Ron,

Good deal - very worthwhile and hope you have fun. You already have some great suggestions from others. I'm the "Go-to" ASM for a troop and have a little experience to draw on.

[Edit] Re-reading your post, it sunk in that you will be teaching adults. Cool. Get nice rope and give them a piece 8' - 12' long to keep. Handouts to keep, as suggested. Rope/knot terminology first, then knots. Use an assistant if possible. If you can borrow some spars from a boy scout troop, do so - lash up a couple of hitching posts (like a street barricade) if you have the materials available; if not, just bring enough for one per every 2 - 3 leaders. After showing how to tie a knot, break into 2-3 person groups and talk/demonstrate a second time. Make sure you or your assistant see every person's knot before going on to the next one and help each person with difficulty once, then turn it over to the partner or partners. Don't let them form groups on their own - use an ice breaker event that results in the size groups you want them in. Ideas for that if you need - just ask. The rest of my post still applies. [End Edit]

Rope: I greatly prefer Lehigh 5/16" Diamond Braid Polyester Rope for teaching basic knots to scouts and for general utility use. It would be nice to use 9mm dynamic line, but it's pretty pricey to cut up a bunch of 6 - 12 foot lengths just to teach knots. For cubs, I'd cut a 50 ft length into 10 equal lengths and let them keep the rope. For scouts I'd cut it into 5 equal lengths and let them keep it, as that is a practical length bit of this size rope to keep for doing useful things.

3/8" natural fiber rope is OK if it is on hand. 1/4" to 3/8" braided nylon is nice, too, but I always come back to the 5/16" diamond braid polyester, year after year. (Please do NOT confuse this with polyethylene ot polypropylene ropes - those suck for teaching knots) If the budget is tight but you want to look sharp and maybe make it easier for cubs, Lehigh has some 5/32" neon poly braided stuff that works pretty well and you can probably give each cub two 5' lengths, each of different color. It's a little small for best teaching, but you can work with it, and it makes good lanyards and OK guy lines for light duty tarp use.

But if you start teaching life safety and/or climbing knots, use the appropriate rescue, dynamic, or static ropes, not some make-shift substitute.

Stick to the method that works: "Tell, Show, Do".

Knots are BEST taught to boys one-on-one. It usually works OK with two scouts per instructor. It is VERY ineffective to teach knots to a group of boys at one time - it's simply not a very good group activity. (It is barely effective to teach a small group of adults knots, and even that requires a significant amount of one-on-one interaction as difficulties arise).

In one evening, I suggest that the rope terminology be taught and then a couple of basic knots if you have time. Make sure you have a knowledgable assistant to circulate - a Boy Scout Den Chief would be ideal. Not many folks are good at teaching boys knots; it's not simply the knowledge. You'll know it when you see it.

Long enough. Buy some rope and just go do it. Have fun and hang around afterwards for the few that will sincerely want to learn a bit more.

YiS,

Tom