Why Environmentalists Need to Change, too

The green movement has tended to be about what people need to learn, think and know. There hasn't been a lot of recognition of emotions and how they impact us in our everyday lives.  This is an error, as many of us tend to go about our days guided by our moods, and how we are feeling, rather than on a more rational, thought out level. 

Everyone is talking about behaviour change, but we mean that the rest of the world has to change.  Environmentalists may need a bit of behaviour change, too.  We like to enlarge on our theories about framing the debate, and our long-winded communications. These in depth discussions may satisfy our intellectual yearnings, but are they really changing the world?  I feel the information has to be toned down, but instead the environmental debates (many as they are) keep getting more and more complex as they weave in and out of issues we've never faced before. So we research and theorise in to infinity. As this occurs the jargon and technical know-how means that our communications campaigns become more and more foreign to the average punter.  Is it any wonder that the average person gets turned off?

Let us not forget, we can't afford to bore our  audience. The information needs to be made to appear interesting.  I recently tweeted about how fascinating we can make a rather dull subject like plankton, if we are clever about it. 

A lot more on tips to rouse interest, to stir the hearts of the unbelievers, in my book, Green Spin - Promoting the Green Message.