Progress on Communications badge

[Henry John Kerr]

Hey, gang – a few updates. This is a long and detailed e-mail, but please read it thoroughly. 

To confirm: we'll resume Communications merit badge on Feb 26.  Again, starting at 6pm, please!   (Next week will be Climbing merit badge for some Scouts.) 

• First of all:  nice job, everyone, on your "Five Whys" exercise and your "eye contact + body language" presentations! 
  
  
• Requirement 9 (career in communications):
  
  
• Great job, Amara and Bobby; I loved your write-ups!  Very detailed and interesting. Nate, Will, Jason, Jonny – let's have a quick chat by e-mail about how to get yours over the finish line. You're close, but you need to add some detail. 
  
  
• Who wrote "Newsletter writer"?  I don't see a name on that one. 

• That next requirement: 
  
  
• Many of you have chosen to interview someone. Remember, I'm looking for at least 12 good questions (and at least one of those must be a follow-up question). They must not be questions that get yes or no for an answer; open-ended "who-what-where-when-why questions, please. Think about asking questions about the past or into the future; think about asking advice for other people considering the same job or idea as the person you're interviewing. 
  
  
• Jonny: you say you're going to do a sales pitch. Tell me what you're going to be selling and then let's talk about that via e-mail or phone (with your mom or dad there), OK? 
  
  
• Will: you say you're going to teach a knot. I want you to teach two knots!  (I'm not letting you off that easy!)  Remember that you have to: (a) tell the audience what you're going to be teaching; (b) greet your student, remind them what you're going to be teaching them and say why it's important for them to know; (c) and assess their level of knowledge of the thing you're teaching; (d) demonstrate how to do it; (e) get them to try it; (f) give them feedback and maybe show them again how to do it; (g) show that they have learned properly how to do what you're teaching them.  OK with that? 

• Those next three requirements: 
  
  
• Can each of you please e-mail me (this week, please) to tell me what next three requirements you're going to complete by the end of March? 
• Will: when you started Communications with me the first time, you'd mentioned doing a speech about cats or dogs or cooking. Do you think you still want to do one of those topics for your speech? 
• Will: you had done a first pass at a drawing of yourself. I'll show it to you on Feb 26. I need you to "upgrade" it a little so the drawing explains more about you, OK? Then you'll have that requirement in the bag. 
• Jonny: last year you had told me you were going to do a drawing of yourself. Did that happen? 
• Jonny: you've already completed your speech (Rubik's cube – or was that Teaching a Skill?) and you've completed Requirement #8 because you participated in the electronics recycling event last year. So you're cruisin', my man! 

Many thanks, and have a great (sunny) week!   -- John Kerr