session (be sure to return all telephone calls) or (2)assign one of your staff members to answer thetelephones and greet visitors. The latter method ispreferable, and if chosen, make sure someone from thestaff takes comprehensive notes to pass along to thisperson.METHODSContrary to popular belief, professional trainingsessions do not have to be mundane affairs accentuatedwith yawns and sighs. There are no set rules orguidelines for the ways in which you administer theprogram. Some recommendations include using NRTCquestions, a thought/teaching point of the day, the PublicAffairs Communicator, handouts, guest speakers andencouraging outside participation.NRTC QuestionsCopy a block of questions from the JO 3 & 2,JO 1 & C and PA Regs nonresident training courses(NRTCs) and direct your staff to complete them in aspecified amount of time. Do not allow them to use thetraining manuals or PA Regs to research the questions.When time is called, review the questions with yourstaff, assign scores and chart individual progress on abulletin board or a score sheet. In larger staffs, you canpair off staff members and compete in teams. Anyvariation of this theme will work. Regardless of the roadyou take, the benefits remain the same, as describedbelow:Hundreds of questions exist from which tochoose from.Very little preparation time is needed.Office competition keeps everybody sharp.The staff remains geared up for the Navywideexams.It is fun!Thought/Teaching Point of the DaySupplementing weekly training is the “thought” or“teaching point of the day.” This is best delivered duringmorning quarters or at some similar point in the workdaywhen the staff is together.It can go something like this: “. . . And the ship’slibrary will be secured today and tomorrow because ofpainting. That is all I have–here is your professionalteaching point of the day: The Navy internal audienceis broken down into five primary divisions:Active-duty Navy personnel, family members ofactive-duty Navy personnel, Naval Reserve personneland families, Navy civilian employees and Navyretirees and families. . . .”Public Affairs CommunicatorEach issue of the Public Affairs Communicatorcontains a multitude of professional developmentarticles perfectly suited for training. Distribute copies ofone or two articles to your staff per training session andhold a discussion on them.HandoutsUse any handouts available from the DefenseInformation School (DINFOS) (check to make sure youhave the most current copies), PA Regs, instructions,notices, and so forth, as training tools. The yellowguidance pages in PA Regs are excellent sources.Localize the materials and conduct training in an opendiscussion format.Guest SpeakersIf you cannot get out to that radio station for training,maybe a representative of the news department can visityour office to talk for an hour about its operations.Otherwise, you can contact journalists and PAOs fromnearby commands and request they give a talk on aspecific training topic. Guest speakers are outthere-however, it is up to you to find them.Outside ParticipationDo not subscribe to the theory that your trainingprogram is limited to your staff. When you are lining upguest speakers for training, try to establish a system thatallows staff members from other public affairs officesto attend your sessions, and vice versa. The moreparticipation you have (in one or several directions), thebetter your training program will be. Your making asimple telephone call or having a conversation overlunch with a colleague is usually all that is required tomake the necessary arrangements.CROSS-TRAININGIn this day and age of doing more with less, you haveto be sure the members of your staff are interchangeable.That is where cross-training comes in.1-12
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