My political science professor said on our first day in her class that politics is simply an alternative to violence.

The object of a democratic government is the welfare of the people – all the people. We have a responsibility and a mission to make the conversations happen. buff.ly/4eK5w38

For more than three decades The Participation Co has been at the forefront of how organizations engage, listen and respond to their stakeholders. We were leading developers of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) training programs.

Do you suffer from the curse of knowledge? You might want to consider the ladder of abstraction next time you have to talk to real folks. buff.ly/3XefRix

Urban cores are changing. Nobody believes that urban cores will ever be what they were pre-pandemic. But what they become will have to be determined by the people who might use them because people support what they help build. buff.ly/4gDiEbH

Do you need the skills and confidence to manage groups and develop supported, actionable conclusions? Have we got a class for you! buff.ly/3RFb9HE

Involving the public is a lot of trouble, but often not nearly as much trouble as not involving them.

What cookies did you leave for Santa? Cookies and water have been staples of public meetings since Aristotle helped people fill out their sign-in sheets at the door. buff.ly/4iGWmYC.

We often debate the kinds of cookies to buy for meetings. As consultants, we absorbed the expense when government agencies quit reimbursing for refreshments. People have called to make sure we’d have decent cookies before they’d commit to coming to a meeting.

Misinformation, which is generally defined as information that’s just wrong, and disinformation, which is information that’s deliberately false – an intentional lie designed to make you believe propaganda – are two of toughest challenges that we face.

Combating the flood of fiction requires agencies to build real trust and relationships with their constituents well before that trust is tested, and when it is tested, it requires a fast, smart and really well-crafted repetitive response. buff.ly/41Ups0l

The way this particular issue was handled might have been a simple oversight; it might just have been an overzealous administrator just trying to get the job done. But the perception of the public now is significantly more damaging. buff.ly/3DzTahg

We live in unsettled times. More bluntly, people are more consistently pi$$ed off than they used to be. We’re polarized; a third of us are suddenly vindicated and complacent, another third are apoplectic about the state of the republic, and who knows about the other third?

We have to recognize the fact that those of us who deal with unsettled people are pretty often unsettled ourselves.

I was coaching a really smart and talented group recently and their primary concern was how to better handle their own emotions and anger when facilitating emotionally charged people. buff.ly/41Vrhdw

TPC community engagement training is based on the fundamental field-proven principles that will make you successful. And it’s delivered in ways that resonate with students.

The most useful tool to ever come out of the IAP2 is the the public participation Spectrum. Is it time to rethink it? buff.ly/4fCZ9PH

Community engagement needs to move beyond the antiquated public meeting and hearing dominance of the past. It needs to work for today’s communities and culture and take advantage of your existing resources.

Pausing in a conversation often invites other people to jump in and hijack the conversation and that can feel annoying, right? In a presentation, you have the floor and the time, so use it. buff.ly/4ci4VEA

We’ve decided in all good conscience we can no longer support this social media platform. I realize that our leaving will be met with all of the dramatic importance of an extra quart of water over Niagara Falls, I invite you to join us on LinkedIn, and at @jackrandall.bsky.social