Teach-In: Demystifying the 1-on-1, Creating Deeper Relationships for Organizing

Let’s continue to explore the nuts and bolts of organizing and demystify movement-building; This month’s call will look at the basic building block of relational organizing, “The 1:1”. Anyone can be an organizer and anyone can be a more impactful organizer. In this call, we will share some basic information about what is a “one-on-one” and how to integrate it into your day-to-day organizing! Individual, personal relationships can lead to small groups, which can gather into larger groups that can create powerful coalitions and movements! Getting comfortable with the one-on-one framework will lead to greater comfort with building your community (or working group) to fostering meaningful and collaborative action. Here's to creating a beloved community!

As we take the stage in our Third Act of life, we must play our parts to address the threats to our democracy and the climate emergency. To do that, we may need more tools to do the work we want to do, which begs the question: How can we build community with those around us while initiating meaningful projects that make a difference?

Our understanding is that we start where we are. From talking to our friends, engaging neighbors, and motivating colleagues, the answers to making a tangible difference seems to be all around us.

We know that there are two sides of this coin: the part of our community that has been organizing for decades, and the side of some newcomers that want to join in on the work. Our goal at Third Act is to help provide lots of handholds as we climb together.

To succeed, we will need to bring in and train up thousands of folks willing to step up into leadership roles within our families, communities, and voting districts. An important first step is talking to people one-on-one. This will support and lead to convening larger groups of people, and hosting meaningful conversations that get to the heart of what we care about, what’s at stake, and how we can effectively advance the changes we seek.

The questions we are hoping to tackle are: what are some fears about having these conversations? Why is it so hard to get people engaged sometimes? How can we support conversation that allows each person to feel heard? 

With our hosts,  Kathleen Sullivan, a grandmother, therapist, social worker and activist who lives in Maine, Anna Goldstein, Third Act Advisory Council member and Bob Fulkerson, Third Act’s Lead Organizer, we will share tips, lessons learned, and stories to inspire us all to take this first step toward building momentum with our friends and neighbors. On Monday, February 14th, at 7:30pm ET please join other elders as we work to demystify the one-on-one.

Participation in our Third Act event series is free. Donations can be made at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/third-act.