Train to Speak Out, Not Freak Out! - Getting Our Message to the Media

	Ansted-area residents attend a recent OVEC Speak Out! training to learn how to get their message about stopping a mountaintop removal mine out to the public and the mass media.

If you are involved in campaigns for social change, you may find yourself speaking at a meeting, a hearing or a press conference while cameras whirr and reporters ask questions.

That’s stressful to a lot of folks, so take a tip from the Boy Scouts and be prepared. Come to one of OVEC’s free Speak Out! trainings (open to OVEC and Coal River Mountain Watch members).

These fun, interactive workshops offer tips on how to hone your message and stay on point, and a chance to practice in front of cameras in a friendly atmosphere.

Once you are involved in being part of the news, you may want to delve deeper, to reach more people in new ways. OVEC, in partnership with the Center for Rural Strategies and Appalshop also offers trainings in Place Stories (very easy digital storytelling), and audio interviewing and editing for radio.