Conversations about climate change can lead to action.
This is a view of Earth from space (NASA). All life that has ever lived occurred on this tiny blue dot. All knowledge, all history, all experiences happened right here. When you talk to someone about an issue, you are competing with everything they ever learned, at any time, about anything. Those bits of accumulated knowledge, experience and culture are the frames that influence how people receive information, process it, and most importantly for us, how they take action. Because the way a person receives a message depends on what is already in their head, our message has to be clear, our story has to be compelling, and the conclusion has to be positive.
Climate communicators agree that it is important to orient climate conversations from “me” to “we”, to focus on values, and to tell the stories of solutions. For example, one of the values recommended by social science research is protection: it’s important that we protect people and places from being harmed by solving the issues facing our environment. Here is an example of using the protection value in a sentence:
“We believe in protecting and preserving the world’s unique habitats, such as the wetlands in our town. By acting now to ensure that this habitat will continue to be here for the species that depend on it, we are also protecting people from the increased storms and floods we can expect to experience due to the changing climate.”
Here are some ideas to keep in mind before you launch into a climate conversation:
- Change the conversation. Rather than arguing about facts and figures and bemoaning how much we have lost, it’s best to step back, listen, and find out where the other person is coming from. Direct your conversations toward climate solutions instead of climate disasters. Keep a neutral, reasonable, and explanatory tone. Most importantly, get out there and talk about it! That’s one thing we can all do. See Katharine Hayhoe’s TED talk.
- Use universal values. Instead of pushing your own beliefs, think about what values you have in common with others. Try using values that most people share and that have been tested as effective in climate communication. (Climate Interpreter/Frameworks Institute) These values are the protection of that which we all hold dear, interconnectedness, stewardship, innovation and responsible management. Check out more ideas about finding common ground from David Suzuki.
- Create a vision. It’s important to be honest and accurate about the facts and the problems. However, it’s more effective to create a hopeful vision of what we would like our world to be. Imagine it. Start your vision here: Six Reasons to Be Hopeful About Fighting Climate Change.
- Emphasize solutions. While it’s important that we each “refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle,” we will achieve our goals more rapidly if we focus on community-based, systemic solutions. Talk about local solutions. Research what’s happening in your own town, such as Energize Lexington. Let people know that they are part of the story and part of the solution.
- Awaken social responsibility. These conversations are a call to action! By connecting our experiences and drawing upon universally shared values, we can start a dialogue that will lead people away from a tendency to identify as consumers, and more towards an identity as citizens.