“Thank you SO much Steven. I have learned something today that I will take away and take action to improve. In short – great training.” Respect and Inclusion with Staffordshire CC

Greetings folks,

What I often think is missing with the modern world is, RESPECT.  It’s sometimes seen as an old-fashioned world.  The other thing we are lacking is compassion. Key-board warriors bashing away at their devices with impunity, completely obsessed with one thing or another.  I often say to young people, “If you wouldn’t say it to somebody’s face, then don’t write it on the Internet.”  I also point out that once that photo has been unloaded, it’s OUT THERE, it doesn’t belong to you anymore.  There is often an array of faces with aghast expressions…

The Respect and Inclusion sessions I created for Staffordshire County Council were not about tick boxing.  I created them because we HAVE to allow for differing opinions and also challenge firmly held beliefs.  Sometimes we have formed views and opinions based on our parental role models.  A time when we were powerless and the world was morphed and explained by our carers.  We now have the added element of social media.  It is so easy to be radicalised by online hate streams. 

Funny tale – I created a game called, ‘What Katie said?’  The groups are given quotes from famous Katie’s.  For research purposes I looked up Katie Hopkins and read and listened to some of her comments and views.  Needless to say, I don’t agree with Ms. Hopkins, now why am I sharing this anecdote?  I then bobbed onto YouTube and the algorithm didn’t quite understand ‘research’ so it now thought; ‘oh, Steven LOVES all of this right wing, conspiracy theory, ‘Trump is great’ stuff!’  And so, there it sat, each and every day, filling up my feed.  Luckily, I realised what this was all about and I went through my history and removed the content.  The algorithm then went, ‘oh, maybe I’m wrong’ and it was back to clips of Doctor Who and content about Marvel Comics! However, I’m sure that if I wasn’t a strong-willed person who understands his own values, I may have fell down the deep, dark, doom scrolling hole.

I often ask the question, “Where did you get that from?”  I once trained a local authority councillor who couldn’t understand why it was an issue that he would refer to a family on his estate as, ‘the traveller family.’  Each and every time they were mentioned, he’d clarify, ‘oh the travellers.’  Then do a face.  There had not been a single issue with that family. In point of fact, they were very active in their community.  But to him, they were just, ‘the traveller family.’  The end.  I didn’t say, “You can’t be saying that idiot!” Instead, I used my tried and tested, “How come you feel the need to describe their heritage all of the time?” Immediately defensive, his response was, “Well, they are!”  I said, “Yes, I get that, I just wondered what the reason is behind you clarifying that fact, each and every time they are mentioned.  It would be like me remarking on your background, your sexuality or your religion every time you spoke up.  ‘Oh, it’s councillor so and so THE STRAIGHT CATHOLIC ONE!’”  He thought about it and simply went, “Yea, fair point.” 

Reflection is the key.  If we could just slow the world down for a wee while and allow people to reflect on their beliefs and attitudes then maybe, just maybe, they’d acknowledge that they have things a tad confused.  Or plain wrong.  Here is one piece of feedback that stuck with me: “Excellent training.  I have learnt a lot and need to go away now and self-reflect, as there are issues, I could deal with in a better way.  Thank you.” We can think differently.  We can pause for ninety seconds and just THINK rather than REACT. 

I just thought, with the state of the country at the moment, it may be time to share a teensy bit of feedback with regard to ‘Respect and Inclusion.’  People disagreed with each other, in each and every session there was a healthy level of debate.  And everyone listened to each other.  We often decoded where beliefs had come from.  No-one fell out, no raised voices, just a lot of laughter and respect. 

On with the comments!

“Fantastic, eye-opening training that should be mandatory across the council.”

“The training was fun, informative, intriguing!  Good knowledge from the trainer (Steve) and I was engaged throughout.”

“Five Stars!  Steven was lovely!  Funny, engaging and understanding of my learning needs.  I would recommend this training to everyone.”

“Very engaging training, Steven made the training come alive.  I would highly recommend Steven Talbot’s training.”

“Steven was extremely knowledgeable and engaging.  He kept the session light when discussing difficult topics, I fund the training both exciting and informative.  And FUN!  Thank you Steven.”

“The training was very informative, and Steven delivered the training excellently.  He has intelligence, charisma and respect for all who came today.”

“Steven made the training very enjoyable, and he obviously understood what each of our roles are at the council.  I didn’t know what to expect and I worried I’d be bored; this couldn’t have been farther from that if it tried.  Well done.  Thank you!”

“This was very different from our usual training.  BUT in a good way!  I enjoyed it.”

“Thank you SO much Steven.  I have learned something today that I will take away and take action to improve.  In short – great training.”

“Brillian training.  Very engaging and I learned a lot about myself and the others on the team.”

“This was excellent training.  All of the topics, the handouts and the activities were clearly well thought out and relevant to our jobs and our roles at the council.”

“Brilliant.  Steven made the training come alive and it was all very interesting.”

“Very engaging and Steven kept my interest throughout (which is a first for me on training!) I enjoyed all of the course and the work that had evidently gone into it.”