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Sharing Impact & Value: Strategic Communication for the Civil Service

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Strategically and clearly communicate the importance of your work to relevant audiences, without partisanship.

People in the civil service at all levels — local, state, and federal — do important and necessary work. Yet often those services go unnoticed or are misunderstood. Recent events have shown the need for greater awareness of the work done by professionals who have dedicated their careers to civil service.

This free 90-minute workshop is designed to provide an opportunity for you to build your skills around strategically communicating the importance and relevance of your work for the audience(s) you most need to reach, in ways that are nonpartisan, clear, and compelling.

We’ll share strategic communication principles, discuss how to identify your key audiences and what matters most to them, and practice using the Message Box, our tool for gathering and refining your thoughts. The workshop is intended for current or recent U.S. civil servants at any scale (local, state, federal) and any focus area. We are most experienced in supporting people in science roles, but our workshops can be helpful for anyone in a role where they need to communicate effectively and strategically about their work.

Please note: this workshop focuses on concepts and techniques individuals can use to help them share the importance of their work, especially around scientific topics, without partisanship. We are not qualified to provide legal or human resources advice.

Due to the progression of materials presented and the paired exercises, we cannot admit participants who are more than 15 minutes late.More information can be found in the FAQ page on our website.

Who could benefit from this workshop?

This workshop is open to people in the civil service (currently or formerly), at any level (federal, state, local) who would like to build their nonpartisan strategic communication skills.

Registration

We encourage you to register for the workshop using an email account that you are sure you will have uninterrupted access to.

Technology

The workshop will be held on the video conferencing platform Zoom. You will need a webcam, microphone, and stable internet connection. Recommended upload/download speed is 5Mbps/5Mbps. Test your internet speed here by clicking “run speed test.” This workshop will also incorporate the browser-based whiteboard program called MURAL.

Details

Tickets

Want to attend more than one COMPASS workshop? You can now purchase a class pass to save up to $50 per workshop! Learn more here.

FAQs – Virtual Workshops

I need to arrive late/leave early. Is that ok?

We are unable to admit participants who arrive more than 15 minutes late due to the progression of material presented. You will not receive a refund if you are more than 15 minutes late. If you unexpectedly need to leave the workshop during a portion of the event or early, we cannot guarantee we will be able to readmit you to the workshop, depending on how long you are gone. Part of the magic of our workshops is the peer feedback and peer-to-peer learning that takes place. To ensure that is possible, we need everyone to be present for the full workshop.

My webcam doesn’t work. Can I still attend?

A functional webcam is highly recommend, but you can still attend as long as you are able to verbally participate in group discussion and paired exercises in breakout rooms.

Can I call in to the workshop?

This workshop includes visual content viewed via Zoom screen sharing and browser-based content, so we do not recommend that you solely call in to the workshop.

Will the workshop be recorded?

No. For the privacy and comfort of all participants, this workshop will not be recorded.

Will there be other dates or opportunities to join a COMPASS virtual workshop?

Yes! To stay up to date on our virtual offerings, sign up for our newsletter.

What does it mean to be waitlisted?

We create a waitlist for workshops that reach capacity so that we can offer spots as they become available. If there is a cancellation and a spot becomes available, we will open up registration for the first person on the waitlist and then work our way down the list as other spots become available. We will contact you directly to let you know if a spot has opened for you.

What is your refund policy?

If you have to cancel up to 7 days before the start of the event, you will receive an automatic full refund minus the Eventbrite processing fee if paid through Eventbrite. If you cancel within 7 days of the event, you will receive a 50% refund. If you cancel within 24 hours of the event, you will not be eligible to receive a refund. If you cancel within 24 hours, have technological issues during the workshop, or unexpectedly need to leave the workshop early, we will determine on a case-by-case basis whether or not you can receive credit for a future workshop.

Can I transfer my ticket to another person if I can no longer attend the event?

Yes! Participants are allowed to transfer their registration up to 24 hours in advance of the event. There is no charge to transfer registration, unless there is a price difference between the tickets.

Can I purchase tickets for other people?

Yes! You will need to have the names and email addresses of the people for whom you are purchasing tickets. To complete the purchase, you may enter “N/A” for the additional questions in the order form. Once the tickets are purchased, an order confirmation will be sent to the purchaser and to each participant. The participants can then retroactively fill out the additional questions in the order form.

Still have questions?

Contact us at trainings@COMPASSscicomm.org and we’ll do our best to answer them!

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