Powertalk Rovers Club training weekend in Carlisle is always the highlight of the
members’ year. It is important for many reasons:-
First, because it does what it says on the tin; Powertalk’s previous name was
International Training in Communication (ITC). The weekend emphasis is on training
where members are able to exchange ideas and learn from each other in a group
environment. It can be intense but always supportive and the energy level within the
group dynamic rises minute by minute with each session.
Second, part of our training has always been in the conduct of meetings or to quote
its sophisticated legal terminology “Parliamentary Procedure”. For that reason the
Annual General Meeting (AGM) is also held at this time. Anyone who has had to
organise or even stand up and speak at a meeting of any kind knows that it doesn’t
“just happen”. There is a legal requirement for anyone involved in meetings to follow
a set of rules, first of all determined by the common law of the country in which the
meeting is held and secondly by the rules of the organisation known as the
“Constitution”.
Third, it is an opportunity to learn more about the everyday communication which
dominates our lives:- Meaningful conversation, debating the pros and cons of a
situation, the art of listening, explaining how something works to others, asking for a
favour or consideration from others, and improving our level of self awareness which
is gained by one of our main foundation blocks, the science and yes the art of
evaluation.
Fourth, it’s a basic human right and according to some the self indulgence of
enjoying oneself and the company of others. It is thought solipsistic to some and
hedonistic to others but ‘’all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” and therefore
Powertalk Rovers training weekend always records closing comments of enjoyment
in learning and the company of others. There are no dull boys or girls in Rovers!
This year the club weekend was at the beginning of September in Carlisle University
Student Campus and Residences. On arrival the ritual of comparing what was
missing and/or not working in our flats and en suite rooms began.“Why have I only
one towel?”,“How do we stop the doorbell which seems to have a life of its own” and
“Is my absent teapot more of a crisis than your faulty bedside light?” Only when
these vital occupational hazards had been ameliorated, did we attend to enquiring
after each others’ health and say “nice to see you again”.
Our first evening was informal with a now customary meal in “La Mezzaluna”. Most
of us had travelled quite a long way but this did nothing to diminish our energy for
conversation. No training was necessary on this occasion and we held our own in the
excellent noisy Italian restaurant.
On the Saturday, the AGM was conducted by President Liz Duncan and this was
followed by the installation of the new Board, all details of which can be seen in the
Minutes. She also ran the first workshop on Evaluation and began rightly and
seriously by outlining the main points of good critique, reminding us to listen
carefully, note the main points of the messages then highlight pros and cons of
content and presentation in a positive manner concluding with suggestions for
improvement. This was all very textbook stuff until she stopped, fixed us all with a
discerning eye and said “Well off you go; get on with it”. It was only at this point I
realised we had to walk to a table laden with multiple samples of chocolate and
forms on which to evaluate them under different headings of confection quality. OH
JOY UNCONTAINED! Any suggestion of Jack being a dull boy vanished as we
applied the principles of good evaluation among the contented smiling faces of our
fellow members. This was common sense training and “learning by doing”. The
afternoon was spent listening to the annual speech contest – a voluntary ordeal for
some and an entertaining exercise for the audience who were then asked to give,
again evaluations after three judges had awarded the trophy to Laurence Coates. A
formal meal was held in a private room and after-dinner topics rendered to end the
day. These were all extemporaneous – another part of our training for unexpected
speaking.
Sunday morning was used for two very different workshops, one by Ruth Maltman
on recording our autobiographies for future generations and the other by Laurence
Coates on the importance of clear communication particularly in problem solving for
the IT age. Both of these were instructive and highly participative.
Our theme for the October Document was Freedom. As in parliamentary
procedure,our organisation does have some rules about what to say and speeches
for competition are not allowed to be religious, political or time-lined narrative but we would always argue that Freedom of Speech in general is fundamental to civilisation.
Training in the POWER of TALKing well is our raison d’être. Come and join us!
Rosemary Low
