Talking the Walk: Communicating for Action
Ask your friend who just got back from volunteering with refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, canvassing for an anti-factory farming campaign, or saving birds at the recent oil spill why they chose their recent volunteer stint, and chances are their response will sound something like:
“Because it’s our duty to help those in need!”
or
“Because people like you don’t understand that the industrial meat corporations are killing the planet!!”
or
“Because 20,000 pounds of oil spilled in the gulf and killed 10,000 birds! AGHH!”
You get the idea. What do these responses have in common? They’re all bad examples of how to get people to care, let alone dust off their rubber boots and get out there to help. Of course, data is vital – we have to know how much oil spilled, how many people are displaced, or how much of the forest burned so we can plan effective responses. But when those numbers grow (even by one, as some studies show), our ability to care decreases. This is a concept called pseudoinefficacy, and it directly impacts why people care or don’t care (read: empathize or don’t empathize), about refugees, oil spills, or other disasters. Likewise, placing blame is one of the quickest ways to get someone to put blinders on and ignore the logic in your plight, and the idea that we have to lose something to make the world a better place just makes people hold onto things they associate with their core values even more (freedom, choice, etc.).
The bottom line in for communicating for action? Talk to your audience where they’re at, through platforms they are already using, and don’t make it feel like to do something good, they have to give up something – it’s not a sacrifice!
This book is targeted at people interested in “making the world a better place”, however hippy-dippy that may sound. It aims to be a bridge from science and statistics to the human side of empathy written in a way that is accessible and engaging. It is written by a millennial, for a millennial audience with a focus on adaptable communication styles.
Stay tuned for announcements on the new book “Walking the Talk” coming out sometime in 2020! In the meantime, be sure to follow our blog page and our newsletter page for updates and teasers!