Jill Falloon remembers her days as a young 4-H member at meetings. The older members took the lead and “the younger members were just there.”
Falloon is now a specialist on family living for Manitoba Agriculture and is among those working to ensure young 4-H members are as involved in meetings and activities as the older ones. It’s key to keeping those young members in the organization.
At a 4-H leaders conference in Portage Nov. 21-23, she shared some of her insights on ways to keep members interested at meetings, regardless of their age.
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An underlying message was that showing is as important as telling. The meetings need to be more than having the leader stand in front of the members talking about things, Falloon said. The exchange of ideas has to flow both ways.
“Instead of just talking, get them involved,” said Falloon in an interview last week.
That can be as basic as letting members working on projects share their ideas on how it needs to be done. Ask questions to invite those ideas.
“Rather than you telling them, they tell you.”
Be creative, Falloon advised. There are 1,000 ways to convey the same message. Talk is one of them, but consider more innovative approaches like skits, games and songs.
While that helps to make meetings interesting, it also caters to the wide range of ways that young people learn. Hearing, seeing and touching are all things that help them learn, and each member will have preferences and strengths.
“Some people like to do things on their own,” Falloon said. “Others like to be working in a large group.”
During the 4-H year, members have a green sheet they fill out, recording their activities. Not all members relish that task, but Falloon said even that can be made more appetizing by providing a beverage and snacks for them while they do the paperwork.
“Even though they don’t want to do it, try to make it more enjoyable for them.”
And she suggested rotating the leadership of meetings, or even just a portion of each meeting. While that adds variety, it also gives more members a chance to build their skills in leadership and communication.
