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By Scott Schneider
What makes a toolbox talk effective?
*Relevance: To be effective, a toolbox talk must be relevant.
*Site-specific: It is best to take a walk through the site first so any topic discussed can be related to real conditions on the job.
*Interactive: Nobody likes to be lectured, and toolbox talks provide no exception. Talks can be made much more effective by making them interactive with a question and answer format.
*Problem Posing: Posing safety problems or concerns and asking for input or solutions will result in a collaborative approach to safety that increases the effectiveness of your program.
*Storytelling: Most people have a hard time relating to statistics. Often, telling a story has a much bigger impact.
*Risk Perception: Most people underestimate the risks they take on the job each day.
*Concrete: Like safety posters, toolbox talks are often vague or general, telling workers this or that is dangerous so be careful if you do not want to get hurt.
*Demonstrations/Hands-On: Construction workers like to see things for themselves or try things out.
*No Victim Blaming: One thing to avoid is blaming the victim.
*Given by Peers: Construction workers are the experts on their jobs.
*Handouts: Toolbox talks are usually about ten minutes long. You cannot cover everything you want to say in ten minutes, but you can distribute a short handout for workers to read on break or at lunchtime.
*Setting: Sometimes, the setting can interfere with the message.
*Language: Toolbox talks need to be in the language most workers understand and speak.
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