Great Climate Conversations Guide (10 mins)

The next step to becoming a spokesperson for Australian Parents for Climate Action is normalising having great climate conversations. This will help you practice your story - and it will help your community to come together for climate action.

It's the elephant in the room. You know your friends and family are concerned too. But how can you help them start to take action on climate?

Effective climate conversations normalise climate concerns and lead people to take action. They're about connecting, listening, finding common ground, and empowering each other. Things we all need after a hard couple of years dealing with the pandemic.

Can you commit to opening up 5 climate conversations with friends over the coming month?

It's an opportunity to be real, listen and dream up how to create a brighter future together. It takes courage to speak about what we care about, but every conversation helps shift public opinion.

Our top tips for great climate conversations:

Re-connect:

1. Set your intention: rather than arguing or finding points of difference, we need to help people understand that people they know care about climate action. 
2. Ask open questions to find out what really matters to them. Seek to understand what they say and feel. Dig deeper and ask follow-up questions.
3. Pause to let others speak, instead of rushing in to tell them what you think. This is deep listening. Rather than formulate your own points - listen non-judgmentally so that they feel safe to share their values with you. Concentrate on what they say and listen for clues about what they care about.

Shared values:

1. For many people, their main concerns are the economy, healthcare, and cost of living. So try framing the benefits of climate action in relation to those areas to find common ground. What are the local opportunities for your community for embracing climate action, as well as national opportunities? 
2. Focus on the positive vision. Think about clean air and water and a greater quality of life. Focussing on the negative side of climate change can turn people off. So talk about the possibility for the future.

Meet them at their doorstep:

1. Help people see their potential to make a difference. Start where they are, with suggestions that work for them based on what they are ready to do (rather than something they aren’t ready to consider). Re-empower them to remember that our individual actions do matter, and when we work together we can make an even bigger impact. 

For many people, they need an easy first step along the path to climate action. Our Climate Action Checklist has many ideas for the first and next steps. Share the link with them.

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So, parents, we know like us your love for your children, your desire to create a safe world for them moves you to want to help shape the results of the next federal election.

One of your most accessible tools, with the biggest personal impact, is having more great climate conversations.

Will you have 5 climate conversations with friends over the coming month, using our top tips?

It's an opportunity to be real. Listen and dream up how to create a brighter future together.

And then tell us how you go >> 1-minute survey

These top tips draw on our Great Climate Conversations training one-hour webinar - the recording and slides are available to catch up on here.

This webinar was co-hosted by a team of Climate Action Network Australia (CANA) partners: Australian Parents 4 Climate Action, CANA Network Support Team, Climate for Change, Doctors for the Environment Australia, Australian Conservation Foundation

The next step in this spokes training program is working through the Change the Story presentation (part 6 of our spokesperson training course).

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