How To Win At Radio

How To Win At Radio By Sir Fred Spong In 1996 Sir Fred sprung to national acclaim when he hid out in a tunnel studio under the Newbury bypass protest to create his now mythical Tree FM pirate radio broadcasts – in spite of their lager-sodden abusive tone. He managed to dig himself out in 1998, having lost track of the time and has, in his words, ‘been fired by more radio stations than I’ve had hot toddies’. In the course of that ‘career’ he claims to have learnt a lot about the art of being interviewed on matters green and in this exclusive essay, he imparts his wisdom… Rule 1 – Prepare, prepare, prepare My dears, there is nothing spontaneous about doing an interview on the radio. If you haven’t prepared, don’t even think about approaching a microphone let alone opening your speaking orifice. Rule 2 – They are idiots The so called “Media” would have you believe that they are the God-given blummin’ Chosen Few such are their airs and graces (and I should know). The cathode ray teat has conditioned us all to believe that this is the Truth. But, my dears, they are, in my long experience, a bunch of lazyarsed slackers who want nothing other than a good sound-bite with the least effort from themselves. Give them that and they will love you. They also will probably know less about climate change than your smallest appendage. If you are still feeling intimidated by these wallies just picture them sat on the crapper (but please do this in your minds eye only – such graffiti is rarely tolerated) Rule 3 – It’s not about you. Heaven forbid that I go all ‘Zen’ on you but the radio interview is the art of selflessness. Your views are as irrelevant as my credit rating – say nothing that doesn’t connect with your audience. To do anything else is self indulgent aural flatulence. Decide who the audience is – general public or talk to them not the amoeba-brain on the other Focus your every brain cell on delivering that concepts that they understand and if necessary Rule 4 – Get Stupid I’d like to think (although my long experience of Ego Warriors would tell me otherwise) that you have immersed yourself in the what’s, whys and 129 core decision makers – and side of the microphone. message, in language and lower your IQ. where-fores of climate change. If you haven’t – then bog off and come back when you have! If you have, well here’s the rub my lovelies – you need to strip away that knowledge and trim your message to the bare necessities. My preferred method has been a bottle of the beloved grog before the red light goes on but my festering gout sores might put you off that approach. So – if you’re not an apprentice alcoholic - test everything that you’ve prepared against the notion of the interested Joan Public who has The Sun-level knowledge of climate change. This mainly entails simplifying the language – not the ideas. Rules 5,6 & 7 – Punchy People Pictures We all know that a reasonable dose of climate change facts and figures is brown trouser-inducing. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want that in my living room (the facts not the trousers you smartalec) . People, even the most addled, like me, respond to stories about people, and engaging the imaging centres of the brain amplifies any messages. So talk about Ali – that teacher in Bangladesh who has had to rebuild his class room three times in the last five years because of freak flooding, about Bert the Canadian, who has had to watch his family home fall apart as the permafrost melts… I could go on but you get the picture (that was a pun in case you missed it). These are your ‘soundbites’ – craft them as the gems that they no doubt will be – and use them as the ‘grab’ to start your answers, before setting to the substance of your response. And the ‘punch’? Well that’s about talking with passion. It’s the scientists, reporters and corporate representatives who are obliged by convention to be all calm and measured. Now I’m not suggesting that you jump up and down screaming ‘We’re all going to die!’ – even if you think it – but do connect to that possibility. You are on the side of right (or is that the self righteous?) and have the courage to speak in a way that actually indicates that you believe in what you say. Give your voice presence, vary intonation and show that you give a damn. I would recommend that you avoid profanities and thumping the table – or interviewer for that matter. The latter whilst hugely entertaining, attention grabbing and possibly satisfying might lead to unwelcome attention from Her Majesty’s Constabulary, or the end of your broadcasting career – and I should know. Thinking about it, I’d be tempted to disobey that last suggestion if being interviewed by Jeremy Clarkson or one of his gimps. Rule 8 – Question, what question? Dear acolytes – a radio interview is a formal ‘dance’ the sole function of which is to extract interesting things to transmit. Don’t be fooled into thinking that it is a natural conversation that requires you to obey the laws of dialogue. What on Earth is natural about some clone with a 130 microphone, perhaps in a studio, who’s written down what they want to say and who has to wrap the whole chat up in three minutes flat? If you’ve half a brain cell the four or five questions will be utterly predicable: What? Why? We’re not even sure of climate change (again, resist the urge to violence) And two things of obvious and unimaginative ‘contention’ such as the cost issue (just look at what the BBC web site is saying on the matter) Spend a bit of time guessing the questions and then stop – put them to one side as you do the important work…. Go into the average interview with perhaps three or four main points that you want to make – AND MAKE THEM! I don’t for one moment suggest that you ignore the question – leave that sort of transparent deviousness to Cameron and his fags (as in public school servants before you start). Deal with the question by linking to it and then jump in with the most appropriate sound bite, followed up with some more substance if time allows. Rule 9 – Chose Live! Not a misprint. Pre-recorded interviews, whilst less scary – hand editorial control to the fish-brain with the mic (sorry I’ve just insulted all fish). If given the option of a live interview, grab it and if humanly possible go to the studio to do it rather than do it over the phone – the latter makes you sound distant and less human. If you are stuck with a pre-record make those sound bites all the better and they will, I assure you, be the things that get included. Rule 10 – When you’ve finished – stop! Wittering on might show you off as the witless buffoon that people think you are. Avoid this by the simple method of stopping when you have made your point. A strange thing happens when you stop talking in an interview – the interviewer has to ask a question. So don’t worry about stopping as it enables you to get to your next point rather than plunging into the ins and out of the hockey stick… I have to go now – off to read the dawn sheep prices on Orkney FM. Tally ho – pip pip – and good luck to you all… 131 The Six Habits of Highly Successful Press Releases Sending out press releases can be a great way of raising your profile and getting your business's message out there – especially valuable for social enterprises with broader aims than just growing profits. But many social enterprises aren't big enough to employ their own publicity staff, and not everyone's confident enough to take the DIY approach. Sarah Irving offers a few tips... 1.Keep it short Journalists are, generally speaking, idle. Or at least overworked. Whichever they want to tell themselves. If your press release is three pages of densely-packed detail and quotes from everyone who's ever been within ten feet of your project, they will zone out at the second paragraph. Try to keep the main body of the press release to three reasonably short paragraphs, featuring the key message and facts you want to get over, some supporting information and one or two quotes from significant players. Try to make sure that the first sentence, at least, is short, punchy and attention-getting (or at least clear). More in-depth information, background and longer quotations can go in numbered 'notes for editors' after the main text. 2. Keep it simple Unless you have very good software, resist the urge to make your press releases look fancy. The more html, graphics and other prettiness you include, the bigger the chance that someone's email programme isn't going to be able to read it, or that it will get jumbled, or that it will be too big and infuriate someone by crashing their inbox. If your information is boring or irrelevant, no amount of patterned backgrounds or bright colours is going to help. Use plain text that anyone will be able to read and that is least likely to distort itself on alien software. 3. Don't tell everyone who you're sending it to Unless your company or organisation can afford to subscribe to PR services which send your email out in bulk, it's likely you'll be using the mailing list feature of a standard email programme, or inputting addresses yourself. It's vital that you ensure that the recipients of an email can't see all the other people who've received it. Disclosing whole lists like this is really bad manners, as it opens recipients up to spam emails and other online abuses, and will infuriate and alienate people you're meant to be getting onto your side. Ensure you always use the BCC field for email addresses, and check your email software to make sure that distribution list names don't also need to be moved into the BCC field. 4. Lies damn lies and statistics If you can include in your press release statistics, survey data or percentages, definitely do so. Journalists love 'em, and headline writers even more so. How many articles have you seen headed 'One in three...' or 'ninety percent of...' or 'biggest ever...'? However tenuous or spurious the connection, dropping these into your PR is a great way of keeping journos happy. 5. Human interest Alongside facts and figures, one of the things that will endear you to someone writing a story from your press release is supplying them with ready-made quotations – then they can use them and it looks like they've actually gone so far as to interview someone. It also breaks up text nicely, making a press release read much better if statements about why your event is interesting/significant/vital can be framed as a quote. And if you can also use comments from service users, customers, policy makers or other interested parties, this gives a wider scope and more human feel to your story that can make it stand out. 6. Make sure you give full contact details! You'd be surprised how many people manage to leave these off. And make sure you've also remembered to give all relevant times, dates and places – there's nothing more embarrassing than having to send out a second press release with corrections and omissions. Sarah Irving is a freelance journalist who has done press and PR for several small social enterprises, including Olive Co-operative and UHC Collective, and for a number of local campaigns and causes. She's successfully attracted coverage in broadsheet newspapers and on mainstream TV, as well as in the local and regional press. See www.sarahirving.net This article first appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of “Enterprising” the magazine of Togetherworks, the social enterprise network for Manchester www.togetherworks.org.uk 132 Strategy Resources Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat. Sun Tzu Hmm, strategising. It's easily said, harder (and hardly) done, harder still to implement. We would, it seems, rather be doing something. (As the old meditation line goes “don't just do something, sit there!” But that can mean we keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, which is one definition of madness... Campaignstrategy.org Chris Rose's “modest suggestions for anyone trying to save the world” Really really good stuff. Uses research on how people with different worldviews will respond to “messages” from government, corporations, campaigners etc. Full of useful insights. A newsletter that comes out most months can be subscribed to for free. A different view: critical guidance for campaigners “A different view is the summation of over thirty years campaigning experience, providing answers to the question that only the most driven campaigners dare to ask, "What would it actually take to succeed?” [OP editor: This site, simply laid out, is CHOCK FULL of useful information. Ignore it at the planet's peril...] http://nickgallie.org Seeds for Change Seeds for Change is a non-profit coop providing training and resources to grassroots campaigners, NGOs, Co-ops and other community groups and organisations in the social sector. On our website we have details of the support we offer, as well as resources for campaigners. See especially their briefings on strategy http://seedsforchange.org.uk/free/resources#plan and “organising successful meetings” http://seedsforchange.org.uk/free/resources#grp www.seedsforchange.org.uk The Change Agency is a collective of activist educators and researchers. We work with community organisers to help people clarify their purpose and develop plans that will enable them to be heard, focus their energies and achieve social and environmental justice outcomes. We research social change, activism and advocacy. What is successful and what isn't? How can people organise and work together more effectively? Based on our ongoing research we facilitate workshops for activists and community organisers and also share many of our resources on this site. Our mission is to strengthen effective community and workplace action for social, ecological and economic justice by providing facilitation, workshops, resources, research and other learning opportunities. www.thechangeagency.org 133 The Movement Action Plan is a strategic model for waging non-violent social movements developed by Bill Moyer, a US social change activist. The MAP, initially developed by Moyer in the late 1970s, uses case studies of successful social movements to illustrate eight distinct stages through social movements progress, and is designed to help movement activists choose the most effective tactics and strategies to match their movements' current stage. • The Eight Stages Moyer Describes are: Critical Social Problem Exists Prove Failure of Official Institutions Ripening Conditions Take Off Perception of Failure Majority Public Opinion Success Continuation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_Action_Plan Saul Alinsky's “Rules for Radicals” is a classic. Dated, but not just a historical curio. “Known as the "father of modern American radicalism," Saul D. Alinsky (19091972) developed strategies and tactics that take the enormous, unfocused emotional energy of grass-roots groups and transform it into effective anti-government and anti-corporate activism. Activist organizations teach his ideas widely taught today as a set of model behaviours, and they use these principles to create an emotional commitment to victory - no matter what.” www.geocities.com/WallStreet/8925/alinsky.htm (with 12 classic rules) Gopal Balakrishnan suggests, in his 2005 New Left Review essay “States of War, that relative inattention to long-term strategic planning within the current U.S. regime arises Hell, your taxes (if you pay them) paid for this malarkey below, so you may as from the rise to power of “a generation of planners-cumwell use it... “The Strategy Survival Guide aims to support strategy development business leaders raised in a market environment that and promote strategic thinking in government. It encourages a project-based amply rewards hostile approach to developing strategy and describes four typical project phases. It takeovers, downsizing, also discusses a range of skills and useful tools and approaches that can help to outsourcing and the arts of foster strategic thinking. It is offered as a resource and reference guide, and not cooking the books.” intended as a prescription or off-the-shelf solution to successful strategy work.” http://interactive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy/survivalguide But reading about it isn't going to make it so. You don't learn to ride a bike by reading a book... “We find the path as we walk it”, and other such tedious new age bromides... 134 Checklist for Encouraging People to become- and stayinvolved in your group. New people at your meetings? If you see someone new arrive, welcome them, talk to them - just don't ignore them. Bring a friend or neighbour to the group. Word of mouth and encouragement are the most effective ways of involving new people. Act as a mentor, or buddy, for a new member, explain things if necessary, such as references to previous work done by the group. Generally check they're comfortable. What to do with new people? Share out tasks among members. If you are working on something, try and include at least one person who has never done that particular sort of work before. Get small working groups to do particular jobs, reporting back to the main meeting for support, to answer any questions and to check it's OK to continue. These smaller groups should try and have someone new involved and not be made up exclusively of regulars or the most experienced. Can new people get involved in your group? Regularly consider the practicalities of your meetings - how accessible, or easy to find, are your meeting spaces? When do you hold your meetings? Try different meeting times and days, and ask people when is better for them. Consider young people, parents and carers. Recognise the value of people's different life experience. Take account of people's different abilities to commit time and energy. 135 Now and again plan activities that encourage wider involvement. Make sure that all the usual suspects get involved, and talk with new people. What might seem like a “simple” piece of work to you may be really exciting to a potential new member. Where do you publicise the group and its meetings, if at all? If you want to do something about a gender imbalance, or want to work with more black and minority ethnic groups, does your publicity/word of mouth go to where these people will see or hear about it? Does it welcome them explicitly to your group? Does it encourage them to get involved? Publicise and celebrate your achievements. Make your own posters or newsletters, to let people know you're successful. Don't forget to thank people when they do something. When things are going well say so. Pass around an agenda at the beginning of each meeting so that people can add their points to it. During meetings, do you challenge put-downs or from Another World is Possible, If... by Susan George, discriminatory remarks? Verso 2006, page 164-6. Buy this book! Does your group have an understanding of equality of opportunity and what this means practically? Do you set aside time in any meeting to consider these issues and how they affect your group? Agree basic rules for the running of your group (such as how decisions are made, what the structure is, how meetings are run) together with everyone involved. Write them up and make sure everyone has a copy of these. This makes it more transparent and easier for people to be involved. For more briefings on grassroots activism, and to find out about training workshops look at our website: www.seedsforchange.org.uk 136 Accountability Enthusiasm and credibility are limited resources. Limited resources need to be protected. When we do not examine the times our plans fail, and the reasons why, then we create a culture of 'yeah, whatever, it doesn't really matter.' But it does. If we are serious about averting catastrophic climate change we have to be monumentally effective. We have to set the most amazing example. And obviously we have to protect everything that is best about our culture. When things get “lunched out” [Ed: that means, “not done, and with no warning that they weren't going to be done”] then newcomers get the sense that things don't matter that much. More experienced people get frustrated that their hard work comes to nothing not because of the police, or bad luck but because other people haven't been reliable/bothered to say in advance that they wouldn't be able to do what they said. They decide, without saying so, to avoid working with the lunch-outer. They only work with other busy people. An (in)visible clique forms, of the insiders who Do It and the mistrusted outsiders. It becomes very difficult for those outsiders to get 'in', and the insiders get busier and busier till they burn out. Then things can collapse... And the persistent lunch-out people become the public face because they have more time to hang out and drink beer while the inner clique are being busy. Proposed Workshop on Accountability 0 to 10 minutes We start in a big group, each person having pen and paper. The facilitator explains that the next hour is actually going to be a little bit tough emotionally and that a) anyone who wants to step out at any point can do so and b) there should be no finger-pointing. We can't change the past and the whole point of the workshop is to figure out constructive and productive ways of supporting each other and ourselves so we can reduce (NOT eliminate) lunch-out behaviour. This means that although other people may be able to guess what/who you are talking about, you should NOT use names of individuals. The facilitator asks us to sit silently and think before writing. The facilitator asks that everyone thinks of at least one, and as many as three times, that each person in the room lunched something out themselves Write down what the task was. Why did it get lunched out? Did you explain to the group other/person before or after the meeting that you weren't going to achieve the task/meet the deadline? Did the task still get done? How did you feel about it overall? What were the consequences for a) the project b) the group c) you yourself What was the last major time you were on the receiving end of a lunch-out? Write down what the task was. 137 Why do you think it get lunched-out? Did the lunch-outer explain to the group other/person before or after the meeting? Did the task still get done? How did you feel about it overall? What were the consequences for a) the project b) the group Finally, give a number to the size of the lunch-out problem, on a scale of one to ten, where one is “no problem at all” and ten is “will destroy the movement before the police/corporations do” 10 minutes to 25 minutes With those bits of paper, split into small groups. If you are in a group where there is a person whose name has come into your head while you were answering the above questions, think about one of you moving to a different group. If you want to talk to that person then consider that a) you have to make sure that person wants to talk to you and b) having that talk in a small group it wouldn't be appropriate or productive anyhow. In small groups (maximum of five per group) ask someone to take minutes and also report back to the plenary. Very quick go round; 9. your name 10. how you are feeling right now (probably a little nervous, self-loathing, depressed) 11. what your number from one to ten is. Brainstorm answers to the following questions: 1. Why do things get lunched out? 2. How we can support each other to lessen the frequency of lunch-outism 3. What, if anything, can be done about persistent lunch-out behaviour from the same individual over and over again? 4. Would the following commitments help? a) I will only take on what I can do, given my time and current skill-levels b) If it turns out I cannot complete a task I said I would, then I will tell the rest of the group as soon as possible, so the task can be re-allocated or the project changed. Two minutes before end of session, ask groups to PRIORITISE their answers to number two. 25 to 50 minutes The minute taker from each group shouts out/writes up their top three suggestions to question two. If another group has already said one, then go to the next suggestion. Open discussion about the issue (everyone gets to speak once, unless no-one else wants to speak again. Ask people to try to phrase their point/question as succinctly as possible; two or three sentences) How do we implement the suggestions here? Does it need a few people to look in more depth? Do we need to re-visit this discussion at any point in the future? How could the session have been run better/differently? The sheets from each group are collected, typed up and distributed via email. 50 minutes Facilitator closes session, thanking everyone for their input and hard work in tackling a really difficult subject. 138 Non-Violent Communication Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is sometimes referred to as compassionate communication. Its purpose is to: create human connections that empower compassionate giving and receiving • create governmental and corporate structures that support compassionate giving and receiving. • NVC involves both communication skills that foster compassionate relating and consciousness of the interdependence of our well being and using power with others to work together to meet the needs of all concerned. This approach to communication emphasizes compassion as the motivation for action rather than fear, guilt, shame, blame, coercion, threat or justification for punishment. In other words, it is about getting what you want for reasons you will not regret later. NVC is NOT about getting people to do what we want. It is about creating a quality of connection that gets everyone’s needs met through compassionate giving. The process of NVC encourages us to focus on what we and others are observing separate from our interpretations and judgments, to connect our thoughts and feelings to underlying human needs/values (e.g. protection, support, love), and to be clear about what we would like towards meeting those needs. These skills give the ability to translate from a language of criticism, blame, and demand into a language of human needs -- a language of life that consciously connects us to the universal qualities “alive in us” that sustain and enrich our well being, and focuses our attention on what actions we could take to manifest these qualities. Nonviolent Communication skills will assist you in dealing with major blocks to communication such as demands, diagnoses and blaming. In CNVC trainings you will learn to express yourself honestly without attacking. This will help minimize the likelihood of facing defensive reactions in others. The skills will help you make clear requests. They will help you receive critical and hostile messages without taking them personally, giving in, or losing self-esteem. These skills are useful with family, friends, students, subordinates, supervisors, co-workers and clients, as well as with your own internal dialogues. Nonviolent Communication Skills NVC offers practical, concrete skills for manifesting the purpose of creating connections of compassionate giving and receiving based in a consciousness of interdependence and power with others. These skills include: 12.Differentiating observation from evaluation, being able to carefully observe what is happening free of evaluation, and to specify behaviors and conditions that are affecting us; 13.Differentiating feeling from thinking, being able to identify and express internal feeling states in a way that does not imply judgment, criticism, or blame/punishment; 14.Connecting with the universal human needs/values (e.g. sustenance, trust, understanding) in us that are being met or not met in relation to what is happening and how we are feeling; and 15.Requesting what we would like in a way that clearly and specifically states what we do want (rather than what we don’t want), and that is truly a request and not a demand (i.e. attempting to motivate, however subtly, out of fear, guilt, shame, obligation, etc. rather than out of willingness and compassionate giving). These skills emphasize personal responsibility for our actions and the choices we make when we respond to others, as well as how to contribute to relationships based in cooperation and collaboration. 139 With NVC we learn to hear our own deeper needs and those of others, and to identify and clearly articulate what “is alive in us”. When we focus on clarifying what is being observed, felt, needed, and wanted, rather than on diagnosing and judging, we discover the depth of our own compassion. Through its emphasis on deep listening—to ourselves as well as others—NVC fosters respect, attentiveness and empathy, and engenders a mutual desire to give from the heart. The form is simple, yet powerfully transformative. Founded on consciousness, language, communication skills, and use of power that enable us to remain human, even under trying conditions, Nonviolent Communication contains nothing new: all that has been integrated into NVC has been known for centuries. The intent is to remind us about what we already know—about how we humans were meant to relate to one another—and to assist us in living in a way that concretely manifests this knowledge. The use of NVC does not require that the persons with whom we are communicating be literate in NVC or even motivated to relate to us compassionately. If we stay with the principles of NVC, with the sole intention to give and receive compassionately, and do everything we can to let others know this is our only motive, they will join us in the process and eventually we will be able to respond compassionately to one another. While this may not happen quickly, it is our experience that compassion inevitably blossoms when we stay true to the principles and process of Nonviolent Communication. NVC is a clear and effective model for communicating in a way that is cooperative, conscious, and compassionate. adapted from: Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D.Published by PuddleDancer Press www.cnvc.org (Centre for NonViolent Communication) See also Time to Think Listening to Ignite the Human Mind by Nancy Kline (1999) Interpersonal Skills by Astrid French (1993) the Industrial Society Clean Language is a set of questions developed by therapist David Grove in the 1980s. Clean Language is ‘clean’ because it keeps the facilitator from unwittingly introducing their metaphors, assumptions or suggestions into a conversation (no matter how well meaning these may be). Clean questions encourage metaphors, ideas, selfreflections and “aha”s into being. When personal change is the goal, Clean Language invites a client's perceptions to evolve and change organically — one question at a time. www.cleanlanguage.co.uk 140 Barriers to participating in Non-Violent Direct Action When discussing NVDA in this context, of 'barriers' to it, I'll restrict my comments to symbolic/blocking actions (i.e. Nothing to do with covert economic sabotage and all the rest of that malarkey). Physical barriers To do most of the stuff campers do involves a certain amount of clambering over fences, being on your feet for quite a while, risking being kettled and denied drinking water etc. You'd probably be less up for it if you were old(er), diabetic, had a heart condition, were seriously out of condition, got panic attacks etc. But that stuff can usually be dealt with, with proper precautions, if you are determined and don't want to feel or look 'different' to the rest of the people around you. Which neatly segues into my main point. There are VAST psychological barriers to doing even “potentially arrestable” NVDA. • There's the inculcation into obedience that we all get (do what the policeman tells you. Be reasonable, be “responsible”) • What will my peers think? • What will my parents say? • Do I really know enough about the issue? What if I'm actually not as right as I think? • What if other people start throwing things and I get attacked by the police? (Legitimate fear that other people on an action won't stop at the agreed boundaries when it comes to confrontation with the police) • What if people start throwing things and I get carried away by adrenaline and do something I'd regret? • What if I get arrested? That's scary. • What if I get charged? What if they charge me with assaulting a police officer? • What consequences would that have at work when I told them? • What if I have to appear in court? I have to use up holiday. What if I can't get holiday on my court date and have to be away from work on a 'sickie'? Who'd look after the kids? • What if it affects my ability to get a new job, or car insurance or whatever? • What if my partner suffers psychologically from the stress of me getting charged? • What if these new friends I have don't support me? • What if the police and court decide to make an example of me and I get a big fine? What if I even end up in jail? What if what if what if... NVDA is fine and dandy if you have a supportive milieu, if your friends and family are tolerant/sympathetic. That's not the case for a lot of people. Below find some other reasons...  The tension between activists trying to persuade new people that they should try and do NVDA and activists trying to look cool and hard and comparing arrest experiences/hypothetical special branch files – intimidating and often creates unrealistically fierce ideas about what happens to people who get nicked  NVDA often happens (necessarily) on weekdays when it's harder for 'normal' people to get time off, get childcare etc  Affinity groups can an effective but excluding and exclusivist means of working.  Direct action is very 'cool' to some groups but very much not for others – apathy is fashionable in some quarters, politics/direct action is seen as dull, cranky, hippyish etc  Fear over the consequences for people who aren't white – many Asians/Arabs/Muslims are very scared that even if they did environmental direct action they'd end up being accused of terrorism etc. The growing trend towards big set piece actions (Drax, Houses of Parliament, Airports etc.) makes it look like direct action needs to be big and spectacular and involve lots of organisation, press work, logistics etc. – what happened to the little local easy-to-organise, highly empowering actions of ten years ago, the use of dispersed solidarity actions etc. instead of making people come miles/hours from home to national call-outs. Both are useful but shouldn't exclude one another. 141