This lesson is about getting more parents to say YES to PTO leadership roles when you ask them.

This lesson will cover the best ways to brainstorm a good long list of candidates for leadership positions. The more positions you have to fill, and the greater the responsibility involved, the wider you have to cast your net to make sure you get enough good candidates.

Everything you do to create a strong volunteer mindset and make it easier for parents to volunteer, like the steps covered in Lessons 1-4, make it more likely a parent will say YES when you ask them to do specific job.

That’s because you’re creating a positive environment. Where parents know their help is needed and appreciated and the work is manageable and rewarding. THAT’S an environment where you’ll hear more YESes.

This section, on Positive Persuasion, will show you how to ask and what to say to get more YESes -- even when the environment is not perfect. Because let’s face it. There will always be room for improvement, and we can still do a lot of good for the kids.

In lesson 4.1, we looked at how to make Board positions more manageable. In lesson 4.2, we’ll look at making all volunteer opportunities, including other leadership roles and helper roles, manageable for more parents.

 All parents are busy and all parents care about helping their kids succeed. Whether a parent can and will use some of their valuable time to help their kids through PTO work depends a lot on whether that work can fit in their schedule.