A lot of people get tired of going to meetings and hearing from the same voices every week, every month and every year. Those who are the leaders must find a way to change up the message, even when the points of the message remain the same. One of the best ways to change up the message is to change the messenger, but getting participation from members can be a challenge. Here are some ways you can get more people involved.
Find out what the membership wants.
Do a survey among your members and find out what they want from their training sessions. It makes no sense for you to present on the rules regarding substitutions when the membership is confused about obstruction and interference. Most of the time, the membership wants a voice in the association. Use that method to get them involved in determining the topics.
Invite their participation.
You will find someone that is passionate about a topic being included in the meeting schedule. Usually, it’s because that official had a play or situation involving that type of call or play. When someone suggests a topic, ask him or her to be the discussion leader. Tell that official you will work with him or her in preparing so the individual doesn’t feel overwhelmed.
Use topics that require discussion.
At least one meeting a year is the presentation on the new rules. That’s not a topic that is going to require a lot of audience participation. But after that meeting, gear your topics and your points to those that will involve discussion or even role-playing where one member acts as a coach and another acts as the official. Don’t ask for volunteers but call individuals out and ask them to participate.
Emphasize the need for new ideas.
Just because you are the training leader, that doesn’t mean you have to lead every training session. Make it a point to invite eager officials to get involved in the meetings. Rookies are generally scared to be involved and won’t have as much to offer and a lot of veterans are at the meeting only because they have to be. But the in-between group — those with four or eight years of experience — wants to be included in the “in crowd” of veterans and getting them involved is the way to do that.
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