Public engagement -- two words that often strike terror in the hearts of engineers and river restoration scientists. An effective public process can build project support, enlist partners, and resolve sticking points that would otherwise derail a project. A process that overlooks the needs of the public can be disastrous. This presentation will examine the types of decisions to be made when planning a public process, including defining the public, evaluating the anticipated outcomes of a public process, determining what kind of process is appropriate, how to talk about change, how to build connections with project opponents, and how to survive meetings that don't go as planned.