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Seminar Curriculum
The seminar runs from 10am-5pm, with a two short breaks and a longer lunch break. It is highly interactive, energetic, and results-oriented. Participants should plan on arriving at least 15 minutes early, and should be prepared for a challenging experience. Please bring pen and paper. Please do not bring a laptop. Although the program is designed to result in participants producing and publishing op-eds, participants should be aware that this is not a writing workshop - most of the session will revolve around experiential exercises, scenarios, and dialogue, with only occasional short bursts of writing. The program treats op-ed as a metaphor for thought leadership, and as such will be of broad scope. The seminar itself revolves around a series of highly interactive exercises designed to challenge participants to think more carefully and more expansively about their knowledge and experience. It begins with an exercise geared to get participants to express ideas or causes that they care about, and areas of knowledge or expertise that they are interested in pursuing further, although they may not know how. We explore the concept of expertise and the source of credibility - and how to establish it. As the day progresses, we examine and experience the components of powerful evidence-based, contribution-driven argument; discuss strategies for expanding your "window of relevance" and for preaching beyond the choir; and how to build consensus and change minds. We consider the difference between being "right" and being effective"(and the factors which determine which you'll be), and engage in a Devil's Advocate round robin to anticipate and embrace potential opposition. Finally, we explore how participants can use triangulation to expand their areas of expertise to be able to write and think bigger. Time permitting, we will discuss etiquette and strategies for pitching ideas; and read and/or discuss a sampling of the greatest arguments of all time-essays, speeches and op-eds that have changed the world--so that we can consider why they were so powerful and what approaches and techniques we might borrow. Participants will leave with a greater sense of the value of their knowledge and experience to others, and of its urgency. They will also have a draft (or in some cases completed) op-ed in hand. Those who have completed a full day (or longer) program will have ongoing access to The OpEd Project resources and community, and will be connected with each other (for peer mentoring) as well as with our national network of Mentor-Editors (highly experience columnists, pundits and editors who volunteer to mentor and read the op-eds of women who come through The OpEd Project).
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