Heres how I do it. I call it the "bear trap" method. I take my empty brake plate out in the yard and place it on some soft ground and kinda step in it so it depresses its self in the ground and is less likely to move around. Then I put the two springs on their little posts on the shoes, so now I got a little, two shoe, two spring, swingy assembly in my hands.
Get down on you knees and sit on you heels with the brake plate stuck in the ground between your knees. Now lower the two shoes with the springs down to the plate, you want to kind of fold the shoes together so that the rounded arch of the shoes is facing the sky In the shape of a "trap".
You want to force the heels, or half moon ends of the shoes around the little post of the brake plate, and the flat, actuator ends around the actuator post.
When you think you have the ends of the shoes in a close position on the posts, then muscle the two archs down flat against the plateas if you were setting a small animal trap.
At this point the heel ends of the shoes will probably snap into their homes
but the actuator ends will be fighting not to go in theirs. Bring one of your feet up and step on the brake plate, trapping the shoes in the flat position but leave the unseated portion exposed.
Now it's just a matter of some prying with a screw driver or some needle nosed plyers and they will soon snap into their homes.
I learned this method by watching some guy at the "Landsqibs" Rally last year. Here is some actuall shots of the guy.
Hope this helps.