According to the American Psychological Association, “Gun violence is an urgent, complex and multifaceted problem.” Issues like this have many layers, and they are important to individuals for different reasons—many of which are emotional. When talking about gun violence prevention, we understand people are passionate about their views. It is easy to get off task when emotions are high, so we recommend coming to the table planned and prepared for your meeting.
Here are a few ideas to help you and your team implement a successful one.
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- Set an agenda.
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- Establish the goals to find your “True North”
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- Identify strengths and skills in the group that will help achieve the goal. Determine what other strengths, skills or perspectives are missing.
Two of these jobs may include:- Assign a recorder. This person takes notes, so everyone can visualize what was discussed during the meeting.
- In addition, the recorder can post everyone’s tasks (somewhere visible at the meeting). They can keep track of progress and completion.
- Designate a facilitator. This person will lead the group through the meeting (following the agenda) and keep everyone on task. In meetings where there are opposing views, the facilitator acts as a third neutral party to keep the conversations moving.
- Assign a recorder. This person takes notes, so everyone can visualize what was discussed during the meeting.
- Identify strengths and skills in the group that will help achieve the goal. Determine what other strengths, skills or perspectives are missing.
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- When brainstorming ideas/solutions, remember no idea is a bad idea. Try using post-its for brainstorming sessions, and have the facilitator or recorder write down all of them.
- After brainstorming, layout all the ideas/post-its so everyone can visualize. Then discuss similarities and begin to group similar ones together.
- When brainstorming ideas/solutions, remember no idea is a bad idea. Try using post-its for brainstorming sessions, and have the facilitator or recorder write down all of them.
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- What makes each group of ideas successful? Record these answers to create a list of “success criteria.”
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- Finally, use the list of “success criteria” to compare your original goals. This will help you begin to narrow down what works and doesn’t.
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- Celebrate the small steps forward. Make it known in meetings when a task is completed or you’ve accomplished a big step of the goal. Small wins lead to big successes!
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- At the end of each meeting, have members fill out a 3 question card to stay on track:
- What We Did
- What We Learned
- What We Are Going To Do Next
- At the end of each meeting, have members fill out a 3 question card to stay on track:
Get started on planning your conversation with these conversation models, sample agendas, potential speakers, promotional materials and a closing survey to help you get off on the right foot.
Contact us if you hold a conversation using this tool kit! We can help you cross promote your event and would love to know your feedback on the materials we have developed!
Conversation models
When talking about gun violence prevention, the conversation can go in many directions (especially when the topic can bring up emotions and politics). Below are some proven conversation models to help you accomplish a clear goal, and host an effective conversation with your group.
Agendas
Take a look at some agendas that have been successful for Beyond Gun Politics meetings in the past. Use these to help you plan your event!
Speakers Corner
Looking to have an expert or two attend your event? We are in the process of building out our speaker’s bureau so you have access to local experts to visit your classroom or attend your event.
In the meantime, all of our steering committee and coalition members are available. Click here for a complete list of experts.
Promotional Materials
Promote your event with the following free materials.
Don’t forget to let us know about your event so we can help you promote it!
Post Event Surveys
It’s always go to know what your participants thought of your event. Use the following survey to see what their key takeaways were. Don’t hesitate to share the feedback with us! We are continually making improvements to the site and love to hear about what worked and what can be improved upon.
- On a scale of one to five, how satisfied were you with the event
- What did you like most about the event?
- What did you like least about the event?
- How non-partisian was your talk?
- What is one thing you are going to do to help with gun violence prevention in your community after this event?
- Would you recommend Beyond Gun Politics?