Staff of all positions are increasingly responsible for communicating the library’s value to the community. However, varying skills, experience and comfort level may detract from the clarity and consistency needed to project a cohesive message. Many outreach efforts lack basic communication principles (both visual and verbal), and/or lack feedback to ensure presentations are effective. Also, staff across an organization may lack awareness of systemwide initiatives that help spontaneous promotion of the library.

This training packages together online courses with live demonstrations of real projects and feedback from colleagues. Each participant learns basic best practices for both visual presentations and public speaking followed by a practice session of their own project. During this session, a small group of supportive reviewers assess the participant’s skills and project content. Reviewers provide constructive feedback through discussion and an evaluation rubric to help improve the project before use in public.

Establishing a baseline skill set improves the overall quality of outreach for the library as a whole. Participants are compelled to “step back” from their work to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of their communications, both from the point of view of best practices and from that of peer reviewers. Confidence increases as participants apply concepts to their specific projects, and also by receiving encouragement from peer groups. Peer feedback decreases presentation anxiety and promotes a culture of idea sharing.