WCU Training: Organizing Conversations

Education Committee
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@SeanHun @Englishpete08 and I thought it would be good to create a short training on effective organizing conversations. This training will serve both our members and future tenant organizers. If we want people to step up as Tenant Association leaders, we must equip them with the necessary skills!

We’ve scheduled the meeting for Saturday at 6PM (zoom link here). All members are welcome to join. If you have materials you’d like us to review before the session, please share them in the replies.

EDIT: Moving the meeting to Saturday.

For reference, we’ll be building on the organizing conversation resources we used in our initial trainings:

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Thanks @SeanHun and @Englishpete08 for working on this with me!

We condensed the six articles linked above into a 4-page outline that works as a quick reference guide on organizing conversations. It still requires editing though.

Our next step involves creating a 30-minute group activity highlighting key points with examples and role-playing exercises. If you’d like to contribute to that project, please respond below. I’ll post here when there’s a date set.

One thing we talked about but did not include our own language for was warning against appealing to “liberal sentiments” that frame workplace problems as deviations from how capitalism “should” operate. It confuses individual rule-breaking by a boss/landlord for capitalism’s basic logic.

Class conscious organizing recognizes exploitation as a key part of capitalism. That bosses/landlords are not just jerks. Their material interests are directly opposed to the worker’s/tenant’s material interests. That they are compelled to maximize their profit through reducing wages + increasing productivity, because otherwise, they will not survive either.

And that we should not be focusing on a boss/landlord’s individual behavior. Instead, focus on workers’ structural position: their dependence on wages and their power to withhold labor. I know paying rent complicates this a bit. But by targeting capital rather than individual grievances, through these conversations, it would help people see their conflicts as expressions of opposed class interests, not personal fights. If we are able to maintain long term contact people, and they start seeing that elsewhere, then that is what could raise class consciousness and help them understand real power existing in economic relations.

But we could not figure out how to make that fit into the outline or how to write a guide in making those questions feel nature (for now).

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Thank you @HipGnosis @Kayla_Park @Veewok @Bozzii for hopping on the call today and working on the script for the organizing conversation trainings!

You can find the script we worked on here.

This is the outline for the training we came up with (1 hour long):

At the start, explain how we are going to use this organizing conversations in the context of our Tenant Union campaign. That we will ideally be going into a building/complex with a known issue and that are goal is to get people to attend a tenant meeting. Followed by:

  1. The goals of why we are doing this - help the person you are speaking with to process their grievances and emotions about an issue, and to collaboratively explore, plan, and commit to collective action to address these issues, while also inoculating against opposition. The goal of the framework is to move the person from a state of inaction/complaining to one of focused, determined, collective action.(10 minutes)
  2. A brief outline of the agenda (5 minutes)
  3. Present the 70/30 rule. Talk about how important it is to ask open-ended questions and do more listening than talking.
  4. Do a short practice session for the 70/30 rule . Have half the group ask questions and the other half is tasked with talking. And then have them flip roles (10 minutes)
  5. Go over AEIOU - 15 minutes
  6. Practice organizing conversations with each other. (20 minutes)

We also started to write out the tenant side of these practice 1-on-1 conversations, with the idea that we would have example scripts that people could use to emulate the various types of responses they are likely to see when canvassing. We started working on one here, but we will need to do another meeting to finish these scripts.

If you would like to help with that, please leave a reply below and we can schedule another time that works for most people.

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We should schedule a follow up so we can get closer to wrapping up the training/workshop.

@SeanHun @Englishpete08 @HipGnosis @Kayla_Park @Veewok and anyone else interested in participating, please vote on the rallly poll here to see if there’s a day next week that works for all of us.

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Thanks- I just submitted my availability.

1 Like
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Looks like Wednesday evening works for most of the people who have been helping with this project so far. Everyone else is also welcome to join!

Zoom link:

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You can review the outline of the workshop here.

At the last General Meeting, we voted to pair having the training with a BBQ on July 26th @ 10AM - 12PM. Location is TBD.

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EDIT: I included the updated script in our main google doc here.

Here’s the script we used during the first workshop.

Workshop Opening

Welcome and Introductions (5 mins)

Start with a brief icebreaker: “Share your name and one thing about your living situation that you wish was different”

This is to get people thinking about grievances while building connection.

Why We’re Here (5 min)

Setting Expectations (5 min)

  • This is a space to make mistakes and learn.
  • We will be practicing real conversations - it might be awkward at first, that’s normal.
  • By the end, you will have a practical tool you can use immediately.

70/30 Rule + Quick Practice Script (10 minutes)

Introduction

The AEIOU framework rests on one principle: Listen 70% of the time, talk 30% of the time.

When organizers talk too much, they:

  • Present solutions before understanding problems
  • Miss information about what motivates people
  • Create a teacher-student dynamic instead of neighbors on equal footing

When organizers listen more, people:

  • Express their actual concerns
  • Will tell you their own motivations
  • Are willing to be collaborators in developing solutions

Partner Exercise

Let’s do a practice run. Form pairs with someone you don’t know well. [wait for people to pair up]

This exercise will have strict rules that don’t feel natural but that is the point, it reveals our default habits.

A Asks, B Answers

Round 1: The person on my left (person A) asks, the person on my right (person B) answers

Person A: For 3 minutes, help Person B talk about their housing situation. You may ONLY ask questions - no statements, no personal stories, no advice

Try questions like:

  • Describe your apartment or house?
  • How long have you lived here?
  • What works well about it?
  • What challenges does it create?
  • How do those challenges affect your daily life?

Person B: Answer naturally.

Round 1 Practice (3 minutes)

[Keep time. At 90 seconds, remind: “Person A - questions only!”]

Brief Check-in (30 seconds)

Stop. Person B: in one sentence, describe how that conversation felt.

[Take 2-3 responses]

Round 2: B Asks, A Answers (30 seconds instruction)

Switch roles. Person B now asks questions about Person A’s housing. Same rules - questions only.

Round 2 Practice (3 minutes)

[Keep time]

Reflection (2 minutes)

Stop. Let’s examine what happened.

Question askers: How many found it difficult to ask only questions? [Show of hands]

Question answerers: How many discussed something you hadn’t considered before? [Show of hands]

Notice what occurred: By asking questions rather than offering solutions, you helped your partner:

  • Articulate their own experiences or feelings
  • Identify specific problems
  • Connect issues to their daily life

In organizing, the person you’re talking with drives the conversation. Your questions guide them to discover their own reasons for action.

The 70/30 ratio keeps you in this discovery mode. Next, we’ll learn AEIOU - a framework that structures these discovery questions…

AEIOU Framework Overview and Examples (20 minutes)

Introduction to AEIOU (2 minutes)

Facilitator says:

The 70/30 rule provides the foundation. AEIOU gives structure to organizing conversations.

AEIOU guides conversations from complaint to collective action. Each letter marks a specific stage:

  • A - Agitate: Identify issues and their personal impact
  • E - Educate: Explore solutions through collective action
  • I - Inoculate: Prepare for management’s response
  • O - Organize: Assign specific tasks
  • U - Uplift: Follow up and provide support

You help people discover their capacity to change their situation. Let’s examine each step.

A - AGITATE (4 minutes)

Agitate has two parts: Finding the issue and exploring how it affects them personally.

Identifying Issues:
Avoid playing detective: ‘Is it the rent? The heat? The landlord?’

Start naturally: ‘How’s your apartment been?’ or ‘You looked frustrated in the lobby yesterday.’

Poor approach:

  • ‘The landlord never fixes anything, right?’
  • ‘This rent is criminal.’

Better approach:

  • ‘Tell me about your living situation.’
  • 'What’s been on your mind about the building lately?

Exploring Personal Impact:
When someone mentions an issue - say, a months-old ceiling leak - probe deeper:

  • ‘How does that affect you?’
  • ‘What’s daily life like with that problem?’
  • ‘How does this impact your family?’

Sample exchange:
Tenant: ‘The leak is annoying but whatever, I put a bucket under it.’
You: ‘A bucket? How often do you empty it?’
Tenant: ‘Every few hours… I can’t leave the house for long.’
You: ‘You can’t leave your home? What does that mean for you?’
Tenant: ‘Now that I think about it, it’s like being trapped.’

Notice the shift from ‘annoying but whatever’ to recognizing real impact."

E - EDUCATE (4 minutes)

Educate addresses three questions:

1. What would solve the problem?
You: ‘What needs to happen to resolve this?’
Tenant: ‘The landlord must fix the roof properly, not just paint over stains.’

2. Who has decision-making power?
You: ‘Who can authorize roof repairs?’
Tenant: ‘The landlord… or the property management company.’
You: ‘Can the super approve that work?’
Tenant: ‘No, only the property manager, Sandra, can.’

3. What collective action might work?
Many people haven’t considered group action before.

You: ‘Tenants in another building faced similar problems. Five went together to the management office. Could that work here?’

Use concrete examples:
‘March Lane tenants coordinated calls to management about repairs. By afternoon, management scheduled an emergency meeting. What might happen if we tried that?’

Key principle: Explore possibilities together rather than prescribing solutions."

I - INOCULATE (4 minutes)

Inoculate prepares people for management’s response and addresses their fears.

Skipping this step leaves people unprepared for pushback.

Anticipate reactions:
You: ‘What might Susan do if five tenants visit her office?’
Tenant: ‘She’d be angry… claim there’s no budget.’
You: ‘What else?’
Tenant: ‘Could she evict us?’

Address fears directly:
You: ‘That concern makes sense. Has anyone here been evicted for requesting repairs?’
Tenant: ‘No, actually.’
You: ‘Right. Retaliating against organizing tenants is illegal. Groups face less retaliation than individuals. How does that information affect your thinking?’

Avoid false promises: ‘Nothing bad will happen’ or ‘Victory is guaranteed’

Better framing: ‘Acting involves risks, but inaction guarantees problems persist. Groups provide safety and increase our chances.’

O - ORGANIZE (3 minutes)

Organize matches tasks to people’s readiness.

Collaborate on next steps:

You: ‘What needs to happen before approaching Susan?’
Tenant: ‘We need those other tenants you mentioned.’
You: ‘Who else in the building faces repair issues?’
Tenant: ‘Maria next door complains about her bathroom ceiling…’
You: ‘Would you talk to Maria about this? Or should we approach her together?’

Scale tasks to readiness:

  • New participant: ‘Will you attend a building meeting?’
  • Somewhat ready: ‘Can you speak with your neighbor about their issues?’
  • Very ready: ‘Will you help present demands to management?’

Offer to accompany people on their first task.

U - UPLIFT (3 minutes)

Uplift provides ongoing support and follow-through.

Organizing succeeds or fails at this stage.

Task follow-up:
One week later:
You: ‘How did your conversation with Maria go?’
Tenant: ‘I haven’t done it… I got nervous.’
You: ‘That’s common. What felt difficult?’
Tenant: ‘I don’t know how to start.’
You: ‘Want to practice? Or I could join when you talk to her.’

Four barriers to task completion:

  1. Resource constraints → Offer practical help (time, childcare)
  2. Skill gaps → Practice together, share experiences
  3. Motivation loss → Revisit personal impact (agitate)
  4. Fear → Address specific concerns (inoculate)

Regular check-ins:
‘How are you feeling about our progress?’
‘What support would help you?’
‘How is this affecting your family?’

Build relationships, not just task lists.

Closing (2 minutes)

AEIOU provides flexible guidance, not rigid rules. You might cycle through steps multiple times. Agitation might require three conversations. Some people immediately want action.

Stay curious about each person. Help them recognize their own capacity for change.

Questions before we demonstrate an example conversation?

[Take 1-2 questions if time permits]

“Let’s see AEIOU in practice…”

[Transition to demonstration]