1. Up-coming public trainings:

Friday 11th April 2008, 10:00 - 4:30pm
A training for Vale Royal residents and partners
Where: Winsford Civic Hall, Dene Drive, Winsford CW7 1AX
To enrol: Email Andrea Lee at ALee@valeroyal.gov.uk, or call her on 01606 867590
In partnership with Vale Royal Borough Council

2. Introduction to the course and basic programme

The high speed interactive course, created by COIN's experienced trainers and writers including George Marshall who has over 15 years of training experience - most of it in climate change - and Tim Baster who has 8 years of experience of training lawyers in immigration and detention law, covers all that is needed to communicate climate change to colleagues and the wider public.

The course includes sections on speaking skills, climate denial, sceptics, the academic research into behaviour change, good and effective engagement, confidence, the science, impacts and solutions to climate change.

Basic programme:

• Getting talking
• How confident are you about facts and delivery?
• General public speaking skills
• Themes for good engagement on climate change
• Confidence issues
• Practising the technical parts - causes; impacts; solutions; dealing with
• difficult questions
• Dealing with real people ­ hooks; problem people; general theory;
• personality types
• The challenges of communicating climate change ­ denial etc.
• Bringing others into conversation
• Emotion & climate change
• Active listening
• Other issues
• How confident are you at the end of this training about facts and delivery?

This course is based on interactive work and discussion - active learning principles which are at the core of COIN's work.

3. Hear what people are saying about our communication training:

Feedback from the 'Climate Change Public Engagement' training for Derbyshire County Council, at the Matlock County Hall, 26th September, attended by over 30 individuals.

Almost 95% of participants giving feedback enjoyed the training 'much' or 'very much'.
Over 80% felt that their targets were met (others felt they were at least partially met)

Quotations taken from attendees:

“Best training session attended in last 2 years” - Ian Openshaw

“Practical, motivating and delivered with commitment and professionalism” - Lesley Harry

“Well delivered training, information delivered effectively and enjoyable” - Alison Boyce

“Inspiring and invigorating – it helped to make up my mind that I need to do more” - Catherine Howard

“The course has made me more able to discuss/inform others about this vital issue” - Judith Hawcroft

“Very useful day – inspiring to go out and engage people and try and encourage positive change” - Rick Jillings

“I found the day informative and useful in terms of how to engage others in a more positive way” - John Holmes

“Informative, enjoyable and makes me feel more confident about addressing this subject with the public” - Andy Pollock

“Very informative and full of good tips” - Jo Gosling

“Useful and packed with information; time went very quickly and one day is perhaps not long enough to explore all the issues involved” - Sharon Blank

“A full comprehensive day which gave me a lot to take away and think about” - Anne White

The person who gave it the lowest rating for enjoyment still described it as “challenging, intense, but enjoyable”!

4. Praise from Derbyshire County Council for the COIN training:

'The Climate Outreach Information Network provided Derbyshire County Council with a day’s training on ‘Climate Change – Engaging with the Public’ in September 2007. Thirty one people attended including elected members, countryside service staff, libraries staff and the Derbyshire Adult and Community Education Service – in fact those who really do engage with the public. Participants found the course: ‘Informative and enjoyable and makes me feel more confident about addressing this subject with the public’; ‘Very useful day – inspiring to go out and engage people and try and encourage positive change’; ‘Practical, motivating and delivered with commitment and professionalism’; ‘Inspiring and invigorating – it helped to make up my mind that I needed to do more’; ‘The way the information etc. was delivered ie. by two trainers swapping round regularly and in small bursts interspersed with audience participation, kept my attention and was far better than just being presented with vast amounts of information at one go’. And to sum up, in the words of one attendee: ‘A really enjoyable day – trainers although very passionate about the subject (were) also non-judgmental which contributed to honest and frank discussions’. A couple of high level managers who attended have asked for re-runs of the course for other staff in their sections.'

Maggie Bishop, Environmental Policy Officer, Derbyshire County Council