Volunteering for a political campaign for fun and advancement! WORK SKILLS GALORE

As I try and sort through the volunteering options aimed at me, it occurs to me that picking a candidate or issue that matters to you and getting involved with the effort to help is a dynamite idea, one that you need very little (if any) previous experience to get going with. 

No, they won't send you to the Sunday morning talk shows to represent the cause your first week, but they will welcome envelope-stuffers, phone callers, media outreach folks, helpers with food and drink, facilities assistance, list-makers, and many other things that relate to "getting the word out."  You can make neat contacts for the future, develop skills that can help you, be exposed to new things that might really grab your attention, and hang around with people that have similar views and interests as you, which is fun all by itself! 

It also strikes me that these sort of situations are spots where being VERY into the candidate or cause is more than just okay...it's helpful and encouraged!  The more you care and can talk about why you care, the more options you'll have as far as possible duties, and this will lead to more knowledge and greater options, the very definition of engaged work.  This is a spot where your granular understanding of the issue or person or opposition can come out appropriately and will be appreciated by those around you.

By getting going with this, you'll have new and pretty intriguing things to put on your resume, and you don't have to worry that places won't be interested in you because they might disagree with what you support...in reality, even if an individual might make a different selection personally, the fact that you got involved and cared enough to get active will impress them more than be dissuasive.  It might lead to some lively conversation when being interviewed for a position, but as long as you know how to allow other people to have their own opinions, it's all a positive that will certainly work in your favor! 

Writing, outreach, phone skills, teamwork, persuading people of your cause, "getting in there and getting your hands dirty," organizational skills...all things campaigns need and things that you can do for them, and are also skills that many jobs want.  What better way to get/enhance/exhibit these skills by working for something that you care about? 

'TIS THE SEASON...SEIZE THE MOMENT AND THE OPPORTUNITY!

Improved communication through ending statements with questions to others

Sometimes in conversation with clients, I notice that the bridges to great communication are not being built by them because they often end statements by just ending them, as if they have run out of information to convey.  If the conversation was a quick one that doesn't need to go further, that's one thing...but what if it's not?  What if there is more to say, or if the other person has not been allowed to speak their mind? At that point, it's up to me to figure a way to continue the conversation.  What would be helpful is for clients to develop the sense of ending their statement with a related question to me, such as "What do you think about (conversation topic)?" or "Has something similar ever happened to you, and how did you handle it?" or something along those lines.  Placing all the responsibility for continuing the conversation on the other person is tough for them, it's got to something that's shared in order for everyone to feel like they are "equally vested" in the communication.

Developing the ability to come up with these sentence bridges is key, and in a related way, knowing how to end a conversation with the implied mutual understanding that "if there is more, we can talk again" is also worthwhile.  After everyone has been able to give their viewpoint, being able to say "Okay for now, let's continue this later" is a nice way to sort of cap that part of the conversation, but allow for the chance of deeper talk later.  Just ending by finishing what YOU have to say and standing there quietly might be misinterpreted by the conversation partner, and in any case puts a new responsibility on them to bridge the gap or else just be done with the talk, perhaps before they are really ready to do so.

Asking for other people's input is normally welcome, and having some "soft" ways of ending the conversation on your part that allows other input right then or in the future gives the people also in the dynamic the chance to have some appropriate closure to the communication.  Envision it as not slamming a door, but rather putting your hand on the doorknob, which non-verbally clues someone else that perhaps the conversation is winding down...but the gentle had allows a few more moments of conversation and will enable them to come back later via speaking or email or text to revisit the conversation and continue things.  Listen to how others do it, or ask people for their ideas on how to perform this skill, and you'll have better conversations and more satisfied co-workers and friends as you develop a tough skill that really elevates you verbally and inter-personally!