Toolbox Talk Competition

Submission deadline has passed

Winners will be presented at the Summit on February 28th through live voting by conference attendees.
View the agenda for more information.

ABOUT TOOLBOX TALKS

Toolbox Talks are a great way to normalize the conversation about mental health in construction.

As an established practice within the construction industry, toolbox talks help connect the dots between psychological safety and job site safety, and between mental health and job performance. When given regularly over long periods of time, they help shift culture to prioritize worker well-being. Since workplace mental health, suicide prevention, and addiction recovery have become a priority over the last several years, many have mastered the development of an impactful mental health toolbox talk.

This competition gives people the opportunity to showcase what is possible in safe and effective messaging in mental health literacy and model for others who may be just starting this practice.

THE COMPETITION

Submit a video that is no more than three minutes long showcasing your mental health toolbox talk. Focus on a mental health-related topic relevant to your community.

Consider any one of these areas:

  • Gratitude

  • Emotional intelligence

  • Sleep

  • Emotion or thought regulation

  • Trauma

  • Helping others

  • Stress and threat responses

  • Anxiety

  • Anger

  • Stigma and barriers to help-seeking

  • Burnout

  • Psychological safety

  • Travelers and well-being

  • Overdose prevention

  • Soul exhaustion

  • Loneliness and social support

  • Numbing behaviors

  • Making meaning

  • Pain management

  • Supporting kids and youth going through tough times

  • Leadership during crisis

  • Addiction recovery

  • Suicide prevention

  • Neurodiversity

  • Conflict resolution

  • Resilient Relationships

  • Grief and Loss

  • Suicide or Overdose Loss

In just three minutes, you will not be able to cover a lot, so be sure to focus in on just a couple of talking points in these four main areas of mental health literacy (potential talking points suggested as bullet points below each topic):

  1. Information about the mental health topic you have chosen:

    • Common symptoms or experiences

      • Statistics

      • Brain science

      • Root causes

2.    Basic coping and emotional regulation skills

  • Simple self-help tactics for mild to moderate emotional distress

  • Basic psychological first aid to help others

3.    Access to mental health supports and services

  • Identify ways to access a highly effective mental health resource related to your topic

  • Describe “what to expect” from the resource

4.    Address stigma and bias by advocating for positive change

  • Give a “call to action” for mental health improvements, peer support or cultural change

  • Share a story of hope and recovery to offer a narrative of hope

Judging Criteria

Content of Toolbox Talks (30%)

  • Did you cover at least one talking point from each of the four areas?

  • Did you research your topic from a credible source?

  • Did you offer a viable mental health support resource?

Safe and Effective Messaging (30%)

  • Are you using preferred language (trauma-informed, non-stigmatizing)?

  • Is your “call to action” clear and actionable?

Engagement Quality (20%)

  • Did you use storytelling to humanize the topic (your lived experience or others – if you have permission or if their story is publicly known)?

  • Does the video elicit self-reflection in anyway or lend itself to group discussion if it were to be given live?

Video Production (20%)

  • Is the lighting and sound quality good?

  • Are there any video enhancements that add to the toolbox talk impact? (e.g., music, graphics, special effects)? 

Additional guidelines and tools to assist you in the development of your toolbox talk:

Mental Health Messaging Best Practices

WHo:

Anyone who works in the construction industry is eligible. Submissions can be made by an individual, team, local, or other organization.

WHEN:

Deadline is December 1st. A judging panel comprised of members of the Construction Working Minds Summit planning committee will review the submissions and narrow the pool down to the top three finalists.

The finalist videos will be shown at the Construction Working Minds Summit on February 28th. Live voting will take place among the Summit attendees to determine the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners on February 29th. Winning videos will be shared on the Construction Working Minds website and YouTube page. 

Contestants must be present at the Construction Working Minds Summit to win.

HOW:

Upload video and application to this submission portal:

For more information:

Contact SallySpencerThomas@gmail.com.