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The public often believe consultations are ignored

Some members of the public are becoming very sceptical about the process of Public Consultation and see it as nothing more than a “rubber stamping exercise”.

This training will help key spokespeople from the Public Sector prepare their key messages as well as answer difficult questions in during public meetings. We will prepare you for every possible angle of enquiry, from members of the public, or the media as well as give you the media awareness and confidence to co-operate with the media as and when required.

Above all, we will help you develop key messages around your proposals and help you:

• Avoid jargon and management speak
• Simplify the key messages so that the public understands you clearly.

We will also focus on simplifying your story – so that the public and patients will understand your ideas. We will take you away from jargon and “management speak” and focus on more “real life” stories to get your message over.

What The Training Will Deliver

We aim to make the training as practical as possible and concentrate on two aspects of the Public Consultation and Communication process:

Presentation Skills – to help key personnel what precisely is being proposed and consulted upon, and

Answering difficult questions Skills (and Media Skills) – to help your key personnel answer difficult, hostile and even political questions from the Public, from Local Businesses, from Partners – such as the NHS, Community Safety, Housing Partnerships and Emergency services and also from your local media.

To this end we propose to split each one-day course into two parts incorporating:

• Presenting to large groups.
• Getting your message across.
• Handling difficult questions (from the public and the media).
• Handling disruptive behaviour.

What they will learn:

• Presenting to large groups - How to “work” a large room.
• How to plan and prepare systematically.
• How to get your message across with more professionalism.
• How to deal with challenging people and difficult situations.
• How to focus attention on the key issues so your audience will accept your message.
• Tips on preparing and using visual aids correctly.
• How to overcome nerves when presenting.