Kids on the Radio

I'm not exactly a young guy but I often feel like a teenager when I'm around a group of Hams. We need some young blood to be interested in the hobby if we are going to remain relevant.

It takes the right personality to relate ham radio to kids. Since I'm a professional educator, I've learned many tricks over the years:
Be excited about the topic. It's infectious.
Be quick and to the point. Finding a way to capture kids attention is key.
Stay focused and avoid going on tangents.
Don't insult their technology, incorporate it, if you can.
Keep your biases out of it, present facts and they will make their own opinions.
Be practical and goal oriented. Explaining advanced concepts will come later.
Contests are nice short QSO's to practice being on the air.
Observe body language and observe their level on interest.
Hygiene! This is an interesting one, even as an adult I've met hams and had to talk at length with people with severe halitosis, body odor and general unkempt appearances. Think like you are on a sales call and be clean and well groomed. You'll be a lot easier to listen to.

I've come across my fair share of curmudgeons in this hobby, and it can be a turn off for new hams, especially kids. Some hams love the old days and want to keep it that way. This has been going on for ever, AM, SSB, FM, Digital Modes.

At the core of what we do according to Part 97.1 (b) is the "advancement of the radio art". So while there is a place for vintage transmitters, tubes, and CW, to many people that isn't what they are into. When you explain to kids all the topics ham radio some concepts just aren't tangible to them. They have small RF transceivers in their pockets, they just don't understand the technology behind it. Hams have been innovating for decades, the next generation will advance the art even further, we just can't shouldn't be discouraging them. To do so, you could almost be considering violating the terms of your license. Instead relate experiences and all the excitement, fun and things you do with the hobby. Once they have a connection, they will be hooked.