*[Enwl-eng] Want to have better conversations?
ENWLine
Hi,
Talking about the climate crisis is hard. But, there are a TON of ways you can open up this conversation with loved ones.
Here are five tips that have worked for us:
Speak to lived experiences
Things like carbon budgets and polar bears don’t speak to what most people see in their everyday lives. A more clear way to enter into conversations about what is happening is to bring up climate impacts you and your loved ones experience directly or have been following in the news.
One of our climate organisers in Canada starts their conversations like
this:
I start by having people look out the window.
Today I saw snow. It’s not surprising, since it’s wintertime here. But tomorrow, the temperature is supposed to jump up — way higher than normal. Climate change doesn’t just mean it’s getting hot. It’s often extreme weather changes. So we’re experiencing more dramatic differences.
If you're looking for more examples, or have one to share, you can find them on our climate stories page.
Tell your story and connect
emotionally
Most people love stories. So when we talk about climate, focusing on stories and emotion brings what we say to life and can make what you say more persuasive.[1]
Having examples of local impacts you’ve experienced and how this made you feel can be a great way to start. You can also try telling your climate story. For example, what have you seen that makes you want to take action and be involved in the climate movement?
Tap into values
When we try to persuade someone on an issue we care about we often use moral arguments that speak to our interests. But people have different morals. When you talk to someone about climate change, ask yourself, am I presenting this in language that will resonate with them? [2]
Try and find something that appeals to what they value: whether that's the role of family, children, community or health. For example, if you are talking to someone who enjoys hiking, you could centre your argument around the way deforestation is destroying some of these environments and the creatures that live there.
Offer hope
If you’ve had some successful conversations, great! Now is the time to offer hope. Remind the person you are talking to about the victories that are possible when we come together.
Try to get them to commit to a follow-up action. Let them know they can get involved in the climate movement by joining 350.org’s mailing list, or you could offer to take them to an event near you.
Not everyone will be persuaded
Sometimes, you just won’t persuade people, and that's ok. Try and practice empathy, active listening and asking open questions without judgment to keep the conversation respectful. If it isn’t possible to engage constructively, change the topic.[3]
You won’t likely change a skeptic into an activist through one conversation. So practice empathy and understanding on yourself too, you’ve done your best no matter what.
We hope this gives you the pointers you need to start having great conversations.
One last thing, we'd love to hear how your conversations actually went.
Onwards,
Ellie for the 350.org Team
References:
[1] The
Storytelling Animal: NY Times article
[2] The
power of framing - The Guardian
[3] How
to have climate conversations - Climate Outreach
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PO Box 843004, Boston, MA 02284-3004
350.org is a global movement that fights for a just and equitable world by stopping the fossil fuel industry from continuing to destroy our climate.
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