One of the best skills that I have learned throughout my time in the YCL and the student movement is outreach and organizing tips. As a popular feature in Rebel Youth, “Ten Tips for Organizing” is not a new concept, but is a time-tested and true system for organizing and building collective power. There are no shortcuts to organizing — no amount of social media posts or recruiting from other organizations will replace on-the-ground organizing. Here is an outline to build upon the tips previously shared by Peter Miller.
1. In-person outreach is always effective.
Know your key points and good responses to common pushbacks. Always do outreach as a team and never alone. Work to keep language accessible and digestible by avoiding specific terms or jargon that would not be familiar to students who are not currently involved. For example, talking about free education is clearer than talking about a publicly funded and tuition-free post-secondary education system. Students are smart people, but sometimes you’ll only have a few seconds to get your message across before someone has to run to class.
Give folks actionable items, ways to get involved, and ways to ask follow up questions.
Whether you are tabling, flyering, or passing around a clipboard with a petition, it is best practice to have one follow-up action. It could be attending a meeting or event, signing a petition, or taking a flyer or copy of Rebel Youth. This is a way to agitate your audience and to have it get involved with the cause or campaign. Outreach involves listening. Your opening line should be short and interesting to grab people’s attention. It should be followed up with asking questions about them, such as their program, how their classes are going, or how the transition back to campus has been. Outreach is 20 percent talking and 80 percent listening.
2. Social media does not replace outreach.
Social media can be a great tool to list your club’s events or provide information about the campaign, such as some facts about free education. Social media will never replace in-person conversations. Some students will want to engage with your club via social media and message apps, but it should not be the exclusive outlet to reach people. As well, beware of the comments section, since this can be distracting to the larger work at hand.
3. The goal is to build our membership, not to win debates.
Learn to recognize when someone is trying to waste your time. Occasionally, people will approach you to debate with you about the merits of free education or other campaigns you are working on, or about the YCL-LJC in general. If a conversation is going on longer than 5 to 10 minutes, they are possibly trying to waste your time. It is important to be respectful, while also ending the conversation and moving on. Phrases such as “thank you for talking with me today, I hope the rest of your day goes well” can be effective at moving the conversation along, while also being respectful. This is also why it is important to do outreach in teams, so that you have others to step in in case someone is rude or disrespectful. Additionally, beware of people who are intentionally destructive, for example by slandering your campaign in front of others. Directing the conversation away from the table or ending the conversation are two ways to do this.
4. Approach people and ask them.
Many people will not approach a table on campus if people are sitting at the table behind a laptop. It is best to be approachable, which can include standing in front or to the side of the table, being ready to hand things out. When doing outreach, put away computers and phones, and have a friendly opening statement to grab people’s attention. Do not call at people walking by or yell out to a cafeteria of people. It is best to stop each person individually and hand out the materials to them, using the flyer as a prop, for example; “On the back you can read 10 reasons why you should join the YCL-LJC”. People will not approach the table unless you make one-on-one conversations. Additionally, with a clipboard for a petition, ask every person you see in a study space or cafeteria. It’s best practice to bring something to give them after they sign the petition, such as a button or sticker.
6. Have an outreach team and do outreach using the half-and-half rule.
Outreaching as a team is not only fun, but is also a way to collect feedback on how the outreaching went. Additionally, people can see a team of people and might be interested in getting involved. Your group should use the half-and-half rule, which means an equal amount of time for outreach and for follow-up. This involves emailing the people who signed up for your club and sending out an email to invite them to upcoming events. There is no need to be available for eight hours at a time when doing outreach. Rather, planning shorter periods of time more consistently is most effective and easier to maintain.
7. Switch up locations and tactics.
To make the best use of your time doing outreach, it is effective to switch up the time and locations, so that you are not talking to the same people and can reach a larger audience. On campus, this looks like booking tables in different buildings or flyering after classes on different days and times of the week. In the community, it looks like flyering at the bus stop or depot, grocery stores, and downtown when it is busy. This is a way to ensure you are reaching different people and also being efficient with your time.
8. Flyer intentionally.
When flyering, tabling or petitioning, stick to one or two topics and make it intentional. It is really difficult to prepare speaking points for over five different campaigns. It is most effective to stick to one to two campaigns to focus the conversation, but also not overwhelm your audience. An additional tip is to have one-on-one conversations. Additionally, never leave your materials unattended. It is a waste of your materials, it is not engaging to find a flyer on campus or in the workplace without talking with a person, and it can be an opportunity for people to graffiti your flyers. Be meaningful and strategic about your outreach.
9. Punch up not down.
A key principle to organizing is to punch up, not down, which is talking about the issues and the campaign, not getting caught up with internal drama with other groups. For example, if faculty, trades workers, or other workers are on strike, the administration and the employer will try to divide workers against each other. It is important to stay focused on solidarity work and to not be divided. It is a time to talk about unity and to not be distracted by anti-union sentiments. This principle ultimately connects workers for the greater good and focuses the targeting of the campaign on the people with the most power, rather than targeting other workers.
10. Have fun with it!
Organizing with a team can be really fun, successful, and rewarding. Remember, you are doing this work to bring new people in and to build a movement that is uplifting and supportive of each other. It is a great opportunity to make new connections, gauge how the public views your campaign, and make the campaign stronger. Sometimes, a fun competition of how many petition signatures you can get during outreach is a fun way to stay motivated and always remember you are organizing to bring new people in and make people feel included.
With these 10 tips, anyone can get started with organizing and create a solid strategy for building your campaign and club, growing your membership to include more comrades. Many people were brought into the movement by someone doing outreach and building those connections to make them feel included. There are no shortcuts to organizing — know that putting in the time and effort will be rewarding and successful.