III. Organizing Skills

A. Event planning

A good event will do some or all of the following: project your group's political power, strengthen your group's cohesiveness, promote activism, gain new members, raise consciousness, and raise money.

Teach-ins can be held virtually anywhere and rely mostly on local talent. A teach-in has two parts: a learning or information sharing section and an interactive section to put the information into action (e.g., letterwriting or planning future actions). An interesting and fun agenda will draw a larger audience.

Panel discussions involve the public in your event. Experts on your issue each give a very brief presentation, and then answer questions from the audience. A successful panel discussion takes a lot of planning, but tends to draw new people to an issue.

Debates are similar to panel discussions except that they present opposing sides of a single issue. Opponents can be drawn from law enforcement, academia, politics, or criminal law. Be sure your side is both qualified and prepared on the issue. Practice role playing the debates. Don't be afraid to play the moral high card; behind those statistics are jailed medical patients, first time non-violent offenders, broken families, and other collateral damage of the ill fought war on drugs.

Rallies can be as complicated or as simple as you plan them to be. From simple informational pickets to large public gatherings, rallies can energize an organization. Press coverage is essential - therefore, the rally must have a "hook", an event it has either created or is responding to that makes it "news". A protest rally after a dispensary raid or against a federal government official passing through town are examples of a 'crisis' demanding response.

General Tips for Successful Events. . .

• Think of ways to reach out to other like-minded groups. Have a doctor and patient speak, and ask a medical group to co-sponsor. Focus on DEA raids and draw the interest of criminal justice groups.
• Always include a political action in your event, even if it is primarily a social or educational event. Pass around petitions. Generate letters to the editor.
• Promote. Promote. Promote. A common mistake is to spend so much time planning an excellent event and leaving little time to spread the word. A well planned event is only successful if people show up. Try to spend as much energy promoting an event as you do on planning it.

B. Tips on public speaking

Giving speeches and presentations is one of the most basic ways that an activist can communicate ideas. Every activist should have at least a little experience with public speaking.

Speaking Tips

Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and healthy. It shows you care about doing well. But, too much nervousness can be detrimental. Here's how you can control your nervousness and make effective, memorable presentations:

1. Know the room. Be familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and try practicing using the microphone and any visual aids.
2. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience as they arrive. It's easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of strangers.
3. Know your material. If you're not familiar with your material or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will increase. Practice your speech and revise it if necessary.
4. Relax. Ease tension by going for a walk, doing some basic stretching, chatting with colleagues.
5. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, and informative. They don't want you to fail.
6. Don't apologize. If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problems you think you have with your speech, you may be calling the audience's attention to something they hadn't noticed. Avoid pointing out your own imagined inadequacies, your audience has a higher opinion of you than you think.
7. Concentrate on the message -- not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties, and outwardly toward your message and your audience. Your nervousness will dissipate.
8. Turn nervousness into positive energy. Harness your nervous energy and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm.
9. Gain experience. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking.

[Excerpted from "10 Tips For Successful Public Speaking" with modifications by the editor.]

Tips for handling Q & A

• If you don't hear the question or understand it, ask the questioner to repeat it.
• Try to keep calm, even if your audience is hostile or upset.
• Always respect the questioner, even if you do not like the question or the manner in which it is posed.
• Don't feel offended if someone asks you a question that you feel you already answered in your presentation or a previous question, they may not have heard or understood the information previously presented.
• Honesty is the best policy, if you don't know the answer to something, admit it - you can offer to contact the person later with an answer.

[Excerpted from "Handling Q & A"]

C. Art and Messaging

Messaging

We can have the loveliest and most inspiring event possible, but if the political message isn't clear, we won't get our point across. Having signs, banners, and images that represent our demands clearly is crucial. The more photogenic the puppet, the more we must be sure to include a sign or label that makes our position known, as together this is the image most likely to make it on the news. It is helpful to 'think backwards', and imagine what the picture is you most want to see on the front page of the paper the next day, and tailor your message towards that end.

The next step in your message development is picking the target audience. It flows directly from your understanding of what needs to happen in the campaign at this point. What is the current demand on the table? Who needs to be convinced in order for that demand to be met? Is it the general public, government officials, the medical profession, or marijuana-users you are trying to affect? If it is marijuana users, then a celebratory 'user-movement' image of cannabis leaves may be just the right image. If it is not only marijuana users, a different image may get a stronger message across. Think through the major themes of the campaign, and represent one or two strongly. For your largest banner, be it handheld or hung somewhere, settle on one simple message. Accept it: You're not going to be able to communicate all the points and shades of gray about the issue you'd like to. Figure out the most important point, and how to convey it concisely.

Examples of Effective Messages:

• Hands off our medicine!
• Stop arresting medical marijuana patients
• Time's up: Reschedule marijuana now!
• Safe access: It's the law

Leaflets

One of the most important tasks that is often overlooked is leafleting the public during demonstrations and actions. Activists too often end up leafleting other activists about other issues of possible interest, instead of concentrating on communicating to the as-yet-unconvinced or not-yet organized. A good leaflet should include a number of elements:

1. Visual appeal. Make it pretty and legible and people will want to read it.
2. Explain clearly what the demonstration is about, in as few words as possible. People either read a leaflet immediately upon receiving it, or not at all. Try and make it as 'catchy' as possible. If more explanation is desired, put that on the back, and those that are drawn in will read on to the detail.
3. Include what our arguments are to our opponents, give information and facts that they can use themselves.
4. Include your group's contact information, and any action that allies could take: i.e. your next meeting time and place, names & numbers of representatives that should be called, etc. Use leaflets as a tool to ORGANIZE, not only to inform!

Signs

There are a variety of ways to make signs. Here are some possibilities:

1. Choose your canvass. Poster board works well, but cardboard cut from old boxes can be just as useful and is much more cost effective.
2. Lettering. Use paints or thick markers. Choose bold colors (red, black, dark green) or bright colors (yellow, orange, pink) outlined by black.
3. Messaging. Keep it simple and short! Your audience will loose interest if you write a novel.
4. Images. These can add to or take away from your message. Again, simplicity is often more effective. Use images that are obvious, such as a marijuana leaf with a red cross or a picture of a well-recognized public official.

Making Protest Banners

1. Choose strong material (Paint drop cloth works great. You can usually pick this up at a hardware store for about $20, which buys you a 9X12 canvas.)
2. Cut the 9x12 in half and tie (or sew) together the pieces to form a longer 4.5x24ft long banner.
3. Attach grommets (which are also available at hardware store). It's best to place the grommets about 3 feet apart from one another along the top of banner.
4. If the banner is to be hung, use rope or zip-ties.
5. Remember it is illegal in some places to affix timber or metal poles to protest banners or signs in street marches. This can be overcome by using the cardboard tubes out of rolls of cloth.
6. Paint your lettering! Keep it simple and short so that it can be seen from long distances. Black or Red on white background is the easiest to see.
7. If the banner is to be out in the weather for some weeks then it is advisable to paint all the material with a coat of paint before adding the text to prevent mildew.
8. Weights: You want to attach weights to the banner to prevent it from flapping or blowing in the wind. The cheapest solution is to attach plastic bags filled with some rice or sand to the bottom of the banner. WARNING: make sure these weights are securely attached. It is a felony to drop or throw something from an overpass onto moving traffic.

If you are making several banners all at the same time, it may be advantageous to make a stencil and use a small paint roller. Banners made using a stencil usually look better but it still takes time to make a stencil and then touch up the banner where the paint has run under the stencil.