Thread by @DoctorAnanas

If you're new to activism, and ur group is all rookies as well, hunt down someone with experience to teach u the ins & outs. Save yourself years.

So many things I've had to painfully figure out by myself before opening the right books & realising it's staples.

6 random examples

1⃣ The phone is ur best friend.
Call ppl all the time - ppl you need to work with, ppl you've met once to tell them of ur next event, collect ppl's numbers and not only email addresses. One-on-one conversations get ppl moving.
Chats & broadcasts are comfortable...and ineffective.

2⃣ You're not organising organisations.
You're organising people. Most of the time, sitting with reps of different movements to come up with some vague joint thing is a waste of time. It will be tepid, and won't grow your base. Talk to *individuals*, old but especially new.

3⃣ Fight the tyranny of the annoying.
Some ppl with the best intentions can completely destroy a group, driving efficient ppl out, simply by being annoying, dominating, toxic. Talk to them & set boundaries, but if needed, kick them out. You can't include both them & the rest.

4⃣ Run efficient meetings.
End on time, make it clear what the program is, ruthlessly keep it on track. 15 minutes wasted x 10 people on a call = 2.5 hours of valuable time gone forever. Volunteers' time is precious.

5⃣ Microdesign is key.
Whatever you're doing.
Public meeting? Is there food on the table? Are newcomers made welcome within 30 sec of entering the room?
Flyering? What's your opening line? Did you try several versions to see which works best?

6⃣ Collect data and always improve your techniques.
How did attendees hear of your public meeting?
What email performed better at fundraising?
How many flyers can you hand out in one hour?
Experiment, learn from others, figure out what works best, improve, iterate.

Since this is doing the rounds: I'm an organiser for the civil resistance campaign @Renovate_CH in Switzerland
We're part of the #A22 w/:
@derniere_renov (France)
@JustStop_Oil (UK)
@AufstandLastGen (Germany)
@saveoldgrowth (Canada)
@DecEmergency (USA)
renovate-switzerland.ch
⤵️

@InsulateLove (UK)
@UltimaGenerazi1 (Italy)
@fireproofaus (Australia)
@stoppoljeleting (Norway)
@vatmarker (Denmark)

And here's a pic of my campaign @Renovate_CH in action.
Pretty optimal use of manpower to maximise chaos, as you see 😉
Check out the #A22 campaign in ur country!