Teaching A Prepping 101 Class - What would you include / not include if you had only 15 minutes

Ask everyone for 10 minutes of their time. They may quibble, but get them to say yes. The holdouts in the back, ask for some of theirs specifically. Burn some time for this. Then ask for 1 volunteer for 20. Ask for a volunteer who feels comfortable sharing their life as a thought experiment. No personal questions will be asked. Bring two white boards and some good white board markers with color. Bring 1 board covered. Set a pace of speech candor that's steady, effective and to the point. Practice this with someone a few times and flow chart the basics. Practice on at least 3 people before you do this at your lesson plan. When you have your volunteer ask them their first name, what color marker they want. Make a bit of a show of it, tell them it matters. Ask, "Kacey, are you sure this is the color you want? Take your time, the blue and the green are both nice". Give yourself some distance between you and them so you can play this up, it'll matter later. This is Kabuki, it's theater, you're getting them used to talking and socializing, sharing details - this is key, because you're gonna need them to talk... and the color they choose will matter. Pick someone average, middle of the road. Try to aim for someone enthusiastic, first hands up are typically best. Ask them to participate in a thought experiment and to keep the marker at hand, they'll need it later. Ask them to describe their living situation in basic detail. Ask questions about their fridge, freezer, and home. Then ask them to describe their vehicle, ask specific questions about the size of it. Spend a minute or two painting a picture - this is for your audience and your volunteer to get used to thinking spatially. Ask some nice questions so you can flatter your volunteer. "What's the nicest part of your house". "What's the most comfortable spot in your whole house." Be a little lavish, burn two minutes. Make a script for this, you want it to be pleasant and informative. Ask everyone in the room to close their eyes and think about their own homes. Imagine nobody is there, it's calm, it's quiet. They're comfortable. Just a normal day, at peace. Then ease them into the real meat, you've got everyone nice and calm, open and receptive. They get a phone call. "Your friend just called you, what's their name?" "Justine" Justine says, "a nearby train just had a chemical spill. The local township is evacuating the area immediately. There's a chemical cloud coming that may be dangerous for human habitation. While you take the call, you get an alert on your phone that you should leave immediately. Your friend will be there in 5 minutes with a military escort, but warns you that you might not ever be coming back. She hangs up brusquely, which she has never done before. The alerts continue on your phone. "You have five minutes to describe to me the things you acquire, including the time it takes to get around your house. Take your time, don't trip. I'll be writing down what you say, just keep going." Now, you write on the board what they get, including a line anytime they have to travel through the house. If they say, "keys" you say, "where?". You want to loudly scribble. "Good, keep going." Make sure you draw longer lines when someone seems to go around the house and shorter ones for comedic effect. The room may laugh, make sure Kacey knows they're laughing at you for writing like a crazy person and be encouraging. At 4 minutes, you say, "Justine arrived early, they look concerned. The escort takes off to organize the roads. Your friend urges you to leave early. What's the last few things you grab?" Then stop and ask her to come up with her marker. Reveal the other white board and have her go over to it and take a look. You've listed everything you should consider taking, things like water, medication, prescription and normal drugs - which most people will forget. You've ordered them by importance. You've listed situational stuff like masks and boots (this is a good way to avoid talks about covid masks, but also talk about bringing masks, chemical spill covers that political controversy nicely). You cross off the things off her list, and she finds them on your list and crosses them off in her color. When it's over, you take the list off the wall and give it to Kacey. "This is your list and your board Kacey, enjoy. Thank you for giving me one. " Circle one item on Kacey's list - "I don't have this prepared at home. I've forgotten it over time". "So, everyone, I asked you for 20 minutes. This was 10, we're out of time. When you go home tonight I hope you remember Kacey's list... and take 10 minutes to consider where all those items are in your homes, and get them ready. Then you can spend those 4 minutes actually loading the car." If Kacey asks you why the specific color mattered, show her that you used the same color on her list as your list. "Conveyance. The ability to clearly organize a thought comes down to spatial memory. That's easier with the same color marker across two board. And I wanted to send you home with a marker you need, and a marker you want, instead of taking the choice away from you because of time. Making you choose out of necessity is what we avoid when we're prepared". Punctuate this point by waving the same color marker. You brought a second, because you were prepared. It was easy for you to switch markers when everyone's eyes were closed - and nobody will be the wiser. Bam. The most important part about preparing is being truly prepared mentally for a situation, organizing your thoughts and thinking critically. It all becomes so much easier to conceptualize when it's right in front of you, but so hard to do when you aren't prepared. You also want to convey that there will be people to help you and to not be alarmed, but aware. Anyway I'd take that basis and polish it. You can likely trim it down, you can do it on paper if you'd like but giving out a whiteboard people will remember forever. The person who jumped up to volunteer was rewarded, that's a good example of the benefits of social responsibility. You just want to kill that doom saying and instead turn it into adventure. ... you can hand them books they'll never read, or guide them through an experience they'll actually retain. The *attitude* matters more. Also a military escort has some nice gravitas to it. You want them to think critically but not panic, and that mindset is really the most important part of it all. Stay calm, be organized. Anyway I hope that helps.