging common ground as well as the unresolved differences: It seems like
weve almost reached agreement on that bit of the proposal, but we need
to explore this part further to address everyones concerns. Check with
everyone that youve got it right.
Synthesis: Find the common ground and any connections between seem-
ingly competing ideas and weave them together to form proposals. Focus
on solutions that address the fundamental needs and key concerns that
people within the group have.
Consensus in large groups
In large groups its a good idea to delegate issues to smaller groups, such
as working groups or local groups. However, sometimes the issues will be
so important that they have to be discussed and decided by everyone.
This will often be done in a spokescouncil, which enables hundreds and
thousands of people to work together by consensus in an efficient way.
In a spokescouncil the meeting splits into small groups, which start by
discussing the issue(s) to come up with concerns and ideas. Spokes (del-
egates) from each group then meet up in a spokescouncil to feed back
these thoughts.
The spokescouncil uses this information to create one or more proposals.
These are discussed back in the small groups to check for any amend-
ments and agreement. The results of these discussions are taken to the
spokescouncil who should be able to either confirm agreement or draw
up new proposals for further discussion. In this way the power to make
decisions lies firmly with the small groups, not the spokes.
The small groups are often based around pre-existing groups such as
work teams, local groups or affinity groups. Alternatively, a large group
of people might split into smaller groups randomly.
30 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Guidelines for reaching consensus
# If you dont understand some-
thing, dont be afraid to say so.
# Be willing to work towards the
solution thats best for everyone,
not just whats best for you. Be
flexible and willing to give some-
thing up to reach an agreement.
# Help to create a respectful and
trusting atmosphere. Nobody
should be afraid to express their
ideas and opinions. Remember
that we all have different values,
backgrounds and behaviour and
we get upset by different things.
# Explain your own position
clearly. Be open and honest about
the reasons for your view points.
Express your concerns early on in
the process so that they can be
taken into account in any propos-
als.
# Listen actively to what people are
trying to say. Make an effort to
understand someones position
and their underlying needs, con-
cerns and emotions. Give every-
one space to finish and take time
to consider their point of view.
# Think before you speak, listen
before you object. Listen to other
members reactions and consider
them carefully before pressing
your point. Self restraint is essen-
tial in consensus sometimes the
biggest obstacle to progress is an
individuals attachment to one
idea. If another proposal is good,
dont complicate matters by
opposing it just because it isnt
your favourite idea! Ask yourself:
Does this idea work for the
group, even if I dont like it the
best? or Does it matter which
one we choose?
# Dont be afraid of disagreement.
Consensus isnt about us all think-
ing the same thing. Differences of
opinion are natural and to be
expected.
Disagreements can help a groups
decision, because with a wide
range of information and opin-
ions, there is a greater chance the
group will find good solutions.
Easily reached consensus may
cover up the fact that some
people dont feel safe or confident
enough to express their
disagreements.
31 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Facilitation
In most meetings, there are one or more facilitators. Their role is to
ensure that the tasks of the meeting get done: that decisions are made
and implemented. They also help the group to work harmoniously, creat-
ively and democratically.
The facilitators might take steps to keep the meeting focused, or make
sure a few people dont dominate the discussion. They might suggest a
break when people are getting tired; they might have prepared an
agenda and process that will help the group achieve its goals.
The facilitators shouldnt have any more power than anyone else and
should stay neutral on the issues under discussion. Theyre not there to
make all the proposals and decide things for a group. They can only do
their job with everyones support and co-operation.
If a small group doesnt give anyone the role of facilitator, then everyone
can be responsible for making the process of the meeting work.
The decision making process
The diagram below shows how a discussion evolves during the consensus
process. At the beginning it widens out as people bring different perspect-
ives and ideas to the group.
This provides the material needed for a broad-ranging discussion which
explores all the options and helps people understand each others con-
cerns. This can be a turbulent and sometimes difficult stage people
might be grappling with lots of competing or contradictory ideas but it
is the most creative part, so dont lose heart!
Then the group moves on to synthesise a proposal. This means finding
the groups common ground, weeding out some ideas and combining all
the useful bits into one proposal. Finally, if the group agrees on a pro-
posal a decision is reached and implemented.
Opening Out Discussion Synthesis
32 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
A consensus flowchart
There are many different ways of reaching consensus. This model out-
lines the common stages and will work well with up to about 20 people.
Step 1: Introduce and clarify the issue(s) to be decided
Share relevant info. What are the key questions?
Step 2: Explore the issue and look for ideas.
1. Gather initial thoughts and reactions. What are the issues and
people's concerns?
2. Collect ideas for solving the problem write them down.
3. Have a broad ranging discussion and debate the ideas. What are
the pros and cons?
Start thinking about solutions to people's concerns. Eliminate some
ideas, shortlist others.
Step 3: Look for emerging proposals
Look for a proposal that weaves together the best elements of the ideas
discussed. Look for solutions that address peoples key concerns.
Step 4: Discuss, clarify and amend your proposal
Ensure that any remaining concerns are heard and that everyone has a
chance to contribute.
Look for amendments that make the proposal even more acceptable to
the group.
Step 5: Test for agreement
Do you have agreement? Check for the following:
Blocks: I have a fundamental disagreement with the core of the
proposal that has not been resolved. We need to look for a new
proposal.
Stand asides: I can't support this proposal because ... But I don't want
to stop the group, so I'll let the decision happen without me.
Reservations: I have some reservations but am willing to let the
proposal pass.
Agreement: I support the proposal and am willing to implement it.
Consensus: No blocks, not too many stand
asides or reservations? Active agreement?
Then we have a decision!
Step 6: Implement the decision
Who, when, how? Action point the tasks and set deadlines.
33 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Agreement and Disagreement
At the decision stage people have several options:
Agreement with the proposal.
Reservations: You are willing to let the proposal go ahead but want to
make the group aware you arent happy with it. You may even put energy
into implementing it once your concerns have been acknowledged.
Standing aside: You want to object, but not block the proposal. This
means you wont help to implement the decision, but you are willing for
the group to go ahead with it. You might stand aside because you dis-
agree with the proposal, or you might like the decision but be unable to
support it because you dont have the time or energy.
The group may be happy to accept the stand aside and go ahead, or they
may work on a new proposal, especially if there are several stand asides.
A block always stops a proposal from going ahead. It expresses a funda-
mental objection. It isnt I dont really like it, or I liked the other idea
better. It means that you cannot live with the proposal. The group can
either start work on a new proposal, or look for amendments to over-
come the objection.
In an ideal consensus process a block wouldnt happen since any major
concerns about a proposal should be addressed before the decision stage.
However, sometimes people arent able to express their concerns clearly
enough, or arent heard by the group. In such situations the block acts as
a safeguard to ensure that decisions are supported by everyone.
Being able to block is an integral part of consensus, but it comes with a
big responsibility. A block stops other people from doing something that
they would like to do, and it should therefore only be used if serious con-
cerns are unresolved.
Make sure everyone understands the different options for expressing dis-
agreement. Often people are confused and block when theyd actually be
happy to stand aside. Sometimes people are scared of
blocking, even if they are deeply unhappy and use a
milder form of disagreement instead.
34 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
The spokes role is to feed back informa-
tion between the small group and the
spokescouncil. The spoke needs to act as a
voice for everyone within the small group,
communicating the breadth of collective
thought rather than just their own personal
point of view. Being the spoke carries a lot
of responsibility to represent information
accurately and not to manipulate the pro-
cess.
Generally spokes dont make decisions for
their group but always check back for
agreement before a decision is finalised.
However, an individual small group may
empower their spoke to take decisions
within agreed parameters.
Rotating the role of spoke from meeting to
meeting is a good idea, as is having two
spokes, one of them presenting the view-
points and proposals from their small group, the other to take notes of
what other groups have to say. This helps to ensure that ideas dont get
lost or misrepresented.
Why small groups? Some people dont see the need to split into small
groups they want to hear the whole discussion, and have everyone else
hear their point of view. However, large plenary meetings make it very
difficult for everyone to participate theres not enough time for every-
one to speak and many people feel too intimidated to talk in front of
hundreds of people. Breaking into small groups creates safer, more
dynamic spaces to work in, includes more people and saves a lot of time.
Small groups can also allow several tasks to be done in parallel.
Fishbowl spokescouncil
The groups sit in an outer
circle around the spokes.
This makes the spokes
more accountable and re-
duces the need to repeat
information.
Groups clustered
behind spoke
Spokes
35 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
GOOD PUBLICITY AND OUTREACH
6. Good Publicity and Outreach
Good Publicity
and Outreach
Publicity and outreach are
essential tools for communicating
campaign messages and getting
people involved in taking action.
This guide gives you some tips on
how to best get your message across
to the public. There are lots of
options, but whatever you do, don't
just rush into the first thing that springs to mind. Think about what's
most effective for your campaign.
Step 1: What are your key messages?
As campaigners we tend to over-
whelm people with information
issues are complex and there is so
much we care about. But: people
are bombarded with lots of mes-
sages every day. To get our mes-
sages across we need to focus on a
few simple and clear things that
will stick in people's minds.
You need to be clear about the
aims of your campaign. What are
the three most important things to
get across to people? These are
your key messages. Write them
down in two or three short, clear
sentences and focus on them in
the publicity. You may need to re-
word them depending on who you
are talking to.
www.seedsforchange.org.uk 2009
short guide
Good Publicity helps you:
to spread information
to get more people involved
to increase pressure
to be more effective
Checklist
1.What do you want to get across?
2.Who do you need to talk to?
3.What do you want people to do?
4.What's the best way of telling them?
5.Do you have the time, skills and
resources to do this?
36 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Step 2: Who's your target audience?
People adopt different roles at
different times throughout their
week: employee at an oil company,
parent, shopper, car driver,
walker, tax payer. The
same person will be
receptive to different
messages at different
times.
Think about who you
need to talk to at what
time to achieve your aims.
Put yourself in people's
shoes. What is it they care
about? What interests them?
Look for a way into a
conversation.
Targeting people with
messages and information relevant
to them is very effective.
Publicity is about getting people on
board and on your side. Rants may
be satisfying but are unlikely to
achieve your aim. Win people
over. Be creative and
welcoming. If you are
confronting people with
the consequences of their
actions, criticise their
behaviour rather than them
as individual people.
Acknowledge people's ability to
change and give them options
they can do to help.
Think about how you come
across: is wearing that
favourite car drivers are
scum t-shirt really go-
ing to encourage car
drivers to listen to your argument?
Step 3: What do you want people to do?
All your communications should contain a clear call to action and give
people concrete things to do, whether that's joining your group, cutting
car use, coming to see a film, boycotting a product, writing a letter, or
growing their own vegetables.
Always supply your contact details so that people can find out more or
get involved in your group. Having sources of further information ready
is a good idea too for example you could include web addresses on leaf-
lets, posters and newsletters.
37 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Step 4: What's the best way of reaching people?
OK, so you've worked out your basic message and who you are targeting.
Now it's time to decide the best way of getting your message across to
them. Remember you want to get people on your side, so make it easy
for your audience to listen to you.
Don't expect people to come to you for information go to them. Use
venues, language and styles that your particular audience will be
comfortable with.
Think about the best way to catch people's attention. When
talking to teenagers think stickers, flyposting, gigs, skate
festivals. Business people may prefer to attend a talk by an
expert at the town hall. The media like photos of
stunts with kids and pensioners in it. Jo Public and
local councillors are usually more comfortable at a
panel discussion on neutral ground than reading graffiti
on a wall.
Consider what time and resources you want to spend on publicity. What
skills do you have in the group and what do you enjoy doing?
Good publicity doesn't have to cost the Earth!
How many leaflets and posters do you really need?
People often end up with stacks and stacks of out-
of-date stuff under their beds.
Use recycled (and non-glossy!) paper and get
them printed with vegetable ink. Check out
green printers such as Footprint co-op in
Leeds (footprinters.co.uk) or Green Print in
Oxford (oxfordgreenprint.com).
Are there more effective ways of going public than using paper?
Can you use the web and email lists?
Get existing newsletters and publications to run stories about
your campaign and advertise your events.
Make banners and costumes from old sheets, materials from char-
ity shops, plastic rubbish, leftover paint.
Share materials and equipment with other groups. Make things
that last and that can be reused.
38 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Step 5: Top ideas for effective publicity
Posters for local shops,
community centres,
GP's surgeries, schools,
pubs.
Leaflets for handing
out in town, sticking
through letter boxes,
street stalls and giving
to your friends.
Street stalls and stalls
at events are great for
direct contact with
people, getting new
people involved and
fundraising.
Publicity stunts e.g.
street theatre to attract
attention or creating
photos to get into the
newspapers.
Banners at stalls and
events: colourful well
made banners catch
attention and really get
the message across.
Stickers/badges with
your message or contact
details (e.g. your
website address).
Word of mouth very
effective (and cheap!)
Get into the media:
newspapers, magazines,
radio and TV.
Local or national
newsletter: keep your
ever-growing network
of supporters updated.
Subvertising bill-
boards: alter the
wording/images to
subvert advertising
messages.
Events: talks, films
and workshops are
great for giving people
the chance to check you
out without committing
to anything and for
getting people to think
about stuff.
Benefit gigs to raise
cash. Don't forget to
have a stall and get the
bands to talk about the
issue.
Displays in the library,
schools, community
centres.
Websites are very im-
portant nowadays. A
cheap way of giving
people lots of in-
formation.
Email lists to stay in
touch with supporters.
Blogs have your daily
rant and people might
just read it.
Rallies, demos, vigils:
a visible presence on
the streets. Hand out
leaflets, talk to passers-
by, have lots of banners
and get your story into
the media.
Letters to the editor
are especially effective
in your local rag as
that's the only bit many
people read.
Endless other pos-
sibilities: postcards, t-
shirts, window posters,
mugs.
39 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
HUP PROMOTION TIPS
for Local Organisers
The following has been adapted from a
promotions guide by HUP a progressive
promotions collective based in Manchester.
Get a crew
The first thing is to try and form a
collective of willing people. Four or five
people is a great start and will help you
divide up tasks much easier. Hopefully this
means that you can spend a lot less time
getting the message out so that you have
a lot more time to focus on the quality of
the events/mobilisation.
Street Promotion
Posters
Make them simple and clear. Title,
date/time, location, +link to further
information. You should be able to get the
gist of it if you're standing 5 metres away.
Start a poster campaign 2 weeks before
your event. The Students Union operate a
free poster run, a system of putting up
posters around university campus.
Contact the Communications Officer
about getting your posters on that
(communications@umsu.manchester.ac.uk).
There's often 5 or 6 other posters being
put up on that poster run thought so it's
best to do it yourself to make sure your
event gets prime spots.
You'll also want to poster off campus.
A simple tip is to divide up where you live
into small areas and to apportion them to
each member so that the load is small.
Then distribute materials.
Photocopied posters are usually the best
and most frequent and if you use the
evenings you can posters up in your local
chippies/fast food joints, maybe bars and
clubs as well. During the day spots such as
libraries, post Offices, newsagents and
other convenient spots are good.
Remember fly postering is illegal, so if
your poster has an event on it that can be
traced back to you e.g. an event at the
Students Union then best to avoid it.
Flyers
Use your poster design as a front, with
details or an article on the back. You should
start flyering at least a week before the
event. You need a permit to distribute flyers
(unless they are political flyers), which can
be obtained from the council or at the
Union General Office for a 5 deposit.
Stalls
Stalls are good way of engaging people at
street level. Having a stall at a busy spot in
your town or community gives your
campaign visibility. Try different tactics on
your stall such as having petitions, or
large temporary walls where people can
write messages or thoughts on an issue.
Door to door
Going door to door is an effective way of
actually meeting people in your community
and engaging them on an issue. Be
prepared for long and challenging
conversations though and always treat
people with respect and patience.
Online Promotions
Facebook
Faceache like it or not, its pretty
important to be on Facebook. Things are
always changing in the world of social
media, so try and find someone whos up
to speed.
40 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Set up a group:
For getting started, you might want to set
up a Facebook group. These are useful for
creating events. Any group member can
post to a wall. The downside is that people
have to pro-actively visit the group page
to see the latest activity.
Setting up a page:
If you set up a page, you can invite users
to like the page. Only admins can post to
the Wall and the advantage of a page is
that these posts automatically come up on
a users feed if they like the page.
Lastly post relevant posts to your
Facebook profile. You can make it short
films, reminders to people, or links to
articles, videos or whatever. These will
appear on other peoples walls and may
be shared by others.
Union Website
Post your event details at
http://www.umsu.manchester.ac.uk/diary/
submit and your entry will be moderated
then published on the Unions front page.
If you want your event to be considered
for inclusion in the weekly email that goes
out to all students then email
communications@umsu.manchester.ac.uk
with your request. Make sure you add a
link to details of your event as space in the
email is limited. Also, your society should
have a webpage already on the Union
website that you can update with details
of your event. If not ask at the Student
Activities Office for more details about
your webspace.
Other Societies
Your event may relate to a few societies at
the Union. You can see a list of societies at
http://www.umsu.manchester.ac.uk/societies/ list/.
Get in contact with them to see if they
would be willing to publicise your event
on their website and mailing list.
The Universitys Message of the Day is the
events published on the front page of
every student net and every computer in
a University of Manchester owned
computer cluster. To appear on this, send
a request via email to:
messagesforstudents@manchester.ac.uk.
Also the university has electronic boards
to publicise events. These are usually
reserved for university events but its
always worth a shot. Call: 0161 275 2095
Email Lists
A lot of groups have different types of
email lists.
Announce list
This is a list where you announce things
that are going on with your group and
campaign, such as recent news and
upcoming events. Try and have an email
list collection form at each meeting/event
that you hold. You want to build this list as
big as possible and keep it low traffic
maybe one email a week or once a
month depending on your group. You
need to send announcements about
events early enough for people to read
the email, but not so far in advance that
people forget when its happening.
41 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Internal list
This is a list for the key organisers in your
group. It will be higher traffic, where
anyone can post to the list. It's good for
quickly organising the nitty gritty of
events. e.g. Has anyone booked the
projector for the film night next week?
When does online communication
become spam?
This question applies to email shout outs
and facebook. Spam is unwelcomed, but
reminders are important. It is a difficult
balance, try and ask mates who are not
involved if they heard enough or too
much about your event online, and then
adjust for next time.
Crabgrass we.riseup.net
Crabgrass is a useful tool for organising
online without having to send lots of
emails. You have your own user profile on
it (a bit like facebook) but you can also
upload photos, videos and other files.
Unlike facebook, these can be high
resolution. It has a useful wiki feature so
that you can collectively edit text and
documents without having to send lots of
emails.
To use it you go to we.riseup.net
(no www.) and create a user profile,
the same as you would with facebook
(put in an email address and give yourself
a username and password. Once there
you can scroll through the groups and
join the ones you wish to find. You may set
up your own group if you like and invite
people via their profiles or email
addresses. Once in a group explore the
options, set up your own wiki and your
own group discussion to see how it works.
However the pitfall with Facebook,
crabgrass and email lists is accessibility.
If you are doing campaigning outside of
students it is important to have a contact
phone number for those without regular
access to the Internet. Similarly, make
sure at the beginning of each meeting
where someone new is involved you
explain what crabgrass is and how to use it
to all. You might want to print out the
above and hand it to newcomers after a
brief explanation.
Working with other groups
Try to reach out to other similar groups in
your area. Work out areas of common
ground and how you might be able to
work with each other. Attend their
meetings and invite them to yours. You
could even try and do collaborative
meetings and share information material
and work load with them. Often
campaigns are won by a coalition of
different groups working together with a
unity of aims and a diversity of tactics.
Mobilise around an Event
All of this advertising and out-reach needs
to have a focal point. Events, actions and
meeting spaces are those physical focal
points. They give your campaign visibility
and allow people to join the campaign
and take further action themselves.
COMMUNICATING YOUR CAMPAIGN MESSAGE
42 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
7. Communicating your Campaign Message
Communicating your Campaign
Message
At some point in time in the life of any campaign you'll find yourself talking
to others face to face about the issue. It may be informally, at work, at
home, or in the pub. Or it could be part of your campaign strategy,
engaging the public 'on the streets', maybe alongside other campaign
techniques such as direct action or using the media.
What your 'audience' believes:
Whenever you're trying to communicate a campaign message you're essentially trying to get
someone to see your point of view and to believe in it. Many people would assume that the way
to achieve this would be to know your facts and prepare a good argument. But look at these
statistics:
Psychologists tell us that:
The words you use account for just 7% of what people believe (what
you say: the verbal information)
38% of what people believe is down to your tone of voice (the way you
sound: the vocal information)
But the majority of what people believe - 55% - is down to body
language! (the way you look while you're talking: the visual
information)
So getting the message across is more than just knowing your stuff and saying the right
words. In fact it's how you say the words and how you look when you're saying them that
count for the most. Non-verbal communication (visual and vocal) is actually more important
than what you're saying! To maximise the effectiveness of your communication you need to
reinforce your verbal message with matching and persuasive vocal and visual messages.
What your 'audience' remembers:
Whoever you're communicating with will forget:
25% of what you
say within 24
hours
50% of what you
say within 48
hours
80% of what you
say within 4 days
To maximise your effect, think about picking just a few (no more than 3) simple key messages
and sticking to them. Don't get sidetracked. The only way to get your point home in the long
term is to keep it clear, simple and to reinforce it. Better to repeat 3 points 3 times than make 9
separate points your audience won't remember them all anyway!
43 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Body Language & Tone of Voice
Tone of voiceis vital. You know that from your own everyday
experience. Simple comments or questions, if said in the
wrong way can cause offence and close off all useful
communication in an instant. Worse, communication is
contagious if you find yourself in a tense discussion, the
tension can spread to those around you.
Eye contact is an important factor in all communication. If
you want people to be willing to talk to you, you need just
the right amount of eye contact. As you see someone
approaching, make eye contact (and smile!), but don't let it
become a staring contest. Let the contact go you've
acknowledged they're there and told them you're willing to
talk to them. As they get nearer you can re-establish the
contact and hit them with your opening line.....
Smile! It doesn't take a genius to figure out that smiling
makes you more approachable. It's not always easy to smile
at people who may represent everything that you work for
an end to, but if it helps make them more receptive to your
message....
Open Stance to appear open to communication, you need
to look open. So uncross your arms, come out from behind
your stall, stop hiding behind your mates, and turn to face
people. Keeping your hands in full view - having your palms
facing the person you're talking to helps. Keep hand
gestures out of their space and out of their face. The more
you relax the better, so be aware of your breathing and
keep your shoulders down (tension often collects in our
shoulders).
Speed of Movement.... Rushing towards someone in
your eagerness to hand them your leaflet can startle
and even frighten them. Remember they may have a
stereotype of you as a dangerous hippy terrorist.
You know you're lovely, but do they? If you've
already made eye contact they know you want to
communicate with them (indeed you've already
begun to) so you can then saunter over in a friendly
manner. Too slow, on the other hand, may send the
message that you're reluctant to engage with them,
you lack confidence and that you don't have faith in
your message
Personal space Ever been trapped on the street by over-enthusiastic street collectors and
resentfully handed over your small change? If you want people to be receptive to your
message they need to feel an element of choice in the encounter. Be aware of herding
people into a funnel of leafleting campaigners, and watch for the obvious signals that they
don't want to engage with you. Force someone to talk to you and they'll already resent you
(and be less receptive to your message) before you start your opening line.
44 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Some General Advice
OpeningLines
Work on a line that works for you! Some tactics that have been used successfully include:
Introducing yourself Hi, I'm Matthew......it invites a response (Oh, hello, I'm....) and
instantly you're in conversation; it's polite, non-threatening and doesn't immediately
bombard someone with campaign info!
Ask an open question. Open question can't be answered with a 'yes' or 'no' answer for
example What do you think of the arms industry and so are more likely to stimulate
conversation (in general questions that start with What, Who, Where, When, Why or How
are open). That's not to say that all closed questions are 'bad', but try to avoid giving
people an opportunity to avoid you by simply saying No to your Would you like to sign
this petition
Ask a question unrelated to the campaign to start with. Engage people in conversation and
then shift the conversation round to the campaign
Some people are naturals at this kind of thing. If you're not one of them but are working
alongside one, take the time to observe how they approach people what do they say?
How do they look? Ask them if there's any advice they can pass on.
Hownot to win hearts & minds...
Adults don't learn effectively if we challenge their self perception. All that usually happens is
that they get defensive. So when you're in a potentially confrontational communication
situation don't challenge the person, challenge their ideas. It's a fine distinction, but one worth
thinking about. But what does that mean in practice?
In terms of the language you use, it can be as simple as saying I disagree with what
you're saying rather than I disagree with you.
Meet people where they are at. You won't change the mind of an arms company executive
by assuming (s)he's a heartless bastard. Find some common ground and go from there
(do they have a family so for example start by talking about their kids and taking it
through to other families who lose kids because of the arms trade).
Remember that the way you look can have a powerful effect on the interaction. Is that
Arms Dealers are Scum T-shirt really going to encourage an arms trader to stop and
engage with you in open communication? Whether to change your appearance to suit
your audience is always a controversial debate. We don't have the answer, but we are
flagging it up as a relevant factor that you need to be aware of.
Win-Win Communication
When we're out there trying to 'defeat the forces of
darkness', armed only with our stout hearts, a pile of
leaflets and a banner, it can feel like we're at war. The
thing about war is that someone wins and someone else
loses. The losers may be forced to change, but may not
do so willingly. It's not always possible, but ideally in any
encounter you have try to ensure that the
communication is a two way process. If you can create
a situation in which you're happy you've communicated
your message effectively, and the person you were
talking to goes away happy that they were listened to,
respected and given a 'safe' environment to consider making change, you both win. If they
walk away feeling harassed and under siege, they're less likely to really absorb any of your
ideas. If you need any proof of this, think about the times you've been bullied to accept new
ideas. You might have accepted them in the end, but wouldn't it have been easier if you hadn't
felt under pressure? Now, of course, the whole point of a campaign is to apply pressure for
change, but even within 'in your face' actions there's plenty of room for one on one human
(and humane) communication.
45 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Dealing with Difficult Situations
If you're 'on the street' (or in meetings, debates, or media interviews) long enough, sooner or
later you'll need to deal with some of the following situations....
Answering Questions
Do:
Decide whether the question is relevant and worthwhile. If not you might need to
sidestep it (see Dealing with Time wasters). But by sidestepping we don't mean
avoiding a perfectly reasonable question just because the answer's tricky!
Throw questions back to the questioner, or others around you. Don't assume that you
personally have to have an answer for everything
Be honest if you cant answer the question thats asked
Offer to find out the answer at another time and get back to them
Signpost other sources of information, such as web pages and briefings that
could answer the question for them
Use examples in your response to ground it in reality and make it more credible
Acknowledge the question it shows the questioner that you respect them and are
open to dialogue that's a good question..., thanks for bringing that up...
Dont:
Waffle or pretend you know the answer when you don't you could discredit the entire
campaign in the eyes of the questioner. Simply acknowledge the question and admit
you don't have the answer (see Do's)
Feel you have to answer every question as its asked you're allowed to have time to
think. You're allowed to politely decline to answer irrelevant questions
Refuse to answer, ignore or block relevant questions
Present yourself as an expert (unless of course you are)
Dealing with Time wasters
The obvious lesson is don't waste time with time wasters target your efforts to where
you can actually make change. As campaigners we want to bring others over to our point
of view. But we can't achieve that in one go, and many of our actions and encounters are
strategically targeted at specific groups whether the public, the media, employees of a
particular industry or company, decision makers or any other possible group. So stay
focused and ask yourself Is this conversation the most strategic use of my time?
Getting caught up in a heated and protracted discussion not only stops you from
communicating to anyone but your current 'adversary', but it also can look bad, and raise
the level of tension in the surrounding area. Someone else who was waiting to talk to you
may decide to forget it rather than risk getting embroiled in the conflict. So agree to
disagree. Thank the person for expressing their opinion and assure them that you
respect their right to hold it. Be polite and firm and move on.
But don't assume that only those hostile to our cause can waste our time. If you've ever
been cornered by a fellow campaigner that just happens to be passing, and decides to
tell you all about their campaigning work, you'll know what we mean (or any of the other
well meaning but long-winded folk out there). So what do you do? Well firstly why not
simply explain that whilst you've enjoyed meeting them, there's lots of other people you
need to talk to today. Suggest that you can continue your conversation another time,
when you're not in the middle of something (but not if this is a barefaced lie!).
Dealing with Hostility
You might be met with aggression, incomprehension or any number of other negative
responses whilst you're out communicating your message. The important thing to
46 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
remember is that these are not personal attacks. People may disagree with your beliefs
but they aren't attacking you as a person (even if it may seem like it). Let's face it, in 99%
of cases you've never seen them before, and they know nothing about you. They're
responding to stereotypes. Try not to do the same!
It might help to remind yourself why you're out there. Reaffirm the importance of the
campaign work you're doing.
Think before you respond to avoid escalating the situation, and make sure you are
calm, assertive and using non-threatening body language.
Buddy-up before you set off and stick with your buddy throughout the day. At least that
way you're guaranteed some moral support and there's someone that can intervene if
anyone (including you!) 'loses it'.
So, to summarise:
Remember you body language and the way you use your voice
relax, smile and try to enjoy it. If you're having fun the people you are
communicating to are much more likely to enjoy the encounter!
Pick no more than 3 messages that you want to communicate. You
don't have to offload the whole campaign message instantly.
Concentrate on making contact and getting one of your key
messages across.
Remember to meet people where they're at that means that you'll
have to change the way you communicate to suit your 'audience'.
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USING THE MEDIA
PART 1: WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST
A. Triviality
Every media outlet shares the same
principal aim: to expand its share of the
market. It does this by seeking to grab and
hold onto people's attention. This is why
the media concentrates so much on
events rather than issues, and especially
trivial, flashy and colourful events. Most
journalists are convinced that people can't
concentrate for more than a few seconds.
This is mainly because they can't
concentrate for more than a few seconds.
On the face of it, this is a major
disadvantage for us, as our aim is to make
people aware of big and important issues.
B. Bias
Many outlets have a secondary aim: of
pandering to the prejudices of their
proprietors. As most large news-gathering
organisations are run by perverse
billionaires whose interests are at odds
with those of the rest of society, this makes
life still harder for us.
For more info on the bias of the media
see Herman and Chomsky's 'Propaganda
Model' in Manufacturing Consent: the
Political Economy of the Mass Media
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_
model)
Newspapers are allowed to be partisan,
and expected to be by their readers. But
the broadcast media are legally obliged to
be balanced and fair. In practice, as we
know, this isn't always the case, and there
are certain programmes, such as
Littlejohn, which you should avoid at all
costs. More importantly, their concept of
fairness is a narrow one: as long as both
Labour and Tory politicians have had their
say, balance is seen to have been
achieved, even if the view from
Westminster represents just a tiny part of
the political spectrum.
Most broadcast outlets are also very
conscious of the views of their advertisers,
and even trashier than the printed ones.
The result is, once again, conservatism:
broadcast journalists appear to be terrified
of telling their audience something it
doesn't know already.
C. The Game
Another way in which we're up against it is
that we take our campaigns seriously,
while interviewers tend to see their work
as a game, whose political outcome is
immaterial, but which must be played by a
set of rules. These rules are, at first sight,
obscure to people without a lot of media
experience. If you don't play by the rules,
it's a foul and you're sent off. As our only
objective is to win, regardless of etiquette,
we tend to foul more often than other
contributors. As a result, sometimes we
come across very badly.
That's the bad news, but there's also
plenty of good news: we have several
significant advantages over our
opponents.
8. Adapted from George Monbiots Guide to
Exploiting the Media
PART 2: OUR ADVANTAGES
A. Integrity
We're genuine people, not hired hands
defending a corporate or institutional
position. This shows when we allow it to:
an open and straightforward appeal to
commonsense can cut through the
clamour of self-interest and spin-
doctoring with a powerful resonance.
When we keep our message uncluttered
and get straight to the point, we can be
devastatingly effective.
B. Articulating Public Sentiment
People are increasingly prepared to listen
to what we have to say: many know in
their heart of hearts that things are going
badly wrong, and could be very much
better. Activists in the media have often
been able to reach parts of the public
psyche that no one else can touch, as
they articulate sentiments that have never
been put into words before. Hard as it may
be to believe, a lot of mainstream
journalists are secretly sympathetic to the
causes we espouse.
C. Inherent Media Friendliness
Were colourful, fun, outlandish and
outrageous.
Much as
television
executives
might claim to
hate us,
television
cameras love
us.
PART 3: HOW TO GET THE PRESS
TO COME TO YOUR ACTION
News doesn't just happen; it is made to
happen. News, in other words, is managed
and manipulated. And if we don't manage
it, someone else will.
A. Media coordinator
Media work is time consuming and needs a
specific person tasked with it. She or he must
be responsible for planning a press strategy,
drawing up a hit-list of journalists, preparing
press releases and briefing spokespeople.
Ideally the coordinator will build up a small
team, including someone who stays behind
to write and despatch up-to-the-minute
press releases and people who will meet
and escort the journalists who come to an
action.
Not everyone is going to be good at
handling the press. To do the job well, you
need to be confident, sociable and pretty
mouthy. At least one person on the team
should be able to write well. But media skills,
like any others, can be learnt, and
surprisingly quickly.
B. Timing + contacting the media
It's good to send a press release (see below)
about 10 days in advance and then again a
couple of days beforehand (in case they'd
forgotten about - which is often the case). If
you can do your event or action before
lunch, so much the better. The later in the
day something happens, the less likely the
newspapers are to cover it, as they can't get
it to press on time.
If you really want your action to be ignored
by the press, then do it on Budget Day. In
other words, look out for what else is
happening that day. If there's a huge story
pending, you don't want to be competing
with it.
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C. Press releases
Journalists speak only one language, and
thats their own. If youre going to reach
them you have to speak that language
too. This means that your press release
should mimic the format and style of a
news story. Its a simple and
straightforward formula and (sorry to be
dictatorial) it MUST be applied. If it isnt,
your press release wont work. Period.
Heres how to do it:
Page 1
(top of page)
i. Your contact details
ii. Embargo
iii. HEADLINE
(NO MORE THAN EIGHT WORDS)
iv. First paragraph: one sentence which
tells the whole story.
v. Two or three short paragraphs
explaining the story.
vi. Contact details (again)
(bottom of page)
(new page)
vii. Notes for journalists
Here's how to fill it in, section by section:
i. Your contact details. No journalist will
run a story without them.
Essentials are:
The name of your
organisation/disorganisation
(preferably big, bold and across
the top of the page)
One or more contact names
Contact number(s): where
contacts are DEFINITELY going to
be for at least the next two days
(mobile phone numbers are
useful).
ii. Embargo means that you are
instructing journalists not to publish or
broadcast the information in the press
release before a certain time. There are
several good reasons for an embargo:
Journalists will know they aren't
going to be trumped by anyone
else getting in before them.
It creates a sense of event.
Timelines concentrate journalists'
minds.
You know when to expect publicity,
so you can plan subsequent news
management around it.
NB: An embargo doesn't mean that
journalists won't be stupid enough to phone
the police or the company due to be
occupied and ask what they think. So don't
stick anything on your press release which
you don't want to be generally known.
This is the usual format:
EMBARGO: 00.01a.m., Friday 15th May
00.01 is a good time, as the papers can
then keep up with the broadcasters, and
it's less confusing than 00.00.
DON'T put on an embargo if you've got
some immediate news that you want on
the radio or TV straight away. Generally,
you'd embargo a press release giving
advance warning of an action (till about
24 hours before the action's due to start),
but not a press release which comes out
once the action's started.
iii. The headline must be short, pithy and
to the point. Avoid mystery, elaborate
puns or being too clever. The purpose
of the headline is to grab the journalists'
attention and give them an idea of what
the press release is about. If it doesn't
do both of these things, they'll read no
further and dump it in the trash of their
email inbox. It must be NO MORE than
eight words long. Use a big, bold font.
Writing headlines isn't easy, and
generally takes a good deal of practice.
So practise. Look at how they do it in the
papers, and then try writing headlines for
imaginary actions, or real ones which
aren't going to happen for a while.
Remember: in this as in all writing, a
straightforward, plain style is best.
iv. The first paragraph. This isn't easy either
but, like the headline, it's essential to
get it right. You've got ONE sentence in
which to tell the whole story. If the
journalist doesn't get the jist of it, she or
he won't read on.
There is nothing so complicated that its
essential point can't be summarised in
a simple sentence. So work out what
you're trying to say, and then boil it
down to its essence. As before, look at
the news stories in the papers and see
how they do it.
v. The rest of the text. Must be no more
than two or three paragraphs long,
each of which should be no longer
than one or two straightforward
sentences. They should expand on
what you say in the first paragraph.
Keep it simple and avoid jargon.
Assume (and you won't be far wrong)
that journalists know nothing. If there
is other essential information which
you can't fit in, put it in the Notes for
Journalists section. (see below).
Above all, make sure that the first and
second paragraphs have covered all
the five Ws:
WHO
WHY
WHAT
WHERE
WHEN
vi. Your contact details again. Remember:
most journalists have a three second
memory, are wilfully blind and very,
very stupid, so you have to keep on
their case.
vii. Notes to journalists. This is optional.
Preferably they should be on a
separate page. Journalists have got
very little time, and the sight of a huge
block of text which is hard to digest will
put them off. They want to look at the
first page and know that the essentials
of the story are there. If they want
more, they can turn over and read on.
Generally, you'd write no more than
four or five paragraphs of notes (and
certainly no more than a page). They
should give more details about the
rationale for the action: e.g. facts and
figures about genetically engineered
soya, DBFO roads etc. In other words,
this is the place for the complex
information which might put journalists
off if it's on the front page.
This is also the section where you can put
reference to facts alluded to in the main
body of the press release (much like a
footnote of an academic essay)
Number the paragraphs in this section, as
it makes it them look easier to digest.
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E. What makes a press release
effective?
News, of course, is meant to be all about
novelty, so emphasise what's new about
your action. This shouldn't be difficult as
the DIY movement is so creative and
innovative: people are always coming up
with exciting new approaches, so all you
have to do is make sure the press hears
about them.
Take the Birmingham Northern Relief
Road protest, for example. A headline like
"Protesters occupy trees along route of
new road" will consign a press release
straight to the bin, as most journalists will
imagine they've heard it all before. But
"World's longest sermon threatens to stop
new road" (telling the story of the vicar
who has discovered that it's illegal to
interrupt a priest during his sermon, and
intends to preach continually in front of
the threatened trees) will make them sit
up and wonder what it's all about. If you
want to mention the tree-sit, you can do
so further on in the text.
There might also be a new political aspect
of the story you can use to attract the
journalists' attention to your protest: "New
road could destroy region's economy,
experts say" would, for most journalists, be
counter-intuitive and interesting (which
shows how much they've been paying
attention).
If your action's outside London, and you're
organizing transport to get there, say so in
the press release, pointing out that
journalists are welcome to join you on the
coach. Many reporters are so lazy that
they won't bother turning up unless
everything's laid on for them.
F. When to send press releases
The most critical press release is the one
that goes out about two days before the
event. Without it, you won't get much
coverage, if any at all. But it's a good idea to
put one out much earlier than that as well -
about ten days prior to the event - so that
when the journalists get the second one
they should be ready to respond to it.
It's also important to send out a third one
the moment the action begins, telling
them you've succeeded in stopping work
on the bypass/locking Group 4 in their
offices etc.
If it's a one day action and your press
person has still got the energy and
resources, it's no bad thing to send out a
fourth press release saying how it all went.
A journalist's interest is pretty
unpredictable, and could be stimulated at
any time.
If the action lasts longer than one day,
send out a new press release every day,
as long as you've got something to say.
Once the event's in the press already,
there'll be plenty of opportunities for
follow-ups. This is the time when you can
sometimes get them to cover the issue
you're trying to highlight, rather than
simply the event.
G. Who to send them to
The secret of all successful press releasing
is getting them to the right people - so
find out who the right people are. Make a
list of:
Media outlets you want to reach.
Individual journalists who seem
to be interested in/sympathetic
to the cause.
The more you can reach the better, of
course, but, unless you're just aiming at
the local press, realistically you want to try
to press release at least forty places. If it's
a national action and you want national
publicity, they must include the following:
All the broadsheet newspapers
BBC newsroom
ITN/Channel 4 newsroom
Newsnight
The Today programme (on
Radio 4), plus PM, The World at
One, The World Tonight
Radio 5 Live
NB: You should adapt the tone and
contents of your press release to the
media you're trying to reach. "Road
protesters come to Romford" might be of
interest to the Newham Recorder, but to
get to the nationals you'd need something
more like "New front opens in road war".
H. How to send press releases
Email them. Most newsroom email
addresses are available from media
websites (e.g. newsdesk@men-
media.co.uk). Keep all the email
addresses you get for future reference.
I. Phone them
One thing of which you can be absolutely
certain is that something will get lost in
the newsrooms you're targeting: either
your press release, the journalist's
concentration or the essence of the story.
This means you MUST follow it up with a
phone call.
Just a quick one will do. Ask: Did you get
it? Will you be covering the action? Do
you need any more information?
They're likely to be rude, gruff and
unhelpful. But don't be put off - they're
paid to be like that. Make sure you're
ready, if need be, to summarise the story
in one or two sentences; the first question
the journalist will ask is "wot's it all about
then?", and her/his attention will wander if
you spend more than ten seconds telling
them.
[nab. from the editors] For big institutions
like BBC Manchester, it's important to get
your event in their news diary. Once it's in
there it's likely to get picked up by
different branches of the BBC such as BBC
Radio Manchester and BBC North West
Tonight.
However rude they are, never fail to be
polite and charming: at the very least,
you'll put them to shame.
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PART 4: HOW TO DEAL WITH
THE JOURNALISTS WHO COME
TO YOUR ACTION
The whole media-exploitation process is
about news management, and this is just
as much the case once journalists get to
the action as it is when you're trying to
attract them. You've got to give the best
possible account of what you're doing,
and provide the clearest possible
explanation of why you're doing it. This
means:
A. Make sure the right people talk to
the journalists.
Different people do different things best.
Some are brilliant at building treehouses
or making banners, but not much good at
being charming to the running dogs of
the counter-revolution. Some people will
have just dropped a tab of acid or have
last night's vomit stuck in their hair. This
won't endear them to journalists, who, in
most cases, will be having enough trouble
crossing the cultural divide as it is.
Talking to the press is something of an art
form: you must be charming, persuasive
and well-briefed. Best of all, you'll have
practised, by persuading your friends to
pretend to be hostile reporters.
B. Be careful, but don't come across
as suspicious.
Some of them will be there to help you;
others will be there to get you. Sometimes
the ones out to get you will pretend to be
out to help you. The only real safeguards
are:
to know who they all are. Ask
them who they are and who they
work for. Some journalists are
notorious for dissing the
movement. You should find out
who the dodgy ones are before
the action, so you'll know to be
ultra-careful if they turn up.
not to say anything stupid or
risky
be friendly towards them,
whoever they are. Bite your lip.
Don't put their backs up even if
you hate the bastards.
C. Be a tour guide.
Take them round the site, show them what
you want them to see, and steer them away
from what you don't want them to see.
Introduce them to the people who'll get on
well with them, and keep them away from
the people who won't be able to restrain
their contempt. If it doesn't seem like a
major intrusion on their privacy, stay with
them, in a friendly way, and talk them
through everything they see.
D. Be ready to deal with the ones
who don't turn up
However good your publicity, lots of
journalists won't be able to make it, but
might still be interested. They'll want to
know what's happening and how things
are going, so there should be at least one
person on site with a working and
charged-up mobile phone whose number
has been posted on the press release.
Journalists are suckers for on-the-spot
reports, so when they ring, put some
excitement into your voice. Give them
plenty of colour; make them feel they can
see it.
PART 5: BEING INTERVIEWED
Interviews can be tricky but there are
some helpful rules and tactics to follow.
Try them out on your friends. Practice is
absolutely critical. If you haven't done
many interviews before, get someone to
pretend to be the interviewer a day or two
before you're due to go on, and get her
or him to give you a hard time. See how
you do, and find out which parts of your
technique you'll have to brush up.
If you don't practise, expect to be caught
out every time. If you do practise, you'll
find that all you have to do is repeat what
you've been through already, which isn't a
scary prospect at all.
Rules and tactics
[Additional Notes from the Editors]
Three key messages
Before starting any interviews you
should create three messages around
your event/action/campaign. Three is a
good number for you to remember and
your audience.
e.g. for an action against the expansion of
Manchester Airport you might have three
key messages as:
1. Rising emissions from
Manchester Airport threaten our
ability to tackle climate change.
2. We need to be creating jobs in a
fast affordable rail service, not
continuing to expand the
aviation industry.
3. Direct action is a rational
response to the urgent need to
cut emissions now not 50
years in the future.
So in your head you might summarise
these as:
EMISSIONS
JOBS
DIRECT ACTION
With these three key messages in your
head:
remember the A B C
of conducting interviews.
A Answer the question.
Its always really annoying when people
don't answer the question theyre asked.
But you dont want to waste precious air
time dealing with distractions. So whatever
the question, make you sure you answer it
be brief if you need to be.
B Bridge to your message.
After answering the question quickly move
onto what you want to talk about which
is one of your three key messages.
C Communicate your message.
Bring out one of your key messages.
Example:
Journalist: Isn't it a bit dangerous to be
doing protest actions at UK airports? You
could have been a terrorist.
Possible answer: Well, clearly we're not
terrorists (answer), and in any case the
UK's formers chief scientific adviser
Sir David King said back in 2004 that
climate change poses a far bigger threat
to us than terrorism. (bridge). Aviation is
the fastest growing source of CO2
emissions and we need to take action to
address that. (communicate)
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[back to George....]
i. Be informed. This is the golden
rule. Remember, this is an
information war, and the best
warriors are the ones with the
best information. Dont go into a
studio unless youre confident
that you know your subject
better than the person youre up
against, and can head her or him
off if they try to outfox you with
some new facts. This means lots
of reading. Make sure your
information is reliable and stands
up to critical examination.
ii. Be calm. However much the
issue, or your opponent, winds
you up, you mustnt let it show.
Generally the calmest person is
the one whom the audience
sees as the winner. This doesnt
mean you cant be passionate
and enthusiastic indeed these
are good things but your
passion and enthusiasm must be
tightly controlled and mustnt,
repeat mustnt, spill over into
anger. If necessary, take a deep
breath before answering the
question. Be polite but firm with
everyone.
iii. Be concise. Its amazing how
little time you get. You must
know exactly what you want to
say, and say it in as few words as
possible, with clarity and
determination. The main point
must come at the beginning of
the interview: you should
summarise the whole issue in
just one or two sentences before
expanding on your theme.
iv. Its the answers that count, not
the questions. When you go into
the studio, you must know
exactly what you want to say and
how you want to say it. Don't be
too scrupulous about answering
the question: deal with it as
briefly as possible, then get to
the points you want to make.
You must leave the studio at the
end of the interview knowing
youve made the most important
points as effectively as possible.
v. Dont try to make too many
points. You want to have a
maximum of three main lines of
argument. Anymore and both
you and the audience will get
lost.
vi. Finish your point. If the
interviewer tries to interrupt you
before youve got to the
important thing you want to say,
dont be afraid to carry on talking
until youve said it. Sometimes
its useful to say Just a moment
or If youd let me finish.
Be assertive without being rude.
Dont let yourself be bullied.
vii. Simplicity. Make your points as
clearly as possible. Use short
sentences and simple words.
Try not to use sub-clauses
(a sentence within a sentence),
as you might confuse the listener.
viii. Turn hostile questions to good
account.
There are several ways of doing this:
Deal with the question quickly,
and then move on to what you
want to talk about. This is the
simplest and safest way of
handling tricky questions. (see
ABC above). A good way of going
about it is to agree with part of
the question, then show that its
not the whole story. Yes, of
course human welfare is
critically important, but that
doesnt mean we should neglect
animal welfare. At the moment,
x per cent of all dairy cows die
before theyre six years old
because of the terrible
conditions theyre kept in.
Now that doesnt do them any
good or us any good.
Or: Yes, destroying the potatoes
will affect the farmers livelihood
to a small extent. But the issues
at stake are enormous. If these
plants were allowed to reach
maturity...
Deliberately misinterpreting the
question. Youre quite right,
there were a lot of undesirable
elements at the protest. In fact,
theres an urgent need to
regulate the security industry
properly. Do you know that a lot
of security guards have criminal
records for violent assault? Its
symptomatic of the whole road-
building industry: they dont care
what they do or who they do it
to.
Undermining the factual content
of the question. In other words,
dont let the interviewer push
you into a corner.
(e.g. Q: But, given that
biotechnology is necessary to feed
the world, what youre really doing
is putting wildlife before humanity.
A: In fact you're wrong to suggest
that biotechnology is necessary to
feed the world. By concentrating
food production into the hands of
a few multinational corporations...).
But always, always, bring your answer
back round to the point.
ix. Leave your notes behind. If what
you want to say isnt in your head,
you shouldnt be in the studio.
x. Project. Youre not having a casual
chat with the interviewer or the
other guest. You have come to
make some important points, and
you must get them across in such
a way that the viewer or listener
cant possibly ignore them.
This means that you should put
more emphasis into your voice
than youd do in a normal
conversation. It might sound
strange to you when you first do it
(and practice it before you do a
real interview), but on air itll
sound fine. In fact, if you dont do
it, youll sound flat and boring.
TV and radio are all brightness and
colour, and you must sound bright
and colourful to make an impact.
Its a bit of a balancing act,
projecting well without ceasing
to stay calm.
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xi. Use your body. On TV a good
rule is that your head and torso
should stay fairly still (which
makes you seem solid and
trustworthy), but your hands
should lend emphasis to what
you say (they can help to drive
your points home). Eyebrows are
pretty useful too.
xii. Humour. If you can do it without
making it sound frivolous or
irrelevant, a bit of humour can
help a lot to win your audience
over. Gently satirising your
opponents position is often
quite effective. (Well, lets take
a look at this Countryside
Alliance. Its main funder is the
Duke of Westminster, who, as his
name suggests, is a horny-
handed son of rural toil.
Unfortunately, his rolling green
acres in Mayfair and Belgravia
keep him in town quite a bit, but
at least that allows him to fight
off the undemocratic tendencies
of the urban oppressor from the
benches of the House of
Lords...).
xiii. Dont hate your opponent.
This is perhaps the hardest task
of all, but it is absolutely
necessary. Whatever you might
think about the person youre up
against, you must leave your
feelings at the door of the studio.
If you allow yourself to hate
them, youll lose your cool, lose
focus and lose public sympathy.
One way of dealing with your
feelings is to regard your
opponent as someone who has
been misled and needs to be
told the truth. Think of your role
as being to put them right,
rather than to put them down,
and youll find that when you go
into the studio youll be a lot
less tense.
And remember when you go
into a studio, you are there to
tackle one issue and one issue
alone, not to put right the ills of
the whole world. Concentrate on
one task, and youll make life a
great deal easier for yourself.
PART 6: FOLLOWING UP
A. Collating your media contacts
Make sure you save a list of all your media
contacts. (See part 3.G above).
Share your contact lists and experiences
with people in other campaigns: it could
help them a lot.
B. Complaining
Activists are treated unfairly by the press
more often than any other group of
people except gypsies, travellers and
asylum seekers. The reasons are not hard
to divine: we have challenging powerful
vested interests, we are prepared to break
the law and, above all, we can be
discussed collectively without any fear of
libel, as we do not belong to incorporated
organisations. Redressing bullshit stories is
difficult, time-consuming and often very
frustrating, but sometimes it works. If we
dont complain, the media will feel free to
do the same thing again and again, so its
worth trying, even if it ends in failure.
For a detailed guide of how to complain to
Part 6.b of George Monbiots guide to
exploiting the media. Here:
http://www.tlio.org.uk/pubs/agm2.html
PART 7: CONCLUSION
All campaigning is hard work, and
exploiting the media is just as hard as any
other aspect. We've tended to neglect it in
the past, and then wonder why no one
comes to our actions. Our movement
needs specialist media workers just as
much as it needs specialist tree-climbers.
The more there are, the more clearly our
message will come across, and the more
people will be attracted to our cause.
This is how small rumblings turn into
earthquakes. The revolution will be
televised, but that doesnt mean that it
wont also be live.
@nti-copyright for activists.
for everyone else.
USING THE MEDIA
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INDEPENDENT MEDIA
Whether you get the corporate media to
cover your event/action or not, it's vital
that we document our own histories, tell
our own stories and utilise independent
media.
The main publication for this is Indymedia.
This is a self-publishing (or 'user-
generated') news website with pages for
different towns, cities, regions and
countries all over the world.
At the end of an event or action you
need someone to collect all your photos
and/or video footage and get some
content on the web as soon as possible.
You may find that another publication, like
a monthly magazine, finds this news
content later and re-publishes it.
See UK Indymedia
(www.indymedia.org.uk/)
Manchester Indymedia
www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/
manchester/
For a guide to publishing on Indymedia
see:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/static/
help-publish.html
In Manchester there's also the 'Mule'.
(insert logo)- a non-profit independent
media project, looking to promote social
justice by getting out the news and views
you wont find in other media publications.
It produces a quarterly newspaper with a
print run of 8,000 copies, distributed free
around Manchester. It also has a
regularly updated website
(www.manchestermule.com).
To find out about writing for the Mule, or
getting your issues covered on it contact
editor@manchestermule.com
9. Independent Media
PUBLIC SPEAKING
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Public speaking is a good skill in a
campaigners arsenal. But it can be
daunting. Here are a few tips.
PREPARING IN ADVANCE:
Audience and Occasion: The goal of public
speaking is to gain a response from the
listeners to get them to think, feel, or act
in a certain way. To reach the listeners, find
out as much as you can about them. What
are their ages, sex, racial and ethnic
backgrounds, religion, and educational
level? What are their attitudes toward you
and the subject? How much do they already
know about the subject? You should also
assess the occasion; for example, what is the
time limit for your speech? Armed with
information about the audience and the
occasion, you can adapt your speech to
meet the needs and interests of the
listeners.
Outline: Put together all parts of the
speech (introduction, body, conclusion,
and transitions) in an outline. Make sure
that everything in the outline serves to
explain, illustrate, or prove the central
idea. Prepare brief speaking notes based
on the outline; these notes should be the
only cues you take with you to speak.
Top Tip do not read from pre-scripted
lines. This makes you sound a lot less
interesting. All you really want is some key
bullet points. Maybe some stats and
numbers and at most a few succinct
phrases.
Finding evidence: Gather materials (by
reading books, articles, chatting to
knowledgeable persons, and by drawing
from your own experiences) in order to
support your points. Look for interesting
items such as examples, statistics,
anecdotes, and quotations. Provide
sufficient evidence to explain or prove
your points, but avoid overwhelming the
audience with too many facts or technical
details. Consider using visual aids to help
the audience understand and remember
key points.
Organization: Organize the body of your
speech by devising two or three (or
sometimes four) main points that explain
or prove the central idea, and then
develop each main point with support
material (statistics, quotations, etc.). Use
transitional words or phrases (such as
Now for my second reason) to help
carry your listeners smoothly from one
part of the speech to another.
Introduction: For your introduction, plan
to grab the attention of the listeners and
make them want to listen to the rest of the
speech. Prepare them for the body of the
speech (by stating the central idea and/or
by previewing the main points). Give any
background information or definitions that
the listeners would need in order to
understand the speech. If appropriate, cite
your personal credentials or expertise.
Conclusion: Plan to end with a conclusion
that smoothly wraps up your speech and
reinforces the central idea.
Practice: Rehearse your speech several
times in front of a live audience of friends
or relatives. Do not memorize your
speech, but strive to rehearse ideas (as
cued by your brief speaking notes)
10. Public Speaking
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PUBLIC SPEAKING
DELIVERING THE SPEECH
Self-Confidence: Try to develop a
positive attitude about yourself, your
speech, and your audience. Dont let
fear cripple you: nervousness is a
normal and natural part of
speechmaking for most people; rather
than trying to banish your jitters, you
should use nervousness as a source of
power that will energize you, causing
you to come across as a vital,
enthusiastic speaker.
Approach & Beginning: When you are
called to speak, get out of your seat
without sighing or mumbling, walk
confidently to the front of the room,
spend a few moments standing in
silence (this is a good time to arrange
your notes and get your first sentences
firmly in mind), and then look directly at
the audience as you begin your speech.
Eye Contact: Look at all parts of the
audience throughout the speech,
glancing down at your notes only
occasionally. Avoid looking out a window
or at the walls, ceiling, or floor.
Make sure you talk to the people at the
back of the room. Project your voice
clearly if there's no microphone.
Speaking Rate: Speak at a rate that is
easy for the audience to absorb.
Avoid speaking too slow or too fast.
When appropriate, use pauses.
Use expression: Your voice should
sound as animated and as expressive as
it does when you carry on a
conversation with a friend.
Gestures & Movement: If its appropriate,
use gestures to accompany your words.
Make them naturally and gracefully, so
that they add to, rather than distract
from, your message. If movement is
appropriate, use it purposefully. Refrain
from distracting the audience with
aimless movements or activities (such as
pacing about, jingling keys or coins, or
fidgeting with note cards).
Show your enthusiasm: Your whole
manner eyes, facial expression,
posture, voice should show
enthusiasm for your subject, and you
should seem genuinely interested in
communicating your ideas to the
audience, rather than simply going
through the motions of giving a
speech.
Facilitating Workshops
Adapted from Seeds for Change guide here:
http://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/free/
facilwsh.pdf
Practical Tips for
Workshop Facilitators
Expectations & Learning Outcomes
To be effective you need to have a clear
idea of the desired outcomes of your
workshop. Sometimes this will be driven
by you you will have key information or
skills you want to deliver to your
participants whether they like it or not
(though hopefully they do!). Sometimes
the workshop will be in response to
requests from the participants. The best
workshops are those where your
preferred outcomes and the expectations
of the group coincide.
So, before you plan & deliver the
workshop you need to think about what
you hope to achieve, and to find out what
is expected of you.
To find out participants' expectations, you
need to ask! Either ask the organiser, or
build a quick expectation check into the
introductions section of your workshop.
However, dont raise hopes that you will
change the prepared agenda to suit their
expectations if thats not possible! As you
build confidence you will be able to
change agendas to respond to the group's
expectations on the day.
In a long workshop you may be able to check
that youre meeting expectations at the end
of the first day, or after a lunch break.
ORGANISING AND FACILITATING WORKSHOPS
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11. Organising and Facilitating workshops
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Agenda Preparation
Unless you are supremely confident, you will
have prepared a workshop agenda in
advance. You not only need to think about
how the agenda will work as a whole, but
also about how each exercise will work
individually. Does every session have a good
reason for being there? Maybe you like the
exercise, but does it serve a clear purpose in
this context?
When setting learning outcomes, and
thinking about expectations, think about all
the constituent parts as well as the whole.
The agenda should also:
Reflect the different learning styles of the
participants (see below)
Vary in pace and style to maintain interest
& learning
Contain a suitable mixture of theory and
practical, experiential sessions.
Take into account natural highs and lows
in energy (e.g. sessions immediately
before & after a mealtime will be natural
low points). Dont just ignore this take it
into account and deal with it!
Follow a logical order to achieve learning
outcomes.
Try to end on a positive note. Active final
sessions are good for this. Alternatively run
a where do we go from here session
where everyone looks for something
positive from the workshop and decides
how they will implement it, or run an
uplifting game at the end to wrap up the
workshop. An alternative is a period of
reflection at the end to allow for the
learning to sink in.
Use relevant handouts. Sometimes these
will be comprehensive documents, other
times a summary of the key points of the
workshop.
Sometimes you may just want to give
people some pointers as to where they
can find more information. Handouts of
this kind act to reinforce the learning and
help move it from short term memory to
long term memory!
Facilitating a session
Be aware of your own personal limitations
when delivering any kind of workshops.
Check in with yourself (and your co-
facilitator if relevant) before the session
and make any changes you need to suit
your mood and energy levels! Look after
yourself make sure you keep blood
sugar levels up, and drink enough
water/tea etc!
Dont forget that the group is your most
significant asset. As well as checking that
youre meeting their expectations, use the
group to solve any other problems. If a
session isnt going as smoothly as
planned, if energy levels are low, ask the
group what they want to do about it (but
have some suggestions up your sleeve).
Never be afraid to admit your fallibility,
and move on to the next exercise, if the
group arent engaging with the current
one!
Evaluating
Evaluating with the group is just plain
good practice! Build at least 5 minutes
evaluation time into each workshop
agenda. Dont just evaluate the contents.
Ask questions about the quality of your
facilitation, whether you met expectations,
the length of the workshop, the pace etc.
You can also ask if there are other
workshops the group would like. Here are
three common ones:
The Evaluation Form prepare a form
that has room for comments and maybe
room to score different aspects of the
session. The evaluation form takes a bit
longer to fill in, but can glean you more
information than other methods.
Remember to phrase the questions
neutrally. NB: take lots of biros with you
that way no one has an excuse not to fill it
in there and then!
Go-Round simply go round the group
asking everyone to say one thing that
worked well, one that didnt (or equivalent
positive/negative questions). This
shouldnt feel compulsory for participants,
and you shouldnt get defensive if the
workshop comes in for criticism. Accept
the comments and move on to the next
person.
The Pie Chart draw a large circle and
divide into slices. Each slice can then be
marked to represent different exercises,
expectations, quality of facilitation or
anything else you want evaluating.
Everyone grabs a marker pen and puts a
small cross in each slice. The nearer the
centre of the pie they place their cross,
the higher they score that section. This is
quick and easy, and very visual trends
become apparent from a quick glance!
Flipchart Facilitation
Youll often find yourself standing in front
of a flipchart, over head projector (OHP)
or whiteboard. Here are some guidelines
for using them:
Ask if everyone can see the writing? If not
either move the OHP or flipchart or ask
participants to move.
Talk to your group not to the paper! Its
better to pause whilst you write than lose
what youre saying in the process. If youre
cofacilitating, have your cofacilitator write
on the flipchart for you, or ask one of the
group to do it.
Check before using green or red pen
some people cant see these colours very
well, or have trouble distinguishing one
colour from the other.
Write in lower case letters the eye finds
it easier to read them from a distance.
And of course, write big enough!
When writing up comments you are
aiming to accurately restate or summarise
the comments made. Make sure you
check with the person who made a
comment before you drastically shorten
or reword it you may have misunderstood
which could cause offence!
Dont show any favouritism value all
contributions equally and write down
everything.
If theres a reason why youre not writing
something down (because its already on
the paper, for example, or it's simply
incorrect) explain it to the group.
Dont be bound by a flipchart stand.
Flipcharts works as well on the floor in the
middle of the group (but again make sure
everyone can see).
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Learning Styles
There are many theories about how
people learn (their learning style). What
is clear is that different people learn in
different ways. Some will learn just fine, if
you stand at the front and lecture them.
Others will learn from a well structured
written handout. But to ensure everyone
has equal access to learning, you need to
vary your style. Thats why we use
workshops not just handouts or lectures
(although there might be some parts of a
workshop that are more presentational, or
backed up by a handout).
Auditory, Visual & Tactile Learners
This is one useful way of looking at your
workshop if it meets the needs of people
that learn through these 3 media, thats
an excellent start!
Auditory Learners learn from listening.
They learn best from lectures, discussions,
talking through ideas and listening to
other people. They are sensitive to the
tone of voice, and to underlying meanings
in peoples speech. They may well prefer
to read information aloud (written text will
have little meaning to them until they
have heard it read) and respond well to
music and other sounds.
Visual Learners learn by looking. They like
to have a clear view of workshop leaders
or lecturers, and are sensitive to facial
expression and body language. Pictures,
charts, graphics, videos, colours are all
useful tools to help visual learners learn.
They may well like to take notes (spoken
information will have little meaning until
they see it written down).
Tactile Learners learn by doing, moving
and touching. They learn best from a
hands on and active approach. They need
to move and will struggle to sit still for
hours on end, responding well to active
exercises (written or spoken information
will have little meaning until they have
had a chance to engage with it physically).
Spectrum lines, hassle lines and roleplays
(see tools below) will help engage tactile
learners.
Look over each agenda to ensure that
there is something for everyone. For the
key points you need to convey, you may
have to provide an exercise that
incorporates a little of each. A balance of
a brief factual introduction presented
verbally, but backed up with graphics,
flipcharts and a handout, some group
work (such as a brainstorm or go-round)
followed by a practical session (such as a
role-play) will usually engage everyone.
The Role of the Facilitator
Preparing For Workshops
Here are some thoughts on preparation
that can help make your workshop
participative, focused and enjoyable:
The workshop space must be chosen and
prepared appropriately. Ideally it should
be comfortable, and set up to encourage
participation. A circle of chairs works well
everyone can see each other and there
is no automatic hierarchy in a circle. Make
sure theres enough light, air, food & drink
to suit the group. Are you competing with
any other noise? Tea and coffee slow a
workshop down, so if you want it short and
focussed, it might be best to give it a miss,
or wait until afterwards. Sitting round a
table can help focus people.
Think about workshop times will people
have to skip a meal to attend? Falling
blood sugar leads to irritability and lack of
focus, so have snacks on hand and plan to
take breaks where needed. Will people
need to leave in a hurry? If so make sure
all important discussion or information is
at the start of the meeting, or make extra
sure you finish on time.
Prepare an Agenda that considers
learning styles and uses the best tools to
get your learning outcomes met (see
above)
Facilitating Difficult Situations
As with meetings, a workshop can involve
unexpected and difficult situations that
need to facilitate your way out of! In many
cases you can rely on exactly the same
facilitation tools that you might use in a
meeting.
The golden rule for effectively sorting out
a difficult situation is to discover why its
happening what are the underlying
causes? Then you can figure out what you
can do about it. So if youre ever unsure
ask the group what the problem is and
actively listen to the answer!
Expecting a Large Group,
Getting a Small One!
Its not uncommon to plan a workshop for
12 people and then find that only 6 show
up on the day. Do whatever you can, in
advance, to establish an accurate
assessment of who will be there. If you
think the numbers are at all unrealistic or
vague, plan for half the number showing
up. Check out in advance that your
agenda will still work with 4, 6 or whatever.
Assuming that you decide to go ahead
with the workshop, what can you do?
On the positive side, a small group can
mean a more intimate and interesting
workshop theres the potential for
everyone to have more of a chance to
speak and contribute, so see it as an
opportunity and not a crisis! In many
cases you simply need to mentally rework
some of your numbers e.g. 2 small
groups instead of 4 or groups of 3 not 6.
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But maybe youd planned an exercise that
you just dont see working with this
number of people? Go back to the aims of
the exercise what were you hoping to
achieve? How can you achieve those ends
with this number of participants? It may
mean you have to fall back on more
traditional methods, such as brainstorms,
go-rounds and discussion so what? As
long as you keep the energy of the
workshop up, youll get away with it, and
the evaluations will show that your
participants loved it!
The worst thing you can do is let the
numbers deflate your enthusiasm. It will
show and will infect the workshop! Dont
sit there and say Well, we were going to
do this really interesting exercise, but
since no one could be bothered to show
up, well have to do this brainstorm
instead!
You might need to sit in with the group
more, and use questioning to elicit the
breadth and depth of learning you were
hoping to achieve through sheer weight of
numbers (20 people brainstorming are
likely to come up with more ideas than 5).
Key Training Skills
Presenting Information
Do:
Make it clear if, and when youre taking
questions (otherwise an unsolicited
question can throw you off your stride)
Present at a pace that balances the time
pressure of your agenda, and the need of
more reflective/active learners
Support the verbal with visual props and
vice versa to reinforce learning
Remember tone of voice, eye contact and
body language are as important as the
words you use
Talk to the whole group, not just those at
the front, and speak clearly!
Dont:
Misrepresent yourself as an expert if thats
not the case
Assume that the presentational bits of the
agenda are boring and rush them or
seem apologetic some people thrive on
them!
Setting Up Exercises
Do:
Be clear on the purpose, timings and nature
of the exercise
Check with the group that they have
understood the exercise
Reinforce instructions with a
handout/flipchart if need be. Would a list of
questions to consider during the exercise be
useful?
Make yourself available for questions during
the exercise
Dont:
Carry on regardless if youre not clear in
your own mind
Be afraid to restate the instructions, or call a
halt if its not working
Small Group Exercises
Do:
Give clear instruction before splitting the full
group into small groups make sure they
know what spaces they can use, how much
time they have got etc.
Once theyre underway, check with each
small group that theyre OK with the
exercise and know what they are doing
Do small groups need to appoint a facilitator
or someone to feedback? Make it clear in
advance
Vary the size and make up of your small
groups throughout the workshop (unless
you specifically want to build specific group
or build teams)
Dont:
Let the same people dominate and report
back from small groups
Answering Questions
Do:
Throw questions to the group Thats a
really good question! Does anyone have an
answer to it?. Dont forget you can do this
even if you do have the answer! Letting the
group answer its own questions can
enhance the learning
Dont:
Make it up. If you dont know, say so.
Being Flexible & Responsive
Prepare in advance to avoid having to
change agendas on the spot! Ask your
participants what their expectations are
(you could use a questionnaire in advance,
or a simple go-round at the start of the
workshop.)
If you are meeting a very specific set of
objectives that you have set, make them
very clear in advance, reducing the
chances of someone attending with the
wrong idea!
Cofacilitate
It doubles the facilitation experience in
the room, and enhances the possibility of
being able to respond to unexpected
situations. On a practical note, one
facilitator can carry on whilst the other
prepares an exercise to meet any
unanticipated needs
Identify in advance which parts of your
workshop you can adapt or cut out if time
becomes an issue.
Presentations take less time than
interactive exercises, so you might need
to adapt sections to keep them shorter.
Prepare yourself mentally for this
possibility!
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Flexibility
Dont pretend you can adapt your
workshop on the spot if you cant!
Be honest, and offer to deliver whatever
the unexpected need was another time.
Alternatively put the group in touch with
facilitators that can meet their need. If you
can, offer to send handouts/weblinks that
will answer their questions. Then ask them
to bear with you for the rest of your
workshop, and tell them what the benefits
will be.
Dont worry if you cant be flexible
flexibility comes with experience and
confidence, and involves being willing to
make mistakes. If youre new to training,
no one can reasonably expect that of you!
Planning Workshops
Start planning with your aims what you
want to achieve and pick exercises to
meet them. Dont start with your favourite
exercises and let that dictate your aims!
Check all your agendas against the basics
of learning theory, e.g.: Will it engage all
learning styles?
Be realistic about the time it takes to run
through the agenda. If in doubt
overestimate the time any given exercise
will take
Evaluate your workshop and modify your
agendas in the light of experience
Useful Resources
'Tools for Meetings and Workshops'
http://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/free
/tools
See the a longer guide to facilitation
workshops
http://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/free/fa
cilwsh.pdf
for additional information on:
how to improve your confidence
as a workshop facilitator as well
different types of learning styles
see: ( Activist, Pragmatist,
Reflector and Theorist )
Working With Sceptical Groups
Working With An Unresponsive
Group
BANNER MAKING
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12. Banner Making
D.I.Y. Banners: fast & cheap!
Things to sort beforehand:
Canvas sheet or newspapers (to protect floor from paint)
Cloth like sheets or duvet covers from a charity shop
Scissors to cut / trim the cloth
Chalk / pens / markers to sketch letters / logos etc.
Paints: acrylic is water-based & waterproof (not cheap!)
avoid gloss-paint: nasty oil-based & takes days to dry
Some water-based eco-paints are great, but not cheap
Brushes: cheap arty or DIY brushes, 1/4inch to 2inch+
Access to a sink with soap to wash and rinse brushes
Some space and a few hours to let the banner dry flat
Bamboo poles (or willow / hazel branches) and a saw
Safety pins or access to a sewing-machine & skills
Gaffer tape for hinges & joining poles & strengthening
1: Plan the design
Short & clear words, maybe with logos, cartoons,
images, a website address? Jokes REALLY help!
Do some sketches & work out the bits that need
to be the biggest. Lower-case with serifs is the
easiest to read. Tall thin banners can be carried
by 1 person (or a tree / lamppost) chinese style.
Big banners might impress but may be a handful.
2: Sizing & Sketching
Lay the cloth down, cut & trim to required size.
Use chalk (colour chalk on white cloth) to mark
the very middle, then sketch out letters / images
starting in the middle. Leave 1 foot (or 30cm)
margins for a clearer look & for hems, later.
Step back (stand on a
chair) and see what
needs to be moved or
changed to make it look
better. A damp cloth
can wipe chalk marks.
3: Paint it!
Fill in the outlines with
paint, thinly. Sprinkle a
few drops of water into
the paint every 15mins
or so, to keep it
flowing. Avoid leaving
lumps as they take
longer to dry and might
crack. Keep brushes
specific to a colour -
i.e. dont put a red
brush in the black paint
pot! Step back (stand
on a chair) to see what
needs to be re-painted.
Some cloth will absorb
the first coat a bit.
Leave it 30 mins and a
second coat of paint
might help.
4: Clean brushes
...as soon as you finish
using them or they may
never work again. Use a
small bit of soap or
washing-up liquid and
make sure to rinse them
out very well - soap can
really mess with paint.
5: Outline
Optional: let the banner
dry & add thin outlines
to key words to make
them really stand out -
this is also a good way
to tidy up any wobbly
or wonky lines. Some
cloth absorbs the first
coat a bit. You might
now see that a second
coat of paint will help.
6: Let it dry
...ideally opened flat on
a floor or hanging on a
wall or clothes line,
if possible overnight. >
Banner for B52two (.org.uk) 2003. Top & bottom pole
pull cloth taut, hanging on side poles, with gaffer hinges.
Inspiration & other @rty resources:
Photos of almost everything: www.flickr.com
Art activism against BP & Shell: artnotoil.org.uk
The king of UK stencil art: banksy.co.uk
Intricate radical info-posters: beehivecollective.org
Carol Simpsons fantastic cartoons: cartoonwork.com
Erics wood-cut anarchist art & more: drooker.com
Great graffiti site, especially war murals: graffiti.org
Satirical, subversive & sophisticated: rtmark.com
Brilliant UK cartoonist: staneales.freeserve.co.uk
Writing on the side of roads: freewayblogger.com
Inspiring graf and more: doodledubz.blogspot.com
Worldwide street-art gallery: woostercollective.com
Polyps radical cartoons, props, etc: polyp.org.uk
Stigs cartoons, props, subverts, banners, etc: shtig.net
71 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
BANNER MAKING
The best way to quickly and cheaply carry and
hang a cloth banner is to use Gaffer tape and 3
or 4 bamboo poles. 2 are vertical side-poles
and 2 are the cross-poles running across the
top & bottom of the banner. The cross-poles
keep the banner taut and readable. It can be
carried on marches or leant against a wall / tree.
1: Sizing
Lay the dry banner face down on a clean floor
or table. Place the top & bottom cross-pole on
it. The top pole should be a few cms (A) wider
than the banner. If a crosspole is too long, saw
off a bit from the thinner end. If a cross pole is
not long enough, join two poles together to
make the desired length, lashing the overlap in
at least three places with squeezed gaffer tape.
2: Hinge top crosspole to side-poles
Take each end of the top cross-pole and join
them with a gaffer-tape hinge keeping a 3 cm
gap of flexible tape between them. As shown
below, the easy way to do this is to cut two 15
cm strips and lay
one down sticky-
side up. Then lay
the poles on it
and gradually
roll the tape
over. Put the 2
nd
bit of tape down
and repeat.
Squeeze the
gaffer to make
it a strong join.
3: Hem the bottom cross-pole (B)
The bottom cross pole should be slightly shorter
than the width of the banner. Saw it if needed.
Fold the bottom edge over the width of three
fingers. Stick safety pins every 2 or 3 feet to
form a hem. Thread the bottom cross-pole into
the hem. Use gaffer or more safety pins to tuck
the pole inside each end, so it cant fall out (C).
Sag-proof Banner hanging
4: Hem the top cross-pole (D)
Fold the top edge over the width of three
fingers. Stick safety pins every 1 or 2 feet to
form a hem. Thread the top cross-pole into the
hem. Use gaffer to pinch a bit of the cloth
tightly around each end of the top pole (E) so
that the cloth is pulled taut, left-to-right.
5: Done!
The two side poles are like legs and the whole
thing should be able to stand against a wall, etc.
For transport & storage: fold the side-poles
like the arms of a pair of glasses so they are
lying against the top-pole. Roll up the banner
like a scroll around the poles. Write an email or
phone number on it in case its mislaid. Sorted!
Written by Stig, Oxford, Nov 08. www.shtig.net
@nti-copyright - please copy, re-write and share.
A
C
D
E
Back of the banner
(only half shown)
Top cross-pole
Bottom cross-pole
O
n
e
o
f
t
h
e
s
i
d
e
-
p
o
l
e
s
Wider banners can have more poles
added, hinged onto hinges, etc :
Gaffer Tape is like the Force
from StarWars: it has dark side
and it has a light side, and it
holds the universe together.
B
MAKING A FILM
72 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Short films can be really useful for
campaigns. More and more events have
short video-flyers encouraging people to
come. You can the video link out in emails
and show them at public events. They are
another chance to tell your own story.
For a short video on how to make videos
see:
http://www.open2.net/creativeclimate
/how_to_video.html
The following FAQ is adapted from:
http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/
VideoActivismFAQ
Q. We need a video about our
campaign/issue.
How do I find somebody to make it?*
If you are concerned about a specific
issue or campaign and think it would be
useful for there to be a film about it,
check to see if something already exists.
If there is nothing suitable, who would
make it? What would you do with the film?
Who would it be for? What would you
hope to achieve? Who will distribute it and
how?
While you could find somebody else to
film, it is usually better that people
represent themselves and tell their own
story. This might require learning how to
use a camera and make films, or it might
mean consciously taking a far more
proactive and participatory role in the
process.
Q. I want a video camera, what should I
get?
MiniDV is the obvious answer. The quality
is high enough for broadcasters, the
format is widely used and being digital it is
easy to get on to a computer to edit.
However older equipment is still viable,
Hi 8 (or better yet Digital Hi 8, is a good
format and you can pick these cameras
up very cheaply as most people prefer to
go for DV. You dont need to spend loads
on a camera and while you could opt for a
semi pro camera with 3CCD and a tonne
of accessories, you certainly dont need to
do so to get good results. Dont waste
your time or money getting the DVD
camcorders they are not a widely used
format yet and will cause you no end of
trouble stick to tried and tested
technology.
Q. I've filmed something, how do I make
my footage available to others?
If you have footage of an action and do
not plan to do anything with it yourself,
you might like to inform other people of
what you have available so that they can
use it. There are several places you might
do this; email lists, indymedia and online
video depositories such as v2v.
see also http://mediajumpstart.net/
intake-db/
13. Making a Film
73 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
MAKING A FILM
Q. Ive filmed something, how do I sell my
footage to the corporate media?
Why do you want your footage shown on
TV? What do you hope to achieve?
Could it be misused? Ask yourself these
questions before you proceed. There are
in-depth guides available which tell you
how to go about selling footage, but be
clear about your motives. Selling footage
can be a useful way to fund video activism
(money is always required for equipment
and tape stock) but be aware of what
separates those that use video for social
change, and those that use video to earn
their living.
Q. I can train people to film or edit,
how do I let people know?
If feel able to train people to use a
camera and make films, it would be useful
to pass those skills on. The more people
are filming and making films, the less
elitist it becomes. Better still, training is
often an area where it is possible to obtain
funding.
Q. I want to do a public screening,
how do I do it?
Video Activist Network How to do a video
screening guide
http://www.videoactivism.org/howscreen.html
An updated copy of the undercurrents
screening guide and more:
http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/
NewsRealHowTos
Q. Ive made a film, how do I make it
available on the Internet?
The obvious answer is You Tube.
Or Vimeo. There are complex issues
around using corporate platforms
regarding advertising revenue and IP
address security. For alternatives see:
https://docs.indymedia.org/Global/Video
Online
Q. How do I track down footage I need to
make a film I am working on?
It you are seeking footage of something
specific which you would like to use in a
project that you are working on you could
make your requests on video activist
email lists or check out online resources
such as;
http://www.V2Vcc
http://ngvision.org
CAMPAIGNING STRATEGY AND TACTICS
74 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
14. Campaigning Strategy and Tactics
P|ann|ng
gour Campa|gn
Projects and campaigns usually start because we feel inspired about an idea or passionate
about a particular issue. Our first impulse is to throw ourselves into action straight away.
But if we take a little time to analyse the situation and to develop a plan of action we can
increase our effectiveness and our chances of success.
By spending a bit of time thinking about how to move from ideas to action you can make
the best use of people's time and energy. It will also help to prevent burnout and stop you
from getting disillusioned half way through. A long-term plan means you can chart your
successes - large and small - and appreciate them for what they are.
P|ann|ng gour campa|gn w||| he|p gou 0o.
Choose the right tactics at the right time. All actions have a positive and a negative
impact - getting the balance right can be crucial. By looking at the medium and long
term you can see which tactics will be useful and at what stage in the campaign they can
be used.
Evaluate successes (or failures). If you have a clear action plan you'll notice the mile-
stones as you pass them. This is important for group morale, and helps to plan your fu-
ture strategy.
Be consistent. Your project should be seen to grow, rather than stop and start. This is
important for group morale and to attract new people.
Evaluate offers of help / alliances / networks etc. Is this the right time to accept con-
cessions from your opponent? Is it worth compromising your position in order to work
with other groups?
Fit into wider / similar projects, campaign, movements.
Match skills and energy to the tasks at hand. By looking at skills and interests first you
can come up with more exciting (and interesting) ideas for action than thinking of tasks
and then delegating them.
Once you have drawn up a plan do be prepared to change it if necessary. Situations can
change rapidly and require flexibility.
It's also important to remember that the initial motivation is a good source of energy, and
shouldn't be allowed get lost in endless discussions about what to do. A strategy is there to
help you into action and not to immobilise you by causing long discussions.
Deve|op|ng a p|an.
1) Define aims
2) Gather more information
3) Identify targets - people, groups, institutions
4) Choose your tactics and actions
5) Pull the plan together
6) Hold Regular Reviews
A plan like this is called a

strategy. It's a systematic plan
combining several actions to
reach a certain goal.
75 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Def|n|ng gour a|ms
The first step on the road to making your plan is to
define your aim(s). What is it that you want to achieve?
You should be able to sum up this up in one clear sen-
tence: "Create an organic school garden", "Stop this de-
velopment from destroying our village", "Live together
in a co-operatively owned house".
Your group's aim should be realistic and achievable. Spend some time in a relaxed atmo-
sphere (in a pub, have dinner together or at a special meeting) exploring people's personal
motivations and developing the group's aim. Be aware that people's aims may be different
from each other. Don't worry too much if your group can't come up with a united long term
vision, but you do need to agree on a common immediate or short term goal to be able to
work together.
Once you have settled on an aim, you have to decide whether this is negotiable or not - for
example, would you be prepared to accept a more sympathetic / less destructive develop-
ment in the village, or is your group aiming for "No development in villageton"?
Gathering more information
The next step is to gather more information. What do you need to know to achieve your
aims? This could include environmental data, details about similar projects/campaigns or
background information about companies/institutions/people involved. Accurate informa-
tion will not only help you make a good plan and give you ideas for action, but also help
you to convince local people and potential allies. But don't get paralysed by a mountain of
irrelevant information!
For example, if you are planning to set up a community garden, find out whether the coun-
cil would/could support you through finding a site and providing funds. Are there any oth-
er organisations that could support you? Can you link up with other community garden
groups or learn from them? What could stop the garden from going ahead? Is there anyone
who is opposed to the idea and why? If anyone is opposed to your plans, what threat do
they pose? What do the local residents think?
Make use of the internet and local libraries. For tips on how to research companies contact
Corporate Watch mail@corporatewatch.org, www.corporatewatch.org
ldentify targets
In this part you are analysing the information you have already gathered. Start by looking
at all the different people and institutions that have an interest in the issue. Who are the
people you need to talk to/convince/pressure to achieve your aim? Here is a very useful
tool for this sort of analysis:
Forcefield Analysis. There are various exercises that go under this name - this is the one
we've found most useful. It helps you to recognise which 'players' you should be focussing
on, and which ones are not worth too much effort.
First write the problem across the top of a big piece of paper (at least A2 - that's four times
as big as A4), e.g. "Stop the supermarket development". Draw a line along the bottom. This
Developing group aims
Ask every group member to write
down their own aims. Compare
these - what are the similarities,
where are the differences? Use
this as the basis for developing
the aim of your group.
76 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
line is the commitment line and shows how strongly a party feels for or against the develop-
ment. The left side of the paper is 'us' = strongly opposed, the far right is strongly in favour.
People close to the middle are neutral towards the development.
Draw another line down the centre of the page, top to bottom. This is the power line and
shows how much influence a party has over the decision. The more power someone has the
closer to the bottom they are.
Plot the position of all affected people, groups, institutions and authorities on the paper.
What do you think is the position of local people, small shopkeepers, councillors, local
newspapers, your group, the developers? People may have power because of the law (like
the council), or because of money (like the development firm), or because of commitment
and beliefs (like us). In this example, the local member of parliament is neutral, and is far
from the bottom line because s/he has little actual power over local developments.
Mark the position of all the people/groups you can think of. Now look at each dot on the
page, and work out how much effort it would be to drag that dot over to your side, and fur-
ther down towards the bottom (ie get them to use their power). Think about the knock-on
effects that could have.
In this example, local residents support your group, but aren't doing much. You need to
think of ways of mobilising the general public to bring them closer to the commitment line.
Doing this will also help to bring the local council further over to your side of the paper,
since local people will begin to lobby the council - so by dragging the local residents dot
down, you can also drag the local council dot a little towards you too.
On the other hand, it will be very difficult to drag the land owner, development company and
local construction companies to the other side of the neutral line. What you can do, however,
is push them away from the bottom 'power' line, ie help them to lose interest in the devel-
opment.
For development (them) Against development (us)
OuI gIoup
LocaI constIuctIon companIes
DeveIopment company
LocaI councII
MP
Land owneI
LocaI 5hop KeepeIs
LocaI IesIdents
LocaI ChambeI oI CommeIce
Neutral
77 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Choose your tactics
Once you have identified people/institutions to target,
you need to decide on the best method to do this. Many
groups do this by plunging straight into discussing the
first one or two ideas that people come up with. Often
they get stuck there for hours and time runs out before
other (more interesting) options can be explored. This
approach not only limits the choice of action, but also
stifles creativity.
You can avoid this by using the following exercise:
Action Brainstorm - This tool helps to quickly gather a
large number of ideas for actions you can do. The idea is to encourage creativity and free
energy. Begin with stating the issue to be tackled. Ask people to say whatever comes into
their heads as fast as possible - without censoring it. The crazier the ideas the better. This
helps people to be inspired by each other. Have one or two note takers to write all the ideas
down where everyone can see them. Make sure there is no discussion or comment on oth-
ers' ideas. Structured thinking and organising can come afterwards. After the people run
out of ideas check over the list of actions that has been generated and get short explana-
tions for any that aren't clear.
Now you can move on to discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the different
ideas. Make sure you don't discount crazier ideas out of hand. Sometimes these are the
ones with the most potential. A good way of analysing actions is the
Flowchart - On the left side of a large sheet of paper write down the problem being ad-
ressed. In a column next to it list a number of actions that might be taken. Then write down
the benefits, limitations and consequences of each action next to it.
Safe road cross-
ing for school
kids
Block the road
May lose support - too radical?
Shows we mean business
May be arrested
Petition the council
Probably won't bring change
Will raise awareness
Will give chance to talk to
people
Draw white stripes on road
Creative - good publicity?
Consciousness raising
Against the Law?
When you are analysing different types of actions and tactics it helps to look at what kind
of skills people have and what they enjoy doing. People work better if they enjoy what
they're doing, and so the best way to run a project or campaign is to make it fun! The fol-
lowing exercise helps you to match people's skills and actions. It is also a very good way of
generating new ideas for actions and for realizing how many resources you have at your
disposal.
1 | + \ ' 1/I
Tactics
are actions selected to
achieve specific aims such
as getting media coverage
or raising awareness
amongst the public.
Choose them carefully to
fit in with the overall aims
and strategy of the group.
78 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Skills - Task Match - Cut up lots of pieces of paper - A4 cut into four pieces is a good size,
and give everybody a few pieces and pens. Ask people to write down what skills, equipment
or other resources they have access to (on separate pieces of paper). They don't have to
have it themselves directly - it could be, for example, "the neighbour's trailer", "my son's
computer and printer" or "the photocopier at work". Other examples could include things
like "sewing", "time", "an ice-cream van". When everyone is finished writing, have a look at
what you have - it's best to stick the pieces of paper on the wall with blue-tack. You'll be
surprised at how many skills and useful things your group has access to. Move the pieces of
paper around to make groups - "sewing" might go together with "theatre skills" to give you
the idea of doing a street-carnival - possibly a lot more interesting than getting everyone
doing press releases and leafleting.
Developing the plan
By now you should have a good idea of what kind of actions and tactics you want to go for.
The next exercise helps you to form them into a time plan.
Time Line - The purpose of a time-line is to give you an idea of how many different things
you may have to do, and when.
In this example a group wants to set up a resource centre for local people and com-
munity groups to use. They started by working out what the overall time frame is - the
aim is to have the centre up and running within six months. Then the group worked out
what tasks need to be done by when. For example the funding application needs to be
handed in quite soon, because it takes most funders two or three months to decide. But
to be able to apply for funding the group needs a constitution, finance plan and a bank
account. The group also needs some money straight away as well as publicity to get
more people involved. The time line for the first few weeks looked like this:
Week 6 View buildings
Open bank account
Benefit gig, press release, request for
donations
Week 4 Finance plan
Shortlist of possible buildings
Shortlist of possible funders
Constitution
Create website and leaflets
Find bands and publicise benefit gig
Week 1 Meeting to form subgroups to
take on tasks
Now Meeting to define aims of group
and vision for centre
When you've plotted out the course of the project/campaign in this way you can see how
much work it will take and whether your plans are realistic. If you have huge gaps in your
time line then you need to redistribute your activities or think more about what to do then.
Be aware of your limits in terms of time and energy. Starting off with lots of activity may be
tempting but if this means that after two months everyone is burnt out, you should think
79 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
again. It is definitely worth checking how much time people in the group are willing to give
to the project.
As time goes on you might want to intensify your activities and increase the pressure by
choosing more confrontational tactics.
In order to...- This is a very simple but effective tool to work out whether a course of ac-
tion is realistic, or should be dropped in favour of something else. It can also show that an
unrealistic sounding idea is perfectly practicable - so apply it to all your ideas!
Think of an action - by brainstorming, using the Skill-Task Match tool or by using whatever
props you want - then complete the sentence "In order to {do action XYZ} . . .we need/have
to/should...." This will help to work out what the action needs to be successful. You can
then check whether there is enough energy and time in the group for this action.
Rev|ew|ng Your p|ans and ac0|ons
In the day to day nitty gritty work it is easy to lose sight of the long-term aims. When a
group gets stuck it helps to review what you set out to do and what you have achieved so
far. It is also important for every group to recognise and celebrate its successes as well as
learning from mistakes. As more information is discovered your plans may need to change.
List all the activities of your group. What was good? What didn't work so well? What could
be done differently in the future? Be aware that what some people feel to be negative might
be a positive thing for others. It isn't necessary to agree on this.
When people are disillusioned and frustrated, it helps to look at the successes the group has
had. When there is still a mountain of work to be done, it is easy to forget what has been
achieved. Just put up a large piece of paper and ask people to list any successes, however
small. These could be a mention in the newspaper, a successful fundraising event, making
links with other groups, publishing a pamphlet. On a personal level people may have learnt
new skills, feel more confident, got to know new people. Your group may also have a had a
general knock-on effect on the community - neighbours might now talk to each other,
people in the village liked the fundraising event and are now organising more etc.
Let's not forget that empowering people and building communities are really important in
this disenfranchised society. They are major achievements, even if they are not a direct aim
of your group.
Celebrate success whenever you have a chance!
O0her 0h|ngs 0o cons|der
If you use these tools properly, they can help you to avoid burnout. If you notice that any-
one in your group is getting tired out, then see how they can pass on some of their respons-
ibilities. If that isn't possible then re-evaluate your plans so that they're less intense. Every-
one should be aware of their own personal limits, and not take on too much - again by
mapping out your plans you can take account of people's limits and availability.
80 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Underlying Values
When considering aims and tactics one question regularly crops up - is your group 'radical'
or 'reformist'? Is your group wanting to improve the existing society or does it want to
achieve a fundamental change in the way society works? People also have widely varying
ideas about how change happens and this will influence the tactics they choose. However
most groups mix their tactics and tools, regardless of political persuasion. For many main-
stream groups direct action has become more acceptable and is often used to attract the
media. You'll also often find the self-confessed anarchist lobbying local councillors, because
sometimes it's the most efficient and effective way to achieve a particular goal.
How change happens
Persuade the elite letters, delegations, information-giving.
Coerce the elite boycotts, demonstrations, non-cooperation.
Replace the elite vote another party in (dubious, as people in power tend to fall into
the structures and patterns of behaviour that they inherit.)
Become the elite get elected, palace coup (but there is always the danger of being co-
opted.)
Ignore the elite direct action, just do whatever it is for yourselves, Gandhi's 'construct-
ive programme' of making village India self-reliant and self-governing.
Abolish the elite revolution, restructuring society to disperse the power.
(From Turning The Tide - "How Change Happens")
81 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
HOW THE STUDENTS UNION CAN HELP YOUR CAMPAIGN
Students Unions have a long tradition of
creating change. UMSU is well set up to
help with your campaign.
Firstly, get in touch with the
Campaigns Officer.
(campaigns@umsu.manchester.ac.uk)
This is a full time student officer who is
paid to run Union campaigns and to help
students run theirs.
The Campaigns Officer can help you with
general advice, let you know if there are
related societies or organisations that
might be able to help, give you guidance
on funding and much more.
Heres some ways how the Students
Union can help with your campaign:
meeting space for you to organise
from
event space for film nights, public
meetings, club nights, fundraisers,
gig nights, etc
funding
resources: banner materials,
paint, sound systems, video
cameras, fancy dress, props
storage space for campaign
materials
in-house graphic designers
in-house printers (leaflets, posters,
t-shirts, stickers)
photocopying
advice
publicity space (poster boards,
stall tables, display boards, Union
foyer, banner on the front of the
building)
Student Media (the Mancunion
newspaper, FUSE FM radio, FUSE
TV)
Union Staff
The Union also has a number of full time
non-student staff who can help your
organise.
The General Office for room bookings,
projector hire, visiting speaker forms,
photocopying, flipchart paper, etc go to
General Office on the ground floor of the
Steve Biko building.
Advice Centre for your society's or
collective's space on the Union website
contact the Website Manager in the
Advice Centre on the first floor.
Materialise for design work (posters,
leaflets, banners, etc) go to their office in
the Steve Biko building. Their entrance
can be found by turning right out of the
Union, then right again.
U-Print for your printing needs, it is
based on Barnes Wallis Building on North
Campus.
15. How the Students Union can help your campaign
GUIDE TO UNIVERSITY STAFF
82 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
If you're looking to change something within
the University like getting better recycling
or scholarships for Palestinian students affected
from conflict then you're going to need to
find the right person in the right department.
a) Ask the Students Union for help
Firstly, ask a Student Union officer where
they should go to in the University. The
Campaigns Officer might know, but the
Academic Affairs Officer and General
Secretary have more day-to-day
interactions with the complex University
management structure. They sit on all sorts
of panels, committees, the University Senate,
the Board of Governors, etc so they might
be able to point you in the right direction.
b) Go to the University directly
If you find out which person in the University
you need to speak to then email them
directly. You can find any member of staff's
email address through the University's
search option at www.manchester.ac.uk.
They may turn round to you and ask you to
mediate your concerns through the
Students Union executive. They may be
doing this to ensure that there is some sort
of democratic process to your request
because the executive are elected.
Or they may be trying to stall you.
If the matter is controversial, like awarding
scholarships to Palestinian students, they
may say that the Student Union must first
pass policy on the matter at a General
Meeting or Union Council meeting for them
to consider it (the Union currently has policy
to lobby the University for to allocate
scholarships for Palestinian students). Again,
this may be to ensure that the decision is a
democratic reflection of the student will - or
it may be that they are trying to stall you.
It has been a common tactic of the
University to ignore student requests in the
hope that you lose interest or graduate or
leave Manchester. So keep asking.
c) Ask the Executive to raise it with the
Vice Chancellor
If you think its important enough, then ask
one of the Students Union executive officers
to bring it up at their next meeting with the
Vice Chancellor. Find a sympathetic Union
officer whos will really pursue the matter,
not just someone who will ask the question
in a token manner. Ask for the minutes of
the meeting.
Insider / Outsider strategies
When lobbying institutions, it is useful to
have both insider and outsider strategies.
So whilst you might have Union Executive
members raising issues on the inside at
board and committee meetings dont
forget that mobilising other people on the
streets outside is equally, if not more,
important.
Sometimes the outside comes inside
and University buildings are occupied in
protest at an issue. In April 2008, the
'Reclaim the Uni demo occupied the Arthur
Lewis Building. In February 2009, both the
John Owen Building and the Simon Building
were occupied in response to Israels
bombing of Gaza and the University's ties to
the arms trade which linked it to the conflict.
16. Guide to University staff
83 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
FUNDING
17. Funding
UMSU has lots of funding opportunities to
help you get your campaign up and
running.
NO.1 > The Campaigns Budget is UMSUs
36,000 dedicated to running all of our
campaigns. If you can get your campaign
approved at a UMSU General Meeting you
will be able to get some funding from the
Campaigns Budget, providing that your
demands do not conflict with ultra-vires
legislation (please see ultra-vires section
for more information). For more
information contact
campaigns@umsu.manchester.ac.uk
NO.2 > Even if your campaign is not an
official UMSU campaign you can still get
some funding by registering as a society.
Society funding depends on how many
members you have, how many training
sessions you go to and whether you
attend General Meetings. You can also
apply to the Societies Committee (which
meets weekly) for supplementary funding
if you become a Silver or Gold society.
For more information contact
activities@umsu.manchester.ac.uk
ULTRA VIRES
84 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
All student unions are charities. What they
can spend their funds on is strictly limited by
law. Expenditure which goes outside an SU's
aims as a charity is beyond its powers or (in
legal Latin) ultra vires.
What does this mean specifically?
This is how the Department for Education
and Employments Guidance on Student
Unions put it in 1995: As a broad general
rule, expenditure of union funds is likely to
be permitted only if it furthers the interests
of the students in a way that assists in the
educational aims of the university or college
. . . The circumstances in which funds and
facilities can be used for campaigning
(either on local or national issues) are very
limited. The first requirement is that the issue
must affect present
and future
members of the
union as
students.
In practice, ultra vires is often cited by
Student Union officers and Student Union
management as a way of blocking projects
and ideas. The number of cases of ultra
vires that have come to court can be
counted on one hand.
If someone tells you that your idea is ultra
vires get a second opinion from another
officer or an experienced student
campaigner. There are often perfectly legal
ways around any alleged problems.
For more info on Ultra Vires, including case
studies see:
www.free-education.org.uk/
ultraviresbriefing.pdf
18. Ultra Vires
85 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
FUNDRAISING
The following is adapted from Seeds for
Change fundraising guide:
http://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/free/fund
Raising Cash and
Writing Funding Applications
Writing Funding Applications
A fundraising plan
Bank accounts
Fundraising Ideas
Getting things for Free / Cheap
Fundraising Events
Donations
Going to Work
Three things to bear in mind:
The more inspiring your campaign
the more likely it is that people
want to support you.
You dont get what you dont ask
for.
Dont forget you only need to get
enough money to do the job
you've set yourselves. Its not a
campaign aim to raise money.
A fundraising plan work out what
you need (must haves)
compared to what you would like.
Next, brainstorm in your group how you
can raise the cash
Once you've got the list of things you
need, do a second idea storm on how to
raise the cash/get the materials. Discuss
these ideas and see which are most likely
to work. Are there any ways in which you
can get services/materials cheaper or for
free? Do you have the necessary skills and
the people to carry them out? The type of
fundraising you do will largely depend on
the skills of the people involved. For
example you might not find anyone to
write a funding application, but you may
know some artists who are willing to
organise an auction of their artwork in
support of your campaign.
For information on Writing Funding
Applications see the Seeds for Change
fundraising guide:
http://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/free/fund
Fundraisers not only help to raise
resources but are also a great way of
publicising your campaign and getting
new people involved. If you are putting on
any events make sure people know what it
is about and how they can get involved in
the campaign or project.
Bank accounts if you are a registered
UMSU society you should have a Union
account. For more info on all aspects of
society funding see:
http://www.umsu.manchester.ac.uk/societ
ies/running/societyfunding.shtml
Or contact the Student Activities Officer
(actitivities@umsu.manchester.ac.uk)
19. Fundraising
Some Fundraising Ideas
Getting things for free / cheaper
Before buying anything think about ways
of getting it for free. Can you get stuff
donated, on loan or through sponsorship?
Here are some ideas:
Skips are a great source for things like
wood, plastic sheets, carpets and even
furniture.
A Wish List is a list of all your needs with a
plea for donations. It is a very easy way for
people to help who cannot be there.
Circulate the wish list as widely as
possible.
Discounts from businesses are common
for regular customers or people whose
actions they support. Bulk orders of goods
like whole foods, building materials and
trees will be cheaper.
Fundraising events
Fundraising events can be a lot of fun for
everyone involved. They include benefit
gigs, jumble sales and garden parties. If
well planned, publicised and attended,
these events can raise lots of money and
publicity for your group.
Sometimes, however, they are a lot of
effort and at the end of the event you will
only have covered your costs, or even lost
money! Good publicity is crucial.
Make sure that people realise the
objective of the event is to raise money so
they don't try to free-load their way in!
Think carefully about the admission fee. It
must be enough to make money for the
campaign, but not too much. Consider
having a concessionary rate.
Fundraising events are a good way to get
new people involved, so make sure that
you have an information stall at the event,
with leaflets and displays, campaign
merchandise and a collection tin for
donations. You can also ask to have these
stalls at events organised by other people.
If any sympathetic band is due to play in
your area, or there is a regular club night
at a local venue, approach them and ask if
you can run a stall. Ask the band or DJ to
point out your stall.
Benefit gigs usually involve local bands or
DJs. You will probably have to pay for the
venue and a PA system. Find a band that is
happy to be paid expenses only or you
won't make a profit.
Sponsored events are good for publicity,
but can take a lot of organising. You could
have a sponsored sports event, tree
planting or litter pick in a local park. Think
creatively to attract more publicity, people
and money.
Raffles are easy to organise - you can
make them part of any fundraising event
you are organising. First of all find some
prizes. They don't need to cost a lot and
you can often get them donated. Ask
friendly local businesses to give a food
hamper or two, gift tokens or free tickets
to an event. Artists or crafts people may
have something to donate. Bake delicious
cakes. You can buy books of raffle tickets
at many post offices and stationers. Sell
the tickets for a pound or two at your
event and draw the prizes towards the
end.
Stalls at fairs, car boot sales and jumble
sales can be worthwhile. Collect items to
sell well in advance and publicise and
promote the stall as much as possible.
FUNDRAISING
86 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
87 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
FUNDRAISING
Make the stall look attractive and
welcoming. Think about putting up a
banner, so people know that they are
supporting your campaign.
Running a bar at social events can often
raise more money than you take in ticket
sales. Remember to apply to your local
council for a licence quite a long time in
advance. You can buy drinks and snacks
from your local cash and carry, or through
your local whole food wholesaler (most
will do a range of organic, vegetarian and
vegan beers, wines, ciders and soft
drinks). Cash and carries will generally
take back any unopened cases (so be
careful only to open cases as they are
needed!).
Other ideas: a folk evening, a ceilidh, a
story-telling evening, a bingo night, a
raffle, a mediaeval banquet, a fete or fair,
an auction, a jumble sale, or anything else
that fits in with the local culture and
community.
Donations
Appeals through your mailing list can be
very successful.
Bucket rattling
Pub Collections are very easy just go
round pubs rattling a bucket! Check if
your local council has any conditions, ask
permission from the licensee first and
choose pubs carefully.
Benefactors: you may be fortunate
enough to have someone offer cash to
your campaign. People like this are rare
and often prefer to remain anonymous.
Busking can raise a lot of money and
entertains the local community.
Going to Work
Going to work is often easier, quicker and
more lucrative than any of the above, but
more often forgotten. Rather than
spending twenty hours working on a mad
scheme to get money, it's sometimes
better to just go and work in a pub
collecting glasses for twenty hours...
LOBBYING
88 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Adapted from People and Planet's guide to
lobbying.
http://peopleandplanet.org/unis/gg/lobbying
Lobbying is about trying to influence people
who have power so that they will support
your ideas and plans.
Lobbying can be an effective campaigning
method to create change and can be used
on many different targets with different
tactics. Making sure these are right are key
to your lobbying success. Good lobbying
requires both good preparation and good
performance.
Preparation
There are a number of steps you need to go
through before you start lobbying:
1. Who are you going to lobby?
Your lobbying targets could include your
Ministers, university figures like your Vice
Chancellor or corporate targets such as
CEOs.
Who has the power to help you achieve
your campaign aims?
Who do you have access to that has power
over the people who have power?!
e.g. If you want your university to employ an
environmental manager: who in the university
has control over the Accommodation and
Campus Services department?
2. What can that person do?
Find out more about what you can ask MPs
and MEPs to do in the what they can do
section below.
3. What is their stance on the issue?
What are they realistically going to do?
What barriers are there? Can other
individuals/ groups offer support?
You can find out lots of information about
your MP on the website
www.theyworkforyou.com
4. What are you going to ask them to do?
Simply expressing your opinion won't
change anything ASK for something
specific based on what you know they can
do and what you want to change.
How to lobby?
There are lots of different methods you
could use to lobby whoever you have
chosen as your target.
The natural first step in any lobbying
exercise is to write to the person with the
power to resolve the situation.
You could arrange a face-to-face meeting to
have a bigger impact. MPs, for example,
hold regular 'surgeries'.
If you dont think your voice is being listened
to spread the word to get more support
and raise awareness! This could be through
petitioning, open meetings, photo
opportunities or more direct actions.
For more information check out:
http://peopleandplanet.org/unis/gg/
lobbying/spreadingtheword
20. Lobbying
89 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
LOBBYING
Be persistent, and follow up
Dont just accept no for an answer
engage in more correspondence, meetings
or actions, always bringing more people on
board. Think of creative ways to raise the
stakes and increase pressure. Lobbying is a
cumulative process: your individual action
may not seem so grand, but alongside
similar actions across the country it forms an
important political influence.
Lobbying: Writing the wrong
The natural first step in any lobbying
exercise is to write to the person with the
power to resolve the situation.
How to write a good letter
Hand written letters can have a powerful
impact on your MP or MEP because not
many people take the trouble to do it. Seven
or eight different letters from constituents
about the same issue will make sure your
campaign comes to their attention.
Top Tips
Write to your own MP!
Ask them to give their opinion or to do
something specific.
If youre not happy with their answer
reply or ratchet up your lobbying!
There are a few things to remember:
Be polite and stick to the point. It
might be frustrating, but you'll get a
far more useful reply.
Give the person you are lobbying a
good reason to listen to you, for
example your potential vote?
Ask them to do something specific,
remember what they can do.
Avoid exaggeration as it does more
harm than good.
Keep a file of correspondence, both
of your letters and the replies
Letter-writing meetings are often a
good idea because even with the
best intentions people don't always
get around to writing the letter on
their own.
The Response
MPs will answer letters from their
constituents before any other, as this is their
duty. However, in most cases they will
forward your letter to the relevant Minister,
government department or party
spokesperson and hence you are likely to
get a standard reply. Often this reply will
have little relevance to the original points
that you raised, so it is better to ask specific
questions and to inquire about your MP's
personal opinion. Try spreading letter writing
around the group with each person
addressing only one important point in their
letter.
If you dont get the response you want,
dont just sit there and take it. Pick up your
pen, or put fingers to your keyboard, and
restate your case, if necessary pointing out
the errors in the reply.
Alternatively, you might decide that you
want to meet them face-to-face.
Lobbying: Face to face
If your letter doesnt get the results you are
looking for (or just to emphasise your point),
arrange a face-to-face meeting.
How to get a meeting
MPs
MPs hold regular for their constituents. These
are often advertised in the local paper or you
can find out times from their constituency
office. Make an appointment in advance or
turn up early! You could also hold a public
meeting and invite them to attend.
Top Tips
Know what youre talking about!
Write down what is agreed;
Follow it up.
Vice Chancellors and Corporates
1. Start by writing and asking for a meeting;
2. If this doesnt work, try demonstrating the
level of public support (demos, petitions,
mass letter-writing);
3. Use the student or local press to expose
that this person wont meet you;
4. For VCs ask the SU for advice, they may
know which channels are most effective.
Before the meeting
Prepare what youre asking
Once you have worked out what you are
going to ask the decision-maker to do, you
need to decide how you are going to
communicate it to them.
Limit yourself to 3 key points at the most,
which:
Communicate the issue/campaign;
Give the decision-maker a reason
to support you and fulfil your
demands;
Are backed up with a couple of key
facts.
Get together beforehand and
decide which aspects of the issue
each of you will concentrate on, so
you don't have just one
spokesperson. It is often useful to
have one person just observing the
conversation and making notes,
only entering it if the discussion is
wandering off-course or getting too
heated.
LOBBYING
90 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
91 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
LOBBYING
MP surgeries
Make sure your are fully acquainted with the
issue. However, unless the issue is one of
your MP's main interests, you will often know
far more than they do.
MP surgery meetings are normally only
10-15 minutes long and quite informal.
In a group, decide on whether you will make
individual appointments or go together as a
small party.
During the meeting
1. Look at our public speaking guide for top
tips on presenting your case clearly:
http://peopleandplanet.org/unis/gg/
campaigncommunication/publicspeaking
2. Ask the decision-maker to do something
specific (if appropriate).
3. Take brief notes of what they are saying,
especially anything they agree to.
4. If you go as a group, dont disagree with
each other.
5. Take along relevant briefing material and
offer to send further information if they
are interested.
After the meeting
1. Write a short letter to thank them for
seeing you.
2. Keep up the dialogue react to events
and campaign initiatives with further
letters.
3. If they agreed or refused to do something,
see if it is of interest to the local media.
4. Again, if you dont get the response you
want, be persistent, encourage others to
visit them, or go in a large group to
demonstrate the support your cause has.
Lobbying: What they can do
For good lobbying you need to know who
has the power to do what and what you
can ask the decision-maker you are
lobbying to do.
Members of Parliament
Ask a Parliamentary Question
Oral questions are tabled two weeks in
advance to a government department and
are drawn by ballot. There is only time for
10 15 questions to be answered, but they
are asked at Question Time (and therefore
may get media attention). MPs get the
chance to ask one supplementary question
that Ministers do not know in advance.
In addition MPs can ask an unlimited
number of written questions on your behalf,
usually to get information from a
government department.
Benefits
get publicity (although this can be
limited);
bring issues to the attention of
Ministers (they have to answer
supplementary questions, which
they'll need to prepare for);
gathering information.
All written and oral questions have
the answers published in Hansard.
Table or sign an Early Day Motion
This is a kind of parliamentary petition. You
can find out if there is an existing EDM on
the issue and who has signed it by going to
the following website: edm.ais.co.uk
Benefits
moves issues up the political agenda
(if they have lots of signatures);
generates a public list of supporters
for an issue;
provides a commitment to which
MPs can be held in the future.
Raise the issue in an
Adjournment Debate
Short debates (30 or 90 minutes) initiated by
backbenchers. The MP speaks, and the
Minister responds. This is an opportunity to
get a Minister to speak on a particular issue
and to get publicity, especially for local
issues.
Introduce a Private Members' Bill (PMB)
can achieve a change in the law;
can get a show of support for a
change in the law;
gets publicity.
Not many PMBs make it. There's a Ballot
system to decide which MPs can introduce
bills, as there is limited time to debate them.
Write to or make an appointment with the
relevant Government department or
Minister
Can gain information/answers to specific
questions, but the information is not public
and therefore may be of limited use for
campaigning purposes
LOBBYING
92 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
93 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
NON-VIOLENT DIRECT ACTION
see
(http://networkforclimateaction.org.uk/toolkit/action_resources/direct_action_a_handbook.pdf)
21. Non-violent Direct Action
What is direct action?
Direct Action is where you intervene in a
situation yourself in order to make change,
rather than deferring that responsibility to
someone else. Whereas going on a march
or lobbying an MP is asking those in power
to follow this-or-that policy direct action is
where you make an intervention yourself.
For example, if you cant afford the rent
then you might squat an abandoned house
so that you have a place to live. Or if youre
trying to stop the government bombing
people in other countries you might enter
a military base and decommission a
fighterjet. Or if a company wants to knock
down some peoples houses to build
another road, or runway, or shopping centre
you might stand in front of the bulldozer
or even chain yourself to it so that you cant
be removed. Youre not asking for anyones
permission. Youre doing it yourself.
94 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Whg bake d|recb acb|on?
It's empowering!
1Lere's notLIng eIse IIRe taRIng LacR controI oI your IIIe and
standIng u Ior wLat you LeIIeve In, In a sImIe Lut owerIuI way.
ôn-vIoIent dIrect actIon (^VA) Is tLe sIngIe most emowerIng
camaIgnIng tooI at your dIsosaI. on't taRe our word Ior It, try It
and see Ior yourseII.
It works!
^VA Is trIed and tested In many countrIes and many camaIgns.
In recent years In tLe IK It's Iayed a vItaI roIe In stoIng tLe
1990s road LuIIdIng rogramme and endIng tLe growIng oI GM
cros, as ]ust two oI many examIes.
Why non-violent?
Ior some eoIe tLat's a tactIcaI decIsIon. ôn-vIoIence Is more
IIReIy to wIn uLIIc symatLy Ior our cause tLan vIoIence. And as
tLe state Is aIways aLIe and reared to use more vIoIence tLan we
can, It's tactIcaIIy unsound to engage tLe state on a IeveI wLere It
wIII aImost certaInIy wIn. Ior otLers It's a LeIIeI tLIng. Many eoIe
LeIIeve tLat II you want to LuIId an ecoIogIcaI, eaceIuI and co-
oeratIve Iuture you do It Lere and now Ly usIng ecoIogIcaI,
eaceIuI and co-oeratIve tooIs. ^VA Is one oI tLose tooIs. You
don't get a non-vIoIent worId tLrougL vIoIent means.
Why direct action?
WLen was tLe Iast tIme you IeIt you reaIIy made a dIIIerence at tLe
LaIIot Lox? So many eoIe are IeeIIng dIsenIrancLIsed, IeeIIng Iet
down Ly our so-caIIed 'democracy'. We
watcLed IaIr taRe us to war. We
watcLed LIm arove a new
generatIon oI nucIear ower statIons
and tLere's notLIng we can do tLrougL
tradItIonaI metLods. Over a mIIIIon oI
us marcL agaInst tLe war, and stIII
Innocent IraqIs dIe. AarentIy RIIIIng
tLem was IegaI . ^VA gIves you tLe
cLance to cLaIIenge and cLange tLat.
95 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Yes, It mIgLt mean LreaRIng tLe Iaw. ut tLe Iaw says war Is IIne.
1Le Iaw says nucIear ower Is IIne, untaxed cLea IIIgLts are IIne,
GM cros are IIne, 1rIdent mIssIIes are IIne. And tLe same Iaw says
eaceIuI rotest Is no Ionger IIne. II you're waItIng Ior a IegaI
soIutIon to tLe worId's roLIems, you Letter Le aLIe to LoId your
LreatL Ior a very, very Iong tIme. o we Lave tLat Iong?
We IIve In a worId tLat assumes we need Ieaders and Iaws to Ree
us In cLecR, tLat we're IncaaLIe oI maRIng Lard decIsIons and
ImIementIng tLem wItLout LeIng toId Low. Irect actIon Is dIrect
democracy. It's one way oI cLaIIengIng tLIs mytL and coIIectIveIy
re-assertIng controI over our destInIes.
What about the consequences?
It's naturaI to Le worrIed aLout tLe consequences oI taRIng actIon.
1Le ower-tLat-Le reIy on It. 1Ley Lave us aImost convInced tLat
It's wrong. 1Ley rovIde otLer avenues Ior our IrustratIon and
desIre to maRe cLange. II enougL oI us wrIte to tLem, sIgn tLat e-
etItIon, or oI course vote at tLe next eIectIon tLey'II see wLat tLey
can do. 1Ley maRe, Lut LreaR manIIesto commItments wItL
ImunIty. 1Lere Las to Le anotLer way. 1LInR oI tLe eoIe tLat
Lave sLaed and are sLaIng our cIvIIIsatIon? I don't Rnow aLout
you, Lut my IIst Is made u aImost entIreIy oI 'crImInaIs'. Aung San
Suu KII, under Louse arrest In urma, MoLandas GandLI - crImInaI
record as Iong as your arm, MartIn IutLer KIng jnr., tLe
SuIIragettes, In and out oI rIson, tLe aIaI Iama In ermanent
exIIe Lecause return to 1ILet wouId mean ImrIsonment, not to
mentIon IrIends LeIng trIed Ior attemtIng to dIsarm 52 LomLers
and save Innocent IIves. eLInd eacL oI tLese 'IIgureLeads' are
Lundreds II not tLousands oI otLers ]ust IIRe you and me. 1Ley aII
LroRe (or are LreaRIng, or wIII LreaR) tLe Iaw Lecause tLey saw
tLat tLe Iaw was un]ust. 1Ley recognIsed LIgLer Iaws oI
conscIence, comassIon and co-oeratIon. Were tLey reaIIy wrong?
WorRIng togetLer, taRIng coIIectIve, eaceIuI Lut dynamIc actIon Is
no Ionger an otIon. It's an ImeratIve. 1Lere's suort on oIIer
-worRsLos to LeI you exIore wLat It IeeIs IIRe to taRe actIon, InIo
on your IegaI rIgLts. 1aRe tLe suort on oIIer and taRe actIon.
96 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
NON-VIOLENT DIRECT ACTION IDEAS
Ideas for Nonviolent
Direct Action
Iere are ]ust a Iew oI tLe
tecLnIques nonvIoIent actIvIsts
Lave used over tLe years to maRe
cLange. It's Ly no means
exLaustIve, and Is In no artIcuIar
order:
Offce occupatons
A cIassIc 'dIsrutIon' actIon. Very
sImIy ut, actIvIsts enter a
reIevant LuIIdIng and occuy some
area oI It. SometImes tLIs Is ]ust tLe
maIn doors or tLe Ioyer, otLer tImes
It wIII InvoIve gettIng IurtLer Into tLe LuIIdIng and taRIng over a
secIIIc oIIIce. ActIvIsts Lave used oIIIce occuatIons as vaIuaLIe
InIormatIon gatLerIng exercIses, taRIng tLe oortunIty to exIore
IIIIng caLInets and comuter IIIes. 1Ley're aIso an IdeaI oortunIty
to sIt down and taIR to staII.
SharehoIder actons
IsuaIIy taRe Iace at a comany's AGM. SLare-ownIng actIvIsts
(you onIy need to own 1 sLare) ]oIn wItL otLer sLareLoIders and
taRe tLe oortunIty to asR tLe Loard awRward questIon, dIsrut
resentatIons Ly senIor staII, Land out 'aIternatIve' annuaI reorts,
and In some cases sLut down tLe AGM aItogetLer. 1LIs Las Leen
done Ly InvadIng tLe stage, settIng oII IIre aIarms, removIng Iugs
Irom tLe IA and AV equIment etc. SImIIar tecLnIques Lave Leen
used at conIerences and trade IaIrs.
BIockades
OIten taRe Iace at deots and cororate oIIIces In order to sto
deIIverIes or staII arrIvIng at worR. 1Ley may InvoIve 'IocR-ons',
equIment tLat actIvIsts can use to IocR tLemseIves togetLer to
maRe It dIIIIcuIt Ior oIIce and securIty to remove tLem. IocRades
Lave aIso taRen Iace at suermarRets, oII deots and mIIItary
97 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Lases. 1Ley can InvoIve anytLIng Irom smaII numLers oI eoIe
wItL reIatIveIy soLIstIcated equIment, or Iarge numLers usIng
tLe weIgLt oI LodIes aIone to LIocR a road, gate or doorway.
VehcIe actons
Come In many Iorms. 1Le most common are actIons agaInst
convoys, sucL as tLose transortIng nucIear materIaI or otLer
mIIItary Lardware and stoIng constructIon veLIcIes on LuIIdIng
sItes. StoIng veLIcIes requIres good InIormatIon (or atIence!)
and Iots oI tLInRIng aLout saIety Issues, Lut maRes a very uLIIc
statement and can cost comanIes money.
ActIons Lave aIso Leen taRen agaInst otLer transort networRs.
IxamIes IncIude actIons agaInst trans carryIng nucIear materIaI
In Germany, and IK actIvIsts stoIng tube trans to revent
deIegates gettIng to an InternatIonaI arms IaIr.
FIghts Lave Leen targeted Ly antI-deortatIon actIvIsts,wLo Loard
Ianes and tLen reIuse to taRe tLeIr seats, reventIng tLe IIIgLt
taRIng oII untII tLey are removed Irom It. Iunways Lave aIso Leen
tLe target oI antI-mIIItary, and antI-avIatIon camaIgners, usIng
LIocRadIng tecLnIques (see aLove). Dgger-dvng Is tLe name
gIven to actIons agaInst constructIon macLInery.
Banner drops
anners Lave Leen
Lung Irom motorway
LrIdges, Ig en,
ower statIon
cooIIng towers and
many, many otLer
Iaces. 1Le more
InaccessILIe tLe
Iace, tLe Ionger tLe
message stays In
Iace. OLvIousIy
some Lanner Langs
requIre secIaIIst
cIImLers and aren't
ossILIe Ior aII mere
mortaIs. OtLer
98 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
tecLnIques Lave aIso Leen used - Ior examIe ro]ectIng a message
onto tLe sIde oI a LuIIdIng at nIgLt. 1Lere Is aIso an audItory
equIvaIent - LIastIng a LuIIdIng wItL sound equIvaIent to tLe
aIrcraIt noIse suIIered Ly resIdent IIvIng near aIrorts, Ior Instance.
Counter-recrutment actons
Iave Leen used agaInst tLe mIIItary and cororate recruItment
events, esecIaIIy on unIversIty camuses. 1Lese Lave IncIuded:
astIng 'canceIIed' sIgns
over osters advertIsIng
tLe event, LooRIng u aII
tLe Iaces and tLen not
turnIng u, attendIng tLe
taIR/staII and IoudIy asRIng
awRward questIons,
settIng u a sooI staIIs or
sooI event In tLe same
LuIIdIng and gIvIng tLe
otLer sIde oI tLe story,
LIocRades and dIe-Ins (see
eIsewLere).
De-ns, st-downs and st-ns
Are aII reIated actIons tLat InvoIve usIng our LodIes to occuy a
sace In rotest. Saces occuIed Lave IncIuded roads, unIversIty
admInIstratIon LuIIdIngs, suermarRets, and stes to government
oIIIces. 1Le dIe-In Is a sIIgLt extensIon to tLe tradItIonaI sIt-In.
ActIvIsts rotestIng agaInst arms tradIng, tLe nucIear Industry or
war Lave swatLed tLemseIves In Landages, IILeraIIy srInRIed IaRe
LIood, and IaIn down and 'dIed' In roads and LuIIdIngs Ior Iong
erIods oI tIme.
thcaI shopIftng
InvoIves removIng unetLIcaI goods Irom tLe sLeIves oI retaIIers and
returnIng tLem to tLeIr rIgLtIuI owners. IerLas tLe Lest examIe
Is tLat oI Iorest actIvIsts wLo Lave taRen IIIegaIIy Iogged troIcaI
Lardwood oII IY suerstore sLeIves and Landed It In to oIIce
statIons, reortIng tLe retaIIers Ior LeIr comIIcIty In tLe IIIegaI
tImLer trade.
99 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Subvertsng
TaRes tLe Iorm oI recIaImIng
advertIsIng sace and usIng It Ior
our own messages. Common
examIes are stIcRers stucR over ads
on tLe Iondon Inderground, or
LIIILoards tLat Lave Lad tLeIr
advertIsIng messages 'enLanced' or
In some cases oLIIterated.
SuLvertIsIng Las Leen taRen to new
LeIgLts wItL tLe uLIIcatIon oI sooI
newsaers, conIerence rograms S
magazInes tLat draw tLe
unsusectIng reader In LeIore
deIIverIng tLe envIronmentaI or
socIaI ]ustIce message.
Postve aIternatves
ô dIscussIon oI ^VA wouId Le
comIete wItLout mentIon oI
tLose eoIe tLat Lave taRen
actIon to create aIternatIves.
SometImes tLIs Las Laened
aIongsIde camaIgns oI taRIng
actIon 'agaInst' sometLIng.
IxamIes IncIude actIvIsts
LandIng out Iree veggIe Lurgers
outsIde MconaIds, settIng u
communIty gardens, creatIng
tLeIr own road crossIngs outsIde
scLooIs, startIng car-ooIs and so
on. OIten occuIed saces Lave
Leen temorarIIy turned Into art
saces or gardens.
8 @ i i h hi h db k!
100 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
NON-VIOLENT DIRECT ACTION PLANNING
how to F|ao ao Aotioo
WItL a IIttIe tLougLt, a good Idea can Le made Into a great actIon.
Assoss your timo aod rosouroos.
1Lere's no oInt IannIng an
event or actIon tLat you don't
Lave tLe money, tIme, eoIe,
or energy Ior. on't Le ut oII
Ly tLIs - even smaII grous
wItL onIy a IIttIe tIme and
casL can maRe an enormous
Imact. It taRes a LIt oI
IannIng and organIsatIon
and some creatIvIty, Lut It can
Le done.
Aoswor a Iow koy quostioos.
1. What s the message you want to get out? e cIear on
tLIs, Lecause tLIs wIII Le tLe Rey Iactor In desIgnIng your
actIon. Kee It sImIe and dIrect.
2. Who do you want to hear that message? Are you aImIng
at a cororatIon or sLoers In tLe street? o you want to
seem reasonaLIe to tLe eoIe wLo meet you, or Is tLe ress
coverage more Imortant? Are you tryIng to get a Loto In
tLe ress? Your message and metLod may weII Le dIIIerent
deendIng on tLe cLoIces you maRe Lere. Is IeaIIetIng tLe
emIoyee oI your IocaI Isso IrancLIse tLe Lest way to cLange
Isso oIIcy, or do you want to go straIgLt to tLe to Ly
LuyIng a sLare and attendIng tLe comany's AnnuaI GeneraI
MeetIng?
3. s ths a one-off acton, or part of an ongong
campagn? 1Le IIrst needs to Le Iocused and Lave a very
cIear message aImed at a very cIear audIence. 1Le second
needs to Le strategIc - you Lave more tIme to get your
101 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
message across. II you're IannIng a serIes oI actIons on tLe
same camaIgn, you can cLange your audIence eacL tIme.
Ior examIe, as art oI your camaIgn strategy, you mIgLt
aIm your IIrst actIon at tLe uLIIc to raIse awareness oI tLe
Issue, a second at your MI as a Iorm oI IoLLyIng, and a tLIrd
dIrect to tLe oIIendIng comany or centraI government.
4. When s the best tme to do ths acton? Is It a LreaRIng
news story? Is tLere a reIevant IocaI meetIng or event? Can
you coIncIde It wItL medIa deadIInes or sIow-news days? Is
tLere any oInt doIng an actIon at an oIIIce durIng tLe
weeRend?
5. How many peopIe can you reaIstcaIIy expect to turn
out?
6. How ncIusve s ths acton? Is everyone In your grou
comIortaLIe wItL tLe Idea? II not, wLat are you doIng to
maRe tLose eoIe IeeI IIRe tLey stIII Lave an Imortant roIe
to Iay In tLe camaIgn and tLe grou? Are you camaIgnIng
In otLer ways too? Irect actIons S medIa stunts are ]ust one
way oI wInnIng camaIgns.
Mako your aotion matoh your mossaqo.
ActIons are a LIt IIRe meetIngs - tLey can Le weIcomIng and
attractIve or tLey can seem InsuIar and aIooI (even LostIIe). e
aware not onIy oI wLat your message Is, Lut Low you are conveyIng
It. It's a Iact tLat eoIe rememLer more oI 'Low' you say
sometLIng tLan tLe actuaI words you use. 1Le same aIIes to
actIons. StIcR to a Iew cIear oInts on your Lanners, Iacards and
ress reIeases!
MaRe sure tLe words you're usIng matcL tLe tone oI your actIon.
Froparinq
Iere's wLat we tLInR you ougLt to taRe Into account. You couId
aoInt an overaII actIon co-ordInator to act as a oInt oI contact
and to maRe sure It aII Laens, and tLen use tLIs IIst to dIvIde u
tasRs.
Props and banners - wLat do you need, wLere wIII you get
tLe materIaIs S wLen wIII you maRe tLem?
The Iaw - Rnow wLere you stand wItL tLe oIIce or
102 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
autLorItIes II tLey are caIIed.
Research - get some Landy Iacts and IIgures on your actIon,
to Le used In news reIeases, IeaIIets and LrIeIIngs.
eafIet - you'II roLaLIy need to IInd or wrIte one. WLo are
you aImIng It at - you mIgLt wrIte dIIIerent text Ior a
memLer oI tLe uLIIc tLan you wouId Ior an emIoyee oI tLe
comany you're targetIng. Go LacR to your message!
Meda - You can Increase tLe Imact oI your actIon Ly usIng
tLe medIa. Send news reIeases, maRe sure tLere's a good
Loto oortunIty, mayLe aoInt a medIa soReserson.
WItL tLe rIgLt vIsuaI Image you can aImost guarantee a
Loto In your IocaI newsaer. e creatIve!
PubIcty - maRe sure eoIe wLo mIgLt Le Interested Rnow
aLout tLe actIon, and wLen and wLere to meet.
Brefng - ensure tLat eoIe on tLe actIon Rnow wLat It's
aLout - you couId arrange a seaRer meetIng tLe weeR
LeIore, send a LrIeIIng Ly emaII, or meet In tLe uL
LeIoreLand to taIR or read tLrougL It.
Aotion qroundru|os
II you're organIsIng an actIon, groundruIes can ensure tLat It IuIIIIs
your vIsIon oI an eIIectIve actIon. II you're artIcIatIng,
groundruIes, or tLe IacR oI tLem, can LeI you cLoose wLIcL
actIons you IeeI comIortaLIe taRIng art In.
0obrioIinq
IevIew tLe actIon aIterwards, to Iearn Irom wLat went weII and
wLat couId Lave Leen Imroved. AIy your IearnIng to your next
actIon! o tLIs as soon as ossILIe, IdeaIIy on tLe same day.
WLat Laened to eacL erson? Iow dId eoIe IeeI durIng tLe
actIon? Was everyone suorted Ly tLe grou? Iow dId tLe
grou Interact?
WLat was acLIeved? WLat couId Le Imroved?
103 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
oes tLe grou want to stay togetLer Ior IurtLer actIons?
o eoIe need any contInuIng suort, Ior examIe Lecause
tLey Lave a court case as a resuIt oI tLe actIon?
o|obrato what you'vo [ust dono|
1aRe tLe tIme to socIaIIse and congratuIate yourseIves. ActIons
need to Le en]oyaLIe II we're to Ree doIng tLem.
0o|oqation 8 aotion p|anninq
Any successIuI actIon reIIes on a grou oI eoIe uIIIng togetLer
to maRe It Laen. II tLe worR IaIIs on a Iew otLers can IeeI
dIsemowered and tLe organIsers can IeeI unsuorted.
emocratIc decIsIon maRIng Is essentIaI Ior good deIegatIon.
IeoIe wIII Le mucL more IIReIy to taRe on roIes II tLey've Lad a
Land In tLe decIsIon-maRIng oI tLe grou. It's mucL easIer to asR
someone to worR on a ro]ect II It was artIy tLeIr Idea.
WItL tLe Lest wIII In tLe worId, tLe same Iew eoIe can't taRe on
aII tLe worR oI an actIve grou and stay eIIectIve, even II tLey IIRe
LeIng IndIsensaLIe. Incourage new memLers to taRe on
resonsILIIIty - sLare your sRIIIs and taIents, even II at IIrst It seems
IIRe It wouId Le quIcRer to do It yourseII. It wIII ay oII In tLe Ionger
term.
104 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
NON-VIOLENT DIRECT ACTION AFFINITY GROUPS
Affinity groups
1Lese are smaII grous oI eoIe wLo reare Ior
and taRe actIon togetLer. AIIInIty grous are
organIsed In a non-LIerarcLIcaI and seII-suIIIcIent way and can
eItLer act on tLeIr own or as an autonomous grou wItLIn Iarger
rotests. WorRIng In an aIIInIty grou Is your Lest rotectIon In tLe
course oI tLe actIon.
IoIes and tasRs can Le sIIt u Letween memLers, and you can
suort eacL otLer emotIonaIIy and In case oI arrest or In]ury. A
good sIze Is 6-12 eoIe. It's useIuI to Iorm suL grous oI 3-4
eoIe wLo act as LuddIes.
WItLIn tLe grou sLare your Loes, Iears, exerIences, strengtLs
and weaRnesses. Agree on tLe Iorm oI tLe actIon In advance (Low
wIIIIng to rIsR arrest, tLe IImIts oI your InvoIvement, Low non-
vIoIent, Low sIRy etc.)
StIcR togetLer - worR as a team. Agree on a sLort name Ior your
grou wLIcL can easIIy Le sLouted and recognIsed, In case your
grou Is sIIt u and you get Iost.
Working out a basic agreement
IacL aIIInIty grou needs an agreement Ior Low tLe grou
oerates, Low decIsIons are made, wLat It does and Low It wIII
react In certaIn sItuatIons. Iveryone needs to Le wIIIIng and aLIe to
Ree to tLIs agreement, even In stressIuI sItuatIons. It Iorms tLe
LasIs Ior LeIng aLIe to reIy on eacL otLer.
Is tLIs an oen or cIosed grou (I.e. can new eoIe ]oIn tLe
grou?) Iow do we maRe decIsIons In tLe grou? WLat do you
exect Irom tLe aIIInIty grou?
Iow do we react II... (e.g. tLe oIIce Intervene, someone gets
vIoIent)? Iow do we react towards eoIe we encounter durIng
actIons (Lystanders, tLe oIIce, comany dIrectors)?
Iow oortunIstIc Is tLe grou (e.g. wLat do we do II tLe Ian
was to LoId u Lanners outsIde some oIIIce, Lut tLen tLere Is tLe
NON-VIOLENT DIRECT ACTION AFFINITY GROUPS
105 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
cLance to actuaIIy get InsIde tLe LuIIdIng? Iow wouId tLat aIIect
tLe grou?) WLat Laens II someone reaIIy IeeIs tLe need to
Ieave?
A name Ior tLe grou (Ior communIcatIng on tLe actIon - e.g.
sLoutIng It to get everyone's attentIon)
Affinity groups on mass actions
AIIInIty grous can come togetLer Ior mass actIons and co-ordInate
tLeIr actIvItIes vIa a soRescouncII. IacL grou sends a
reresentatIve (oIten caIIed a soRe) to tLe soRescouncII meetIng,
wLere Issues sucL as tactIcs, overarcLIng actIon guIdeIInes and
IogIstIcs are dIscussed. WLat tLe soRe Is emowered to do Is u to
tLeIr aIIInIty grou. SoRes may need to consuIt wItL tLeIr grou
LeIore dIscussIng or agreeIng on certaIn suL]ects. 1Le
soRescouncII does not taRe away tLe autonomy oI eacL IndIvIduaI
grou - consensus on eacL roosaI Las to Le acLIeved not onIy
wItLIn eacL grou Lut aIso among aII grous togetLer. urIng an
actIon a soRescouncII can Le convened to dIscuss ImmedIate
Issues tLat arIse out oI unexected sItuatIons.
AIIInIty grous can taRe on certaIn roIes durIng a mass actIon, Ior
examIe, tLere can Le a IegaI suort grou, rovIng street medIc
grous, samLa Lands and grous rovIdIng Iood.
AIIInIty grous can aIso come togetLer to Iorm cIusters tLat worR
on secIIIc arts oI an actIon. Ior examIe one cIuster couId
occuy tLe oIIIce LuIIdIngs wLIIe anotLer cIuster goes oII to
LIocRade macLInery. In Iarge LIocRades cIusters can aIso taRe on
an area.
106 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
NON-VIOLENT DIRECT ACTION BUDDIES
The Buddy
System
Buddies:
know if their buddy has any special (e.g. medical) needs
keep checking that their buddy is still with them
make sure that their buddy is physically ok and find
food/drink/warm clothing/medical attention if they aren't
leave with their buddy if they want to go, for any reason
keep an eye on their buddies emotional state and try to calm
them down/comfort them when necessary
tell legal support if their buddy gets arrested.
call for observers/first aiders if their buddy is injured.
Buddies are 2 or 3 people who stick
together and look after each other
throughout an action. Being a buddy
means you never leave your
partner(s) - ensuring no one gets
forgotten.
NON-VIOLENT DIRECT ACTION ROLES
107 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Roles During Actions
%any tasks and roIes need to be taken on durng an acton.
SIt down wItL your aIIInIty grou and draw u a IIst oI aII tLe tasRs
and roIes tLat need coverIng and decIde wLo wIII do wLat. It's vItaI
tLat eoIe Lave a cIear understandIng oI wLat tLeIr roIe InvoIves.
1Ley aIso need to stIcR to tLeIr roIe tLrougLout tLe actIon, and not
]ust wander oII In searcL oI a cu oI tea. IoIes wIII vary Irom actIon
to actIon, and sometImes eoIe taRe on more tLan one roIe.
SometImes eoIe can taRe on more tLan one roIe, e.g. a IegaI
oLserver mIgLt aIso Le a IIrst-aIder, or oIIce IIaIson, or even medIa
contact.
Transport:
SeII-exIanatory, reaIIy - many actIons need veLIcIes, and veLIcIes
need drIvers and ma-readers. In most cases drIvers wIII need to
avoId arrest, so tLey can drIve eoIe Lome as weII.
Police Station Support:
Stays somewLere saIe and away Irom tLe actIon, next to a Lone.
1Ley sLouId Lave aII ertInent InIormatIon aLout eacL memLer oI
tLe grou sucL as tLeIr name, II tLey want someone contactIng II
tLey're arrested, and II so wLo, etc. 1Ley taRe caIIs Irom tLe oIIce
statIon and Irom IegaI oLservers, and co-ordInate ost-arrest
suort, wLIcL mIgLt InvoIve tracRIng down anyone wLo was
arrested, ensurIng tLat a soIIcItor Rnows tLey're In custody, and
IcRIng eoIe u Irom oIIce statIons on tLeIr reIease. 1Ley sLouId
Lave access to transort to reacL aII tLe oIIce statIons In tLe area,
and Rnow Low to get to tLem. 1Ley mIgLt taRe snacRs, cIgarettes,
water - wLatever eoIe wIII want wLen tLey are reIeased.
First Aider / Street Medic:
1Le more eoIe wLo Rnow medIcaI care oI any RInd tLe Letter, Lut
In many tyes oI actIon It Is wIse to Lave at Ieast one erson wLo
Rnows LasIc IIrst aId. Ior a Iarge moLIIIsatIon, street medIcs sLouId
aIso Rnow Low to deaI wItL tLe eIIects oI CS gas.
108 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Legal Observer:
Stays on tLe IrInges oI tLe actIon and Is resonsILIe Ior resondIng
to caIIs Irom tLose taRIng art In tLe actIon II tLe oIIce are LeIng
unreasonaLIe or are maRIng arrests. 1Ley sLouId taRe detaIIed
notes oI InteractIons wItL oIIce IncIudIng names oI anyone
arrested, oIIce Ladge numLers, wLat tooR Iace and exactIy wLen.
1Ley can aIso LeI oIIce statIon suort eoIe Ly IIndIng out
wLIcL oIIce statIon arrested actIvIsts are LeIng taRen to, and wLat
cLarge tLey've Leen arrested on. A camera or vIdeo recorder can
Le LeIIuI. eIng a IegaI oLserver Is no guarantee oI ImmunIty Irom
arrest.
Transport
drivers with
cars/buses
Legal Support
(at the end of a
phone) keeps track
of arrests, works
with solicitors
Legal Observers
take notes on police
conduct, arrests,
violations of activists'
rights
Actlon Support
provides direct
personal support
for action
participants (food,
water etc)
Qulck Declslon Facllltator
helps group to make decisions quickly
Medla Llalson
empowered to talk to
the media and act as
a spokesperson
Pollce Llalson
facilitates
communication
between police and
affinity group
Trafflc Wardens
responsible for the
safety of people from
cars and other vehicles
Flrst Alders
deal with any
medical or health
issues
Roles
on Actlons
109 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Police Liaison:
Conveys InIormatIon and demands Letween tLe oIIce and tLe
grou. IdeaIIy your oIIce IIason wIII Le artIcuIate, caIm, and aLIe
to communIcate dIIomatIcaIIy wItL tLe oIIce. 1Ley can try to de-
escaIate tLe sItuatIon as mucL as ossILIe to avoId oIIce over-
reactIon. It's Imortant tLat tLe grou gIve tLe oIIce IIaIson a
cIear mandate. Are tLey emowered to taRe decIsIons Ior tLe
grou? In most cases tLey are not tLe grou's decIsIon maRer, and
It LeIs to communIcate tLIs cIearIy to tLe oIIce earIy on. 1Ley can
IacIIItate tLe decIsIon maRIng rocess tLougL (and sIow down tLe
oIIce resonse) Ly actIng as a go-Letween and consuItIng aII
actIvIsts, tLen reortIng LacR tLe decIsIon to tLe oIIce. IIRe
oLservers, tLey aren't Immune Irom arrest!
Media Liaison / Spokesperson:
IeIs IacIIItate tLe InteractIons Letween tLe grou and tLe medIa.
1Ley reare news reIeases and maRe caIIs to get tLe desIred
medIa on sIte at tLe tIme oI tLe actIon. 1Ley sLouId Rnow tLe Issues
and Le aLIe to seaR cIearIy and artIcuIateIy to reorters and 1V
cameras. MedIa worR Is oIten sIIt Into two dIstInct roIes -
LacRground medIa worR (wrItIng and sendIng news reIeases) and
tLe soReserson on sIte.
Action support:
IrovIdes dIrect ersonaI suort Ior arrestaLIe eoIe. 1LIs erson
may rIsR arrest, Lut trIes to avoId It. eendIng on tLe nature oI
tLe actIon tLIs means LrIngIng water and Iood suIIes to actIon
artIcIants and ReeIng everyone LIgL-sIrIted and InIormed.
ActIvIsts may Le scattered over a wIde area, and actIon suort Is
vItaI In ReeIng tLem In toucL wItL tLe overaII rogress oI tLe
actIon. 1Ley mIgLt aIso Le needed to carry messages and IacIIItate
grou decIsIon maRIng. Ior actIons InvoIvIng IocR-ons It Is Lest to
Lave at Ieast one suort Ior every two eoIe rIsRIng arrest.
Action Participants:
uIte sImIy tLe eoIe carryIng out tLe actuaI actIon (cIImLIng,
IocRIng on, sIttIng down etc). SLouId Le tecLnIcaIIy reared Ior
everytLIng tLey Ian to do, and weII rested, Ied and caIm. Iast on
tLIs IIst Ior good reason - tLey are onIy aLIe to Iay at LeIng 'dIrect
actIon Leroes' tLanRs to aII tLe suort team's Lard worR.
110 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
WIcn you'rc working wiII oIIcrs, you nccd Io IIink
aIouI communcaton. Iow wiII you sIay in
IoucI? Can you assumc IIaI in Iargc crowd
or in IIc dark oI IIc nigII you'II Ic aIIc Io
sIay wiIIing sigII and sound oI cacI oIIcr?
II's worII IIinking IIrougI and agrccing a
Icw sIraIcgics in advancc.
MoIiIc Ioncs can Ic risky. You may noI
Icar IIcm ring and you may noI Iavc rcccIion.You
couId usc wIisIIcs, IuI Iow wiII you disIinguisI your
wIisIIcs Irom IIosc oI IIc rcsI oI IIc crowd? You couId
Iavc a visuaI signaI Io rcgrou and IaIk - a Iand signaI,
or a disIincIivc IIag.
II's dcIiniIcIy worII Iaving an agrccd mccIing Iacc
IIaI your wIoIc grou can IaII Iack Io iI you gcI sIiI
u or iI IIc roIcsI Iccomcs morc 'IuII on' IIan you'rc
comIorIaIIc wiII. II you agrcc sucI a Iacc cvcryonc
nccds Io know Iow Io Iind iI, and iI nccds Io Ic a sacc
IIaI wiII sIay saIc IIrougIouI IIc day.
Knowing where you are
Knowing your way round IIc siIc oI any acIion can IcI
you sIay onc sIc aIcad oI IIc oIicc, Iind sccurc
Iaccs Io rcsI and rccovcr, or sIay moIiIc and aIIow you
Io Iakc cIIccIivc acIion. II's worII gcIIing IoId oI mas
and sIrccI Ians oI IIc arca and making surc cvcryonc
in your grou Ias aI IcasI a Iasic undcrsIanding oI IIc
gcograIy.
Quick Decision-making on actions
AcIions arc IasI moving siIuaIions and rarcIy go as
Ianncd. Your aIIiniIy grou wiII Iavc Io makc quick
dccisions on Iow Io rcacI Io cIanging siIuaIions.
1aking dccisions Iy conscnsus cnsurcs IIaI cvcryonc is
IcIind IIc acIion. Conscnsus docsn'I mcan IIaI cvcryIody aIways
agrccs, IuI IIaI cvcryIody suorIs IIc dccision.
Sincc conscnsus nccds cvcryonc Io agrcc Io aIidc Iy IIc roccss,
and Io Ic IamiIiar wiII iI, you nccd Io Ic IoncsI wiII yourscIvcs.
C
o
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111 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
SometImes It mIgLt Le Letter to LIte tLe LuIIet and aoInt
someone to taRe decIsIons In a tIgLt corner (you can, oI course,
agree tLIs In advance Ly consensus!).
eIore tLe actIon worR out wLat eoIe are reared to do and
wLat IImIts tLey Lave (eg not wIIIIng to rIsR arrest). WLen Iaced
wItL sucL a sItuatIon In reaIIty you've got some Idea oI wLat tLe
grou mIgLt want to do. It's Lest to Lave a Iew ractIce runs In
your grou. GIve yourseIves 2mIn to come to a decIsIon on
scenarIos (eg. "You're taRIng art In a marcL. 1Le oIIce Lave gIven
you 2 mInutes to get out oI tLe road, or tLey'II arrest you aII. WLat
do you do?")
Outline of quick consensus:
1)AoInt a IacIIItator In advance!
2)1Le IacIIItator LrIeIIy states tLe
sItuatIon to maRe sure everyone Is
cIear:
" We've Leen gIven 2 mInutes to move
or we'II aII Le arrested"
3)1Le IacIIItator asRs Ior roosaIs:
"Any roosaIs?". In some cases tLere
may Le tIme Ior dIscussIon, Lut In
otLers tLere won't Le. It's u to tLe
IacIIItator to assess tLe tIme and act
arorIateIy.
4) Someone maRes a roosaI
"YeaL, I roose we IInR arms and
sIt down".
In some cases you mIgLt Lave tIme to maRe IrIendIy amendments
to tLe roosaI.
5) IacIIItator restates tLe roosaI, Ior cIarIty, and tLen tests Ior
consensus:
"OK, It's roosed tLat we sIt In tLe road and IInR arms. Any
IocRs?" - "ô"
"Any Stand asIdes?" - "YeaL, I'II Iose my ]oL"
Facilitator summarises
the situation and
clarifies the decision
that needs to be made
Proposal(s)
"No?
"Any Blocks?
"Agreement?
"Any Stand
Asides?
"Yes
Counter
proposal
112 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
A Block kills a proposal - it's a total veto.
Iveryone Las tLe rIgLt to LIocR. In quIcR consensus eoIe
normaIIy LIocR Ior 2 reasons - 1) a roosaI wIII sIIt tLe grou or
2) tLe grou Is IaIIIng to maRe a decIsIon. II a roosaI Is LIocRed,
you need a new one! Some grous InsIst tLat In quIcR consensus
you must Lave a counter roosaI LeIore you can LIocR.
A stand aside is agreeing to disagree.
It aIIows tLe roosaI to go aLead In tLe grou's name, Lut tLose
tLat cLoose to stand asIde taRe no art In tLat actIon.
A friendly amendment enhances a proposal.
It's not a new Idea, Lut a way oI maRIng an exIstIng one more
eIIectIve.
Groundrules
ActIve agreement - conscIousIy artIcIatIng In tLe decIsIon,
and sLowIng agreement (usIng LandsIgnaIs or wLatever) - II
you're not gettIng actIve agreement, you need to asR "Is
tLere reaIIy any energy Ior tLIs Idea?"
One voIce at a tIme - avoIds dIscussIon descendIng Into
cLaos. IandsIgnaIs can LeI structure tLIs
IandsIgnaIs. tLere are a numLer oI Land gestures tLat can
seed u tLe rocess oI decIsIon maRIng. Ior tLem to Le
eIIectIve, everyone In tLe grou must Le IIuent wItL tLem, so
agree tLem In advance! You mIgLt want to mInImIse tLe
numLer oI LandsIgnaIs you use - do you Lave tIme Ior
'1ecLnIcaI IoInts' or 'Irocess IoInts' or any oI tLe many
otLer LandsIgnaIs In common use In actIvIst cIrcIes? 1Le
essentIaI Iew seem to Le.
1 IInger raIsed - "I'd IIRe to seaR"
2 IIngers raIsed - "I've got sometLIng ImmedIateIy reIevant to
say"
Iands wavIng wItL IIngers uwards (someItmes caIIed 'sIIent
aIause' or 'twInRIIng') -"I suort tLe Idea currentIy LeIng
dIscussed", "I agree"
IIst - "I LIocR tLIs roosaI"
113 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Personal Safety on Actions
Delia says:
Always empty your
bags and pockets
before you leave.
Only take what's
really necessary.
A hat or hoody and
sunglasses protect not only
from the sun but also from
intrusive intelligence gathering
by the police.
Several thin layers, long
trousers plus raingear. You
can always take them off if it's
too hot or if contaminated with
CS gas. Thin long sleeved
shirts protect against sunburn.
Remove jewellery,
tie up hair and cut
nails - helps to avoid
getting hurt. Hair can
get tangled up and
offers a nice handhold
for police.
Supplies - plenty of
water and food; bust
cards (telling you your
rights on arrest and
solicitors number);
change for phone, bus or
taxi fare; tampons; toilet
roll; midge repellent.
A watch synchronised
with those of your mates.
Sturdy boots to
protect your feet (even
on a hot day!)
Pockets with zips
and rucksack for
putting essentials into.
Do not take:
Offensive weapons (anything pointy or
heavy eg penknives/ screwdrivers); illegal
drugs; alcohol (impairs your judgement), credit
cards, ID (unless you're from a foreign country
or driving a car), address books/diaries the
cops would love to have your mates' phone
numbers. Mobile phones: can be useful but get
a clean simcard (the little chip where all the
info is stored). briefing sheets, maps etc. If
youre arrested the police will search you and
can use anything they find as evidence against
you or other activists.
114 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Medical lssues
On mass actions TEAR GAS may Ic uscd Iy IIc oIicc Io makc
coIc anic and Io discrsc crowds. ôsI imorIanIIy - SIay caIm!
Wcar wcII-IiIIing swimming goggIcs wiII sIaIIcr rooI Icnscs Io
roIccI your cycs. IrcscriIion swimming goggIcs arc avaiIaIIc.
Carry vincgar/ Icmon juicc soakcd Iandanas in scaIaIIc IasIic
Iags - cIIccIivc Ior sIorI criods againsI IrcaIIing CS gas.
âkc u, sunscrccn or midgc rccIIcnI nccds Io Ic waIcr or
aIcoIoI Iascd raIIcr IIan oiI Iascd. Tcar gas is soIuIIc in IaI so
crcams makc iI worsc and may causc Iurns.
Bring sarc conIacI Icnscs / gIasscs. II cxoscd Io CS gas or ccr
sray gcI conIacI Icnscs ouI quickIy as IIc gas can gcI Iracd
IcIind IIc Icnscs and Iurn your cycs.
GcI rid oI any conIaminaIcd cIoIIcs and IIusI ouI cycs wiII coId
waIcr. TIc Iurning wiII suIsidc cvcnIuaIIy.
ALWAYS carry water and
food Ior yourscII. rink IoIs
oI waIcr Io avoid gcIIing
dcIydraIcd. Carry waIcr in
cycIing Iyc waIcr IoIIIcs (IIc
oncs IIaI arc squcczy wiII o
u Ios) as IIcsc can Ic uscd
Ior cyc IIusIcs Io IrcaI CS gas.
LaI rcguIarIy Io avoid your
IIood sugar gcIIing Iow, wIicI
makcs you disoricnIaIcd and a
dangcr Io yourscII and oIIcrs.
Takc cmcrgcncy sugar raIions
cg.cIocoIaIc, IIa jacks.
TELL your mates if you have
any medical issues (cg
asIIma, ciIcsy, diaIcIcs,
rcgnancy, IcarI roIIcms cIc.)
Carry any cmcrgcncy
mcdicaIion you migII nccd, cg
insuIin, inIaIcr, cvcn iI you Iavc
noI Iad a roIIcm Ior a Iong
Iimc. AIso Iakc your rcscriIion
(oIIcrwisc IIc cos migII Iakc iI
oII you). Wcar a smaII wrisIIand
wiII mcdicaI issucs wriIIcn on iI
Io makcs iI casicr Ior mcdics Io
IrcaI you.
Make sure you
have a first aid
kit and someone
with first aid skills
in your group
UK Action Medics
provide first aid training
for actions
www.actionmedics.org.uk
NON-VIOLENT DIRECT ACTION BLOCKADING TECHNIQUES
115 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Bas|c B|ockad|ng
Techn|gues
1Le aIm oI aII tLe tecLnIques mentIoned LeIow Is to Increase tLe
IengtL oI tIme tLat you can remaIn at tLe sIte oI an actIon and
tLereIore LoeIuIIy Increase tLe eIIectIveness oI your rotest,
wLetLer you are LIocRIng tLe entrance to a ower statIon, stoIng
oII tanRers or reventIng trees LeIng cut down.
Us|ng gour bodg
II you Lave notLIng eIse to Land tLen tLe Lest tLIng you Lave Is
your own Lody weIgLt. SIttIng or IyIng down maRes It mucL more
dIIIIcuIt Ior securIty guards or oIIce to usL or move you away
Irom tLe Iace wLere you want to Le. You can Increase tLIs
dIIIIcuIty Ly assIveIy resIstIng (see LeIow).
Co-oeratIng wItL otLers can IurtLer Increase your eIIectIveness:
L|nk|ng arms
SIt cIose togetLer and IInR arms wItL your neIgLLours. 1Le more oI
you tLat can IInR arms tLe Letter. IIve or more eoIe can LIocR a
sIngIe carrIageway oI a road. More tLan a dozen and you can LIocR
LotL carrIageways! IInR arms at tLe eILow and LrIng your Lands In
Iront oI you. 1aRe a tIgLt LoId oI your own wrIsts or eILows. You are
now a LIt Larder to move - tLe oIIce wIII need to LreaR your grI
LeIore tLey can IcR you u and carry you away. II you're IInRed
togetLer In a IIne, tLe eoIe at tLe end are more vuIneraLIe, so
you mIgLt want to consIder sIttIng In a cIrcIe.
116 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
L|nk|ng arms and |egs |n a c|rc|e
IIve or more eoIe can Iorm a cIrcIe tLen IInR arms as aLove. II
everyone's IacIng Inwards, tLe cIrcIe can Le made more
ImregnaLIe Ly ]umLIIng u your Iegs as weII. II your IacIng
Inwards you won't Le aLIe to see wLat's LaenIng LeLInd you.
WorR togetLer wItL your grou and act as eacL otLer's eyes and
ears.
Pass|ve res|sbance
IassIve resIstance Is an age oId rotest tecLnIque used to sIow
down your removaI Irom a rotest once you Lave Leen arrested. 1o
some eoIe It's an IdeoIogIcaI statement aLout not co-oeratIng
wItL tLe autLorItIes.
IssentIaIIy you sImIy reIax your muscIes so tLat you go IIm. est
to do tLIs wLen you're aIready sIttIng or IyIng, tLougL you can
assIveIy resIst Irom standIng II you're wIIIIng to taRe a IaII! y
totaIIy reIaxIng you maRe It mucL more dIIIIcuIt Ior tLe oIIce to
get a good grI oI you and to carry you. Instead oI LeIng waIRed
away Ly one oIIIcer, you wIII now Lave to Le carrIed wLIcL wIII taRe
severaI oIIIcers. eendIng on Low many oIIce are at tLe actIon
tLIs wIII sIow down tLe removaI oI you and your grou consIderaLIy
and tLey may even gIve u wLen tLey get tIred, or II Its too Iar to
tLe oIIce van. IeIaxed muscIes aIso Lurt Iess wLen tLey get
Langed and Lumed.
e aware oI tLe dIIIerence Letween passveIy and actveIy
resstng arrest. II you IIaII your arms and try to wrIggIe away or
try to reIease tLeIr grI on you, you may Iace a cLarge oI
'oLstructIng a oIIce oIIIcer In tLe executIon oI tLeIr duty'.
Remember, t's aIways your choce, so II It gets uncomIortaLIe
wLen tLey start to carry or drag you, you can get u and waIR at
any tIme. Wear oId sLoes and cIotLIng tLat won't rIde u wLen you
are LeIng carrIed. A rucRsacR can LeI rotect your LacR. Some
eoIe advIse tLat you LreaR tLe ruIe aLout totaI reIaxatIon, and
Ree your cLIn tucRed tIgLtIy Iorward to sto your Lead dangIIng
and ossILIy LeIng damaged.
117 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
A word on commun|cab|on
It's easy to get carrIed away and start sLoutIng at oIIce to Iet your
comadres go, esecIaIIy wLen IrIends are under ressure and
ossILIy In aIn. IememLer tLat you need to Le aLIe to
communIcate wItL eacL otLer. MayLe tLe erson LeIng uIIed out
oI your IIne or cIrcIe doesn't want you to Lang on to tLeIr Ieg and
Iay tug oI war wItL tLe oIIce, usIng tLem as tLe roe. You need to
Le aLIe to Lear tLem and resond II tLey asR Ior suort, or asR
you to Iet go. Kee communIcatIon caIm and cIear and taIR tLrougL
IIReIy scenarIos and ersonaI IImIts In advance, II ossILIe.
The boo|s of bhe brade
(Borrowing heavily from 'Road Raging': www.eco-action.org/rr/ch12.html)
Banners
1Le most LasIc LIocRadIng ro Is a Lanner - tLere's usuaIIy one
around somewLere. Wra your cIrcIe u tIgLt In your Lanner to
maRe It Larder Ior oIIce and securIty to LreaR you aart. II tLe
Lanners made oI a tougL materIaI so mucL tLe Letter. II you've
tLougLt In advance to stItcL In a Iew Ioos oI nyIon weLLIng (oId
seatLeIt or rucRsacR stras) tLrougL wLIcL you can stIcR Lads and
Ieet aII weII and good......
Seabbe|b |ock-ons
1Lese are eIIectIve, Iow tecL and cLea.
1Ley worR Ly you wraIng your arms
around sometLIng e.g. a tree or a veLIcIe
axIe, and tLen uttIng your wrIsts tLrougL
Ioos sewn Into your coat IInIng, under your
armIts - rIgLt wrIst to IeIt armIt and vIce
versa. AIternatIveIy you can worR wItL
otLers and Iorm IInes or cIrcIes Ly IacIng
your arms round eacL otLer and tLrougL
eacL otLers Ioos. Coat Ioo IocR-ons are
InconsIcuous and mean you are aIways ready Ior actIon! Sew
118 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
aLout a metre oI strong, tougL materIaI - oId seat LeIts (avaIIaLIe
Irom scrayards) or cIImLIng tae - Into your coat LorIzontaIIy
across tLe sLouIder LIades u to tLe armLoIes. 1Len douLIe LacR
tLe excess and sew tLe ends very IIrmIy Into Iace to Iorm Ioos.
1Le LIgger tLe Ioos, tLe easIer tLey are to IInd In a anIcRy
sItuatIon. 1Le smaIIer tLey are, tLe Larder It Is Ior tLem to uII
your Lands out (aItLougL you can twIst tLe Ioos round and round
so tLey tIgLten around your wrIsts). IractIce wItL tLem, esecIaIIy
II IannIng to worR wItL otLers.
1Le tae goes around your sLouIder LIades dIrectIng tLe ressure
around your LacR ratLer tLan on tLe coat. 1Le Ioos are very
dIIIIcuIt to get to, LeIng under your garments and under your
armIts. 1Ley may rI or cut your coat to get to tLem, so use an oId
coat. You can desIgn tLem to Le worn as a 'waIstcoat' wItLout
stItcLIng tLem Into a coat. II you're LavIng to go tLrougL aIrort
styIe securIty, and can't get any metaI Items In, seatLeIt IocR-ons
are a Iot Letter tLan notLIng!
Handcuffs
IandcuIIs are good Ior carryIng In your ocRet unoLtrusIveIy and
Ior IocRIng on underneatL macLInery, to gates etc, Lut are easy to
cut oII - most LandcuIIs are retty IIImsy. Ioos oI strong cord or
tae can oIten Le ]ust as eIIectIve and are cLeaer. ecent
LandcuIIs are dIIIIcuIt to IInd. Army surIus or "sex sLos"
sometImes seII weaR ones. Most LandcuIIs can Le undone wItL a
standard Rey tye, wLIcL securIty, oIIce and LaIIIIIs oIten carry.
1Ley aIso Lave a 'seII reIease' catcL tLat you need to saw or sna
oII LeIore you use tLem.
Super g|ue
AL, yes. WLo'd Lave tLougLt tLat a IIttIe LottIe oI tLe stuII can Le
so eIIectIve. You can suergIue your Lands to doors, wIndows or
any otLer surIace around. Or you couId gIue your Lands togetLer,
around an oLstacIe oI course. MaRe staII, securIty guards and
oIIce aware tLat you're gIued on and tLat uIIIng wouId serIousIy
Lurt you. 1Le onIy way to get you oII Is a LowI oI soay water, some
acetone and a Iot oI atIence...
119 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Pad|ocks
IadIocRs and cLaIns can Le ut on gates cause conIusIon and may
LoId u worR, wLIIe tLey run around IooRIng Ior tLe Reys and tLen
LoIt croers. SuergIue or IIquId metaI In tLeIr adIocRs means
tLat tLey Lave to cut oII tLeIr own IocRs and Ree LuyIng new ones.
D-Locks
IcycIe -IocRs are a cIassIc dIrect actIon tooI. 1Ley IIt neatIy
around Ieces oI macLInery, gates and your necR. It Is wortL
worRIng In aIrs wLen tryIng to IocR on. 1Le erson IocRIng on
carrIes tLe I sLaed sectIon, and Ioos It around LotL a suItaLIe
IIxed Iece oI macLIne/gate and tLeIr necR. 1Len tLeIr "Luddy",
carryIng IocR LarreI and Rey, secures tLe IocR, and LIdes, or runs
oII wItL tLe Rey. II IocRIng on to a macLIne, someone must Iet tLe
drIver Rnow tLat oeratIng It wIII LreaR someone's necR. II IocRIng
on, you may Le tLere Ior some tIme, so cLoose your oInt careIuIIy.
1Ley may remove any LIanRets or seats you Lave, and IsoIate you
Irom otLer rotesters, sometImes IormIng a screen around you.
You may want to Ree a sare Rey aLout your erson Lut tLey may
searcL you Ior It. Any searcL sLouId Le conducted Ly a same sex
oIIIcer. II tLe Luddy stays (wItL Rey) wItLIn earsLot, tLen you can
Le reIeased In an emergency. It Is Imortant tLat anytLIng you IocR
onto cannot Le removed or unscrewed (IIRe a veLIcIe Ioot Iate or
Lumer). Gates can sometImes Le removed Irom tLeIr LInges, so
consIder securIng tLe LInge sIde as weII as tLe oenIng sIde. II
tLere Isn't an ImmoveaLIe oL]ect tLen -IocR yourseIves togetLer
around tLe necR In aIrs or grous and sIt In tLe road.
II tLe oIIce are not exectIng you tLey won't Lave tLe arorIate
cuttIng equIment avaIIaLIe ImmedIateIy and so you mIgLt Le aLIe
to stay tLere Ior an Lour or so untII tLey come wItL LoItcroers.
Most contractors Lave tLeIr own LydrauIIc LoItcroers, wLIcL cut
tLe strongest IocR In seconds. 1Le IocR gIves a IrIgLtenIng ]oIt
wLen cut, so don't IocR on II you Lave a necR In]ury. IocRs are most
eIIectIve on targets remote Irom croers.
120 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Veh|c|e |ock-ons
II you are IocRIng on under a veLIcIe you wIII need severaI suort
eoIe to communcate drectIy wth the drver to teII tLem you
are under tLe Iorry and tLat tLey wIII RIII or In]ure you II tLey try to
move It. 1Ley sLouId try to get tLe drIver to swItcL tLe engIne oII.
IntII It's aLsoIuteIy cIear tLe veLIcIe's not goIng anywLere, It's
roLaLIy Lest to Lave one or two eoIe standIng In Iront oI tLe
Iorry to sto It movIng, carryIng a LIg 'Stop!' sIgn. IarRIng a
veLIcIe In Iront oI tLe Iorry Is even more eIIectIve as tLe Iorry
drIver Is unIIReIy to try to drIve oII Into a veLIcIe, Lut tLey Lave
Leen Rnown to drIve tLrougL a IIne oI rotestors. Ior more on
saIety see eIIa's GuIde www.geneticsaction.org.uk}delia.pdf.
Arm bubes
Arm tuLes are Lest made Irom tLIcR metaI Ie sucL as oId cast
Iron draInIes or Iamost sLaIts (asR at your IocaI scrayard), Lut
can aIso Le made Irom IastIc Ie or even cardLoard. Your tuLe
needs to Le tLe dIameter oI a cIotLed arm and tLree to Iour Ieet
Iong. IdeaIIy tLe tuLe sLouId Lave a strong metaI In weIded across
tLe tLe mIddIe. It can sIow down tLe rocess oI cuttIng you out oI a
tuLe II you LIde tLe weIds wItL
aInt. You aIso need to maRe a
Ioo oI strong cord, cLaIn or
cIImLIng tae wLIcL IIts around
your wrIst and attacLes to a
cIImLIng caraLIner or srIng
cII (cLeaer and avaIIaLIe
Irom most Lardware stores).
WLen you ut your arm In tLe
tuLe, cII tLe caraLIner over
tLe centre In. II you're usIng a tuLe wItLout a In, you'II need to
cII on to your artners caraLIner. IememLer tLat II you IocR-on
wItL LandcuIIs, you won't Le aLIe to reIease yourseII. CLecR LeIore
tLe actIon Low many Iayers oI cIotLIng you need to wear to get a
snug Lut not too tIgLt IIt In tLe armtuLe.
Arm tuLes can Le used In Iots oI ways: as a cLaIn across a road or
entrance, as a LIg cIrcIe In tLe road or around macLInery, two
eoIe can use armtuLes to IocR tLemseIves around art oI a
121 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
veLIcIe cLassIs or around tLe wLeeI oI a Iorry, or one eson can use
a sLorter tuLe or a 'V' sLaed tuLe to wra tLemseIves around a
dIgger arm, veLIcIe ro-sLaIt or a ost. eendIng on tLe
conIIguratIon oI tLe entrance/road you want to LIocR, you mIgLt
aIso want to consIder usIng 'Y' sLaed tuLes Ior securIng a cLaIn oI
arm tuLes to ImmovaLIe oL]ects, IIRe Iam osts, at eItLer sIde oI
tLe road.
1Le oIIce or LaIIIIs wIII try to remove you II tLey can wItLout
actuaIIy cuttIng tLrougL tLe arm tuLes. 1Ley sometImes try to usL
a LooRed LIade on a oIe down tLe tuLe, to cut any cord or tae
attacLIng you to tLe tuLe. IavIng a tIgLt IIt wItL your cIotLIng or
addIng tLe arm-tuLe wItL Ioam, IaLrIc etc, can LInder tLIs, as can
usIng cLaIn Instead oI IaLrIc to attacL your cII to your wrIst. 1Ley
aIso sometImes use IILre-otIc cameras to try to see wLat your arm
Is attacLed wItL, Lut Its easy to oLscure tLe roLe wItL your Land.
1Ley may use tLreats and IntImIdatIon or InIIIct aIn usIng
ressure oInts or twIstIng your arm untII you unIocR yourseII or
tLey may use tLe 'Iets waIt untII one oI tLem needs a ee' strategy.
1Le answer to tLat oI course Is not to drInR too mucL LeIore Land
and to wear IncontInence ants!
II tLey can't ersuade you to get out oI tLe IocR-on tLen tLey wIII
roLaLIy use an angIe grInder to cut tLe tuLe near tLe In untII
tLere Is a LoIe Iarge enougL to get In to cut tLe tae or cLaIn or to
uncII tLe caraLIner. Once one tuLe Is cut tLen tLe wLoIe IIne or
cIrcIe Is LroRen.
Sbag|ng comforbab|e
It can get coId sIttIng or IyIng on tLe groud so dress Ior tLe
weatLer and stuII LIn IIners and Ieces oI roII mat down tLe LacR oI
your trousers. 1aRe Iots oI snacRs and drInRs Lut remember to
have some support peopIe wLo can Ieed you II you Lave LotL
arms In tuLes! e aware tLat your suort eoIe may Le moved
away or even arrested. IocR-on at tLe Iast ractIcaLIe moment as It
can Le uncomIortaLIe, and go to tLe Ioo IIrst!
122 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Concrebe Lock-ons
Concrete IocR-ons or 'dragons' can Le
LuIIt In Louses, u trees, at tLe Lase
oI trees, In oII LarreIs, wasLIng
macLInes, roads, In cars and In
tunneIs. 1Ley are constructed Irom an
arm tuLe, wItL a metaI crossLar at
tLe Lottom, wLIcL Is tLen set In
concrete. 1Le concrete mIx Is: 1 art
cement to 3 arts sandy aggregate, It
can Le strengtLened usIng wasLIng
u IIquId. IIeces oI cLoed-u tyres
and metaI mesL, Rnuts and LoIt, LIts
oI scra metaI can Le added to tLe
concrete mIx to LInder drIIIIng out tLe concrete. 1Le concrete
needs tIme to set to Its IuII strengtL so maRe tLem weII In advance.
WLen LuIIdIng, Ian It so tLat tLe erson wIII Le In a comIortaLIe
osItIon as tLey couId Le tLere Ior some tIme. 1o IocR-on, ut your
arm down tLe arm-tuLe and cII your arm to tLe cross Lar (see
Arm tuLes).
II tLey can't get your arm out, tLey wIII roLaLIy use a comLInatIon
oI ower tooIs angIe to cut tLrougL any outer LarreI or otLer metaI
coatIng and get tLrougL tLe concrete. 1Ley wIII tLen need to cut
tLrougL tLe arm tuLe, agaIn usIng an angIe-grInder. 1LIs wIII taRe
quIte a wLIIe, and wIII Le noIsy, dusty and scary. Iave goggIes, ear
Iugs and a dust masR wItL you.
OtLer IocR ons Lave Leen LuIIt Ly weIdIng metaI arm tuLes
togetLer In X or I IormatIons to accommodate 4-6 eoIe and
sIows down tLe cuttIng team consIderaLIy Lecause It maRes tLe
IocR-on too Leavy to move and tLey wIII need to cut tLrougL more
tLan one armtuLe LeIore tLey can IcR you u and move you aII
Irom tLe road. You couId weId a very Leavy oL]ect to your IocR-on
to maRe It even Larder to move - cattIe-grIds, steeI Iates, Iorry
wLeeIs and dead cars Lave aII Leen used, maRIng It dIIIIcuIt to cut
tLrougL tLe tuLes and dIIIIcuIt to sImIy IIIt you out oI tLe way.
AII tLe advIce aLout suort, conIort and saIety Irom tLe Arm tuLe
sectIon aIIes to IocR-ons.
123 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
D|sposab|e cars
You can Luy scra cars very
cLeaIy, Lut you wIII get
arrested II you're stoed wLIIe
drIvIng an unroadwortLy,
unInsured, untaxed car. You can
use cars to LIocRade gates,
roads, motorways - ]ust aLout
anytLIng. You can ImmoLIIIse
tLe car Ly sIasLIng tLe tyres,
removIng wLeeIs, or turnIng It
over. You couId aIso try LuIIdIng
concrete IocR-ons Into tLe car,
weIdIng armtuLes to tLe cLassIs
or sImIy usIng -IocRs to IocR
on to your own veLIcIe!
Safebg and comforb
You need eoIe to ensure veLIcIes aren't moved wLen you're
IocRed on and LeI medIate II you're IacIng aggressIon, as weII as
eoIe to Ree you Ied, watered and to IIgLt your Iags wLen you've
got LotL arms In arm tuLes. It mIgLt Le wortL LavIng someone to
IIaIse wItL tLe oIIce to ensure tLey IuIIy understand tLe saIety
ImIIcatIons oI your actIon.
Commun|cab|on and dec|s|on mak|ng
II you're IocRed on under a veLIcIe, or In an
Inward IacIng cIrcIe you won't Rnow Ior sure
wLat's goIng on around you. You mIgLt Le
LIocRIng tLe rear gate oI a comound and
Lave no Idea wLetLer tLe actIvIsts at tLe
Iront gate are stIII In Iace. IavIng someone
to roam Irom IocR-on to IocR-on, erson to
erson, and Ree everyone u to date wItL
wLat's LaenIng Is vItaI. 1Ley can aIso
IacIIItate decIsIon maRIng Ior tLe grou as a
wLoIe.
124 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
'
II you Ian to use tLe medIa, you may need to asR someone to Le
tLe Iace and voIce oI your actIon. 1Le oIIce are unIIReIy to Iet
cameras get too cIose to IocRed on actIvIsts, so you may never get
tLe cLance to say your weII reared Iece.
You may aIso want oLservers to LeI reduce tLe rIsR oI aggressIon
and to record any arrests and ensure arrested actIvIsts get suort
at tLe oIIce statIon.
IememLer suort eoIe 'on tLe ground' are not Immune Irom
arrest. It's quIte IIReIy tLat at some stage tLey'II aII Le asRed (or
more IIReIy, toId) to move away Irom tLe sIte oI tLe actIon. SInce
tLey can't oIIer eIIectIve suort Irom tLe LacR oI a oIIce transIt
van, tLey may need to negotIate - anotLer roIe Ior tLe 'oIIce
IIaIson' erson?
125 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Preventing and de-escalating
violent situations
uiIc oIIcn wc'rc Iaccd wiII aggrcssion on acIions - Irom cmIoyccs,
IIc oIicc, asscrs-Iy and somcIimcs IcIIow roIcsIcrs. r you
yourscII migII "Ioosc iI, cg wIcn you scc a Iricnd Icing IurI. Bcing
awarc oI wIaI can Icad Io aggrcssion and vioIcncc on acIions can IcI
Io avoid IIcsc siIuaIions arising, and kcc IIc acIion saIc.
Stay focussed on your aims - Work ouI wIaI iI is you wanI Io acIicvc
and Iow you wiII do IIis. A cIcar moIivaIion and scnsc oI urosc can
IcI you Io sIay Iocusscd in a cIaoIic, IrigIIcning siIuaIion.
Work in affinity groups. TIis noI onIy rovidcs Iack-u IuI aIso
suorI wIcn a mcmIcr oI IIc grou sIarIs Io gcI sIrcsscd.
Stay caIm, reIaxed and aIert. Try Io noIicc IIings IcIorc IIcy Iccomc a
roIIcm so IIaI you can rcsond in good Iimc. II you'rc scarcd or IccI
your adrcnaIin uming, Iakc somc dcc sIow IrcaIIs inIo your
sIomacI - IIis wiII caIm you and aIIow you Io IIink morc cIcarIy.
Create a positive atmosphere Ior yourscII and oIIcrs. âkc music,
sing and IaugI. SIarc IoI Ica and cIocoIaIc around.
Think of the opponent as a human being. SIow rcsccI. Bc awarc oI
IIcir caaciIy Ior osiIivc acIion. TIcy may aIso Ic worricd or aIraid.
TrcaIing oIIcrs in a way IIaI you wouId Iikc Io Ic IrcaIcd.
Watch body Ianguage - your own and oIIcrs. Look rcIaxcd and ocn,
usc gcnIIc Iand movcmcnIs - avoid suddcn movcs wIicI couId Ic
inIcrrcIcd as IiIIing ouI. onI makc IisIs. \sc non-IIrcaIcning cyc
conIacI. Avoid gcIIing inIo coIcs crsonaI sacc.
Don't act submissive or frightened. onI Icad and Icg, donI IoId
arms or Iook away. AI IIc samc Iimc donI Ic aggrcssivc, IIrcaIcning
or insuIIing. IIysicaI vioIcncc may makc an aIIackcr IccI jusIiIicd.
Watch your Ianguage. Say "I, ask qucsIions. Kcc your voicc Iow IuI
cIcar and undcr conIroI. Bc rcIaxcd, IuI Iirm. o noI rusI inIo IasIcr
and IasIcr scccI. nIy inIcrruI iI coIc arc Icing crsonaIIy
aIusivc. LisIcn - and sIow IIaI you Iavc Icard wIaI is Icing said.
Do the unexpected - iI can Ic a disIracIion and crcaIc surrisc. \sc
Iumour, sIakc Iands, siI down, oIIcr coIIcc cIc. Bccomc acIivc -
maIcI IIc cncrgy oI IIc siIuaIion and IransIorm iI.
126 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Spottng 1roubIe - PoIce 1actcs
"ControI, Contan, Dsperse"
In rItaIn tLe oIIce Iavour cIose contact uLIIc order oIIcIng
wLen Iaced wItL Iarge grous oI eoIe. 1Le IavourIte tactIc at
resent Is to dIvIde very Iarge grous Into smaIIer ones and
surround and contaIn tLem. II you IInd yourseII In sucL a
contaInment ("RettIe") reare yourseII Ior a Iong waIt, LeIore you
are eItLer Iet out (aIter LeIng searcLIng) or arrested one Ly one.
1o avoId LeIng contaIned keep your eyes open at aII tmes and
watcL wLat tLe oIIce are u to. IoIIce IInes are usuaIIy Iormed on
one sIde IIrst and tLen tLe otLer, so II you sot tLIs tLere Is stIII
tIme to move out. AIso Ree your eyes oen Ior any Iarge
concentratIons oI cos down sIde streets. ContInuousIy movIng
aLout maRes It more dIIIIcuIt Ior tLem to contaIn you.
AnotLer sIgn tLat mIgLt sIgnaI ImmInent contaInment or a Laton
cLarge Is cos cLangIng Irom normaI unIIorm Into rIot gear.
WLen tLey IaII to dIvIde grous,
rIot oIIce are sent In IInes to
LreaR u and dIserse crowds,
Ly LIttIng out wItL Latons.
Mounted {horseback) poIce
are aIso used In tLe same way.
It's Imortant to understand
tLat once gIven tLe order Ior a
Laton cLarge tLe oIIce won't
dIstInguIsL Letween vIoIent or
non-vIoIent rotesters. As Iar as
tLey are concerned, II you are not a trouLIemaRer you wouId Lave
IeIt tLe area a Iong tIme ago. IoIIce In rItaIn are Issued wItL metaI
retractaLIe Latons, wLIcL cause nasty Lead wounds Lut mInImIse
tLe rIsR oI LraIn damage or deatL.
CS gas Is Issued, Lut not oIten used - guIdance reIers to IIIe
tLreatenIng sItuatIons. Pepper spray Is used, not generaIIy In
crowds, Lut mostIy wLen maRIng arrests Ly srayIng In tLe Iace.
Water cannons Lave never Leen used on tLe rItIsL maInIand Lut
are LeIng taIRed aLout.
Horses are used to rotect LuIIdIngs, seaI oII streets, and to usL
127 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
LacR and sIIt grous oI
eoIe. 1Le onIy saIe resonse
Is to move out oI tLe atL oI
tLe Lorses caImIy Lut swIItIy.
o not sIt down In Iront oI
tLem, unIess you want to get
tramIed. Instead, move
around tLe Lorses and IIII u
tLe sace LeLInd tLem as soon
as tLe Lorses Lave assed.
Dogs may aIso Le used,
esecIaIIy to rotect LuIIdIngs,
atroI ruraI areas and Ior
snIIIIng Ior drugs.
Snatch Squads are smaII
grous oI cos (usuaIIy sIx, In
a trIanguIar IormatIon) wLo are sent Into tLe crowd to snatcL and
arrest IndIvIduaIs. 1Lese mIgLt Le eoIe tLat tLe cos tLInR are
"rIng Ieaders", or ]ust eoIe tLey don't IIRe tLe IooR oI. 1Ley aIso
IIRe to target eoIe wItL musIcaI Instruments, cameras and tLe
IIRe. WatcL out Ior eacL otLer and II you see a snatcL squad
aroacLIng Iet eoIe around you Rnow aLout It. You can
sometImes sot a senIor oIIce oIIIcer oIntIng out eoIe tLey
want arrested. OIten a snatcL squad Is used to IncIte vIoIence, to
create a retext Ior attacRIng tLe rotesters.
e aware tLat oIIce oIIIcers do not IIRe to Le IsoIated Irom tLeIr
coIIeagues and wIII oIten react very vIoIentIy to tLIs sItuatIon.
nteIIgence gatherng Is tLe oIIce's IavourIte IntImIdatIon
tactIc. Ixect to see Iots oI InteIIIgence gatLerers wItL vIdeo and
stIIIs cameras. CC1V cameras wIII oIten Le InstaIIed on rooI tos
and you wIII Le IIImed Irom LeIIcoters LoverIng aLove. One way to
rotect yourseII Irom tLIs Is to wear a wIde LrImmed Lat and
sungIasses or Iancy dress. e aware tLougL tLat tLe oIIce can
arrest you II you reIuse to taRe oII "any Items worn Ior dIsguIse".
Tips for large
protests:
Form affinity groups and have a
buddy with you.
Stay alert and keep moving
around, as a group and
individually.
Fill gaps and face outwards so
you can see what's going on.
Link arms if possible - this
forms protective barriers and
gives moral support.
128 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
....DeaIing with the PoIice....
You'II undouLtedIy get Into contact wItL tLe oIIce. MaRe sure you
Lave a Lust card wItL tLe LasIc IegaI InIormatIon wItL as weII as
Lone numLers Ior your IegaI suort grou. WrIte tLe numLers oI
IegaI suort and soIIcItors on your Land or arm wLen goIng on an
actIon In case you Ioose tLe Lustcard. II you get stoed or
arrested contact IegaI suort straIgLt away.
e caIm and assertIve. on't Le
IntImIdated. Know your rIgLts.
AsR to seaR to tLe senIor oIIIcer
resent (ICs Rnow notLIng
anyway).
1ry not to Iose your temer or swear
(tLIs may Le used as an excuse to
arrest you).
Iay oII tLe drInR (tLIs may aIso Le
used as an excuse to arrest you).
Kee a watcLIuI eye out Ior otLer oIIce and
otLer rotesters.
1Le oIIce wIII asR you aII sorts oI questIons whch you're not
obIged to answer. 1Ley are out to gatLer InIormatIon. on't gIve
It to tLem, Ior your saRe and tLat oI your IeIIow rotesters. You
don't even Lave to gIve your name and address wLen you are
randomIy stoed or searcLed. 1Le onIy tIme you do Lave to gIve
your name and address Is wLen tLe cos reasonaLIy susect you oI
commIttIng or wItnessIng an oIIence or wLen tLey detaIn/arrest
your.
Don't
Panic!
"No comment"I
129 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
Security resources
General Security
www.activistsecurity.org - security for activists site - still being built, but
contains a comprehensive briefing on security issues.
www.mcspotlight.org/case/trial/story.html - story of the McLibel case,
including information about infiltration.
ww.freebeagles.org/articles/mobile_phones.html - mobile phones.
www.angelfire.com/pe2/peaceproject/activ.html - article about covert
activities against activist groups - including lots of useful web links.
www.theregister.co.uk/2001/09/06/eu_releases_echelon_spying_report/ -
article on EU report on Echelon (plus link to EU report)
www.no2id.net/ - Campaign against Identity Cards in the UK.
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/10/300000.html - account of how police
intercepted a covert GM action.
www.eco-action.org/rr/ch13.html - Road Raging Campaign Security.
Computer Stuff
www.pgpi.org/ - get PGP for Windows (for Linux, use GPG and look in your
distribution disks!)
www.shac.net/pgp - how to use PGP for Windows.
secdocs.net/manual/lp-sec/ - APC's particpating in safety computer
briefings.
www.anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/ - Free Anonymous Proxy (anonymous web
browsing).
http://www.theregister.co.uk/security/security_report_windows_vs_linu
x/ - report comparing security of Windows and Linux.
www.evel.nl/spinwatch/TRFrontpage.htm - Eye opening account of big
business infiltrating and incapacitating protest groups
Recommended Reading
Battling Big Business - Countering greenwash, infiltration and other forms of
corporate bullying, Eveline Lubbers, Green Books, 2002, ISBN 190399814X
http://news.com.com/2100-1029-6140191.html - bugging switched off phones.
130 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
ACTlBN SBPPBRT
Run by activists for activists - make use of them!
UK Action Medics
Train medics for your affinity groups to provide first aid on actions
www.actionmedics.org.uk
Activist-Trauma Group
Workshops/info on post-traumatic stress, how to help yourself / your friends,
individual support and group debriefings.www.activist-trauma.net
Action Trainers
Workshops and guides on direct action and consensus, forming affinity
groups, action techniques, exploring non-violence, security, media etc.
www.tridentploughshares.org
www.turning-the-tide.org
www.activistsecurity.org
www.eco-action.org/blinc
www.uhc-collective.org.uk/knowledge/toolbox/toolbox.htm
General NVDA Guides / Activist resources
www.eco-action.org/rr/ - Anti roads protest guide
www.geneticsaction.org.uk/resources/delia.pdf Interesting blockading guide
www.actupny.org/documents/CDdocuments/CDindex.html - New York site
with loads of resources
www.starhawk.org/activism/activism.html
www.earthfirst.org.uk/manchester/porder.htm public order guide
www.peacenews.info/tools includes dealing with fences
and organising mass actions
Info on legal rights
www.activistslegalproject.org.uk
www.yourrights.org.uk/
www.freebeagles.org
131 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
LEGAL OBSERVER
22. Legal observer
see
(http://networkforclimateaction.org.uk/toolkit/action_resources/direct_action_a_handbook.pdf)
Activists` Lega| Project
rnfoactrvrstslegalproject.org.uk
www.actrvrstslegalproject.org.uk
Guide for Lega| Observers
CONTENTS
1. The role of the legal observer
2. On the actron......
3. Arrest rrsk for legal observers
4. Abandonrng the role
5. Equrpment needed
6. Legal observer record sheeet
Everyone takrng part rn an actron or demonstratron
rs a legal observer, wrth responsrbrlty for wrtnessrng
and recordrng events that take place. There rs also a
specrfrc support role for people who rntend to partrcr-
pate rn the actron exclusrvely as legal observers. Thrs
gurde arms to grve you an rdea of what that role mrght
rnvolve.
1. Ro|e of the |ega| observer
zLegal observers watch and record detarls of actrv-
rst rnteractrons wrth the polrce/securrty and actrvrst
arrests at demonstratrons and actrons and pass thrs
rnformatron to the Legal Support Group (for more
rnformatron on legal support see brrefrng How to
Set up a Legal Support Group`).
zBy therr presence they help to keep people safe by
deterrng polrce mrsconduct and rf there rs such an
rncrdent they collect rnformatron that may be use-
ful rn later court proceedrngs.
zA legal observer rs not a polrce lrarson or medra
spokesperson and remarns as rndependent as possr-
ble so that they can concentrate on observrng what
happens.
2. On the action..
zHand out bust card` whrch have legal rnfo, legal
support phone number and solrcrtors detarls to all
partrcrpants rn the actron (See How to set up a
Legal Support Group` brrefrng for an example of a
bust card).
zGet close to the actron so you can clearly see
what`s gorng on.
zGrve rnformatron to partrcrpants about what`s
gorng on, especrally rmportant rf rt`s norsy, dark
or people are separated from others, pass rnfo
backwards and forwards between affrnrty groups.
Remrnd actrvrsts of therr rrghts where approprrate.
z If you feel confrdent wrth your knowledge of the
law then questron the polrce rf they are overstep-
prng the mark.
zWrrte down names of actrvrsts who are arrested,
what they have been arrested for, name/number/
rank of arrestrng offrcer, a descrrptron of what
happened, detarls of any wrtnesses to the rncrdent/
arrest, what polrce statron arrestee has been taken
to and grve thrs rnformatron to the Legal Support
Group (see sample questrons below).
zReport polrce mrsconduct to the Legal Support
Group - re excessrve behavrour on the part of the
polrce, vrolent or abusrve behavrour. Take very
good notes of the rncrdent rmmedrately, and get
contact detarls for any other wrtnesses as you and
they may be needed to grve evrdence rn court at a
later date.
z Take photographs of rncrdents of polrce mrs-
conduct and actrvrst rnjurres. But be careful your
camera and frlm could get rnto polrce hands so
don`t take photogaphs that could help rncrrmrnate
protestors. Make sure you label the photographs
clearly or make a note rn your notebook of what
photos you took and lrnk them rn some way to the
photos on your camera.
132 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
3. Arrest risk for |ega|
observers
Generally when there rs an actron, the frrst thrng the
polrce do when they arrrve rs clear the area of those
not partrcrpatrng drrectly rn the actron. Whether they
let you stay close by so that you can properly observe
what rs gorng on wrll depend rn part upon the rela-
tronshrp between you and the polrce offrcers at the
actron. Legal observers are not rmmune from arrest
just because they are not playrng an actrve role rn the
actron. There can be a frne lrne between berng a good
legal observer and gettrng nrcked for obstructron. So
rts a good rdea to be aware of your legal rrghts (See
ALP brrefrngs The Arrest Process and your Rrghts`
and A Gurde to Possrble Offences` for more rnfor-
matron). Stayrng close to the actron, especrally after
you have been asked to move, means you are rrskrng
arrest. Consrder movrng away rf rt looks lrke you are
gorng to be arrested, better to be a brt further away
dorng your job, observrng the actron, than rn a polrce
van.
7o reduce tKe risk of arrest
Wear a vrsrble legal observer brb or sash
Stay calm at all trmes
Make rt clear to the polrce and the medra that you
are an observer, not a partrcrpant rn the actron
Communrcate wrth the polrce rn a calm assertrve
manner
Your credrbrlrty wrth the polrce may be rncreased
rf you dress conservatrvely
If you are concerned about polrce conduct/abuse of
therr powers talk to the senror polrce offrcers at the
actron, they are the decrsron makers
Decrde before the actron how pushy you are gorng
to be rf you are asked to move away
Retarn your rmpartralrty, don`t get rnvolved rn the
actron (but see below).
4. Abandoning tKe Ro|e of Lega|
Observer
At trmes legal observers have found themselves rn
emergency srtuatrons where they felt they had to
rntervene eg an actrvrst berng badly rnjured by polrce
and they have attempted to stop thrs happenrng by
speakrng to the offrcers or shreldrng the person berng
rnjured. If you feel you must rntervene drrectly then
take off your sash/brb and grve your notes to another
observer for safe keeprng before rushrng rnto the fray.
Also consrder callrng out for any medra and frrst ard-
ers who are close by to come over.
5. Equipment needed
Notepad and pens
Mobrle phone
Observers brb or sash
Legal observers record sheets (see below)
Map of the area
Lrst of phone numbers: legal support group,
other legal observers, solrcrtor, frrst arders
Water, food, money and clothrng approprrate to the
actron
Bustcards`
Watch
Camera drgrtal means qurck photos for the
medra, but drsposable works well too.
6. Lega| Observer Record SKeet
Erther create a serres of legal observer record sheet
for the actron or make sure the answers to all of these
questrons are noted down rn your notepad for each
arrest/rncrdent.
Sample questrons for legal observer record sheet:
Legal observer name and contact detarls
Name of arrestee
What the person was arrested for
Name/Badge number/Rank of arrestrng offrcers
or descrrptron
Trme & Place of arrest
Whrch polrce statron rs the person berng taken to`
Any other detarls about the rncrdent or
treatment of the person by the polrce
Other Wrtness`s names & contact detarls
Detarls of photographs/vrdeo IRRWDJHWDNHQ
lor further rnformatron contact us at the Actrvrsts
Legal Project.
August 2008
LEGAL OBSERVER
133 CAMPAIGNSGUIDE
RESOURCES
http://peopleandplanet.org/unis/gg/campaignskills
http://www.activistslegalproject.org.uk/
http://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/free/consens
http://www.netaction.org/training/

Campaign Guide

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Campaign Guide

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FIRST EDITION:

A plan like this is called a

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