Telling stories to win climate change war

The Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) has secured resolutions, agreements and commitments. Naturally, the next step is implementation. Countries need to figure out policies to initiate and actions to take to meet their targets. To be successful, the public will need to be involved.

How do you do that effectively? It is easy to resort to scare tactics, threats, decrees and even begging for the public to take climate change seriously. But it is better if they are engaged and won over; their cooperation and collaboration are sought and obtained freely.

It is important to understand the audience and their views on climate change. Knowing what drives those views, how the phenomenon affects them and their challenges will go a long way in crafting an engagement strategy with a good chance of being productive. The world over, people are tired of being coerced to do certain things.

For a majority of the global population, the risks of climate change pale in comparison to their struggles to make a life for themselves and their families.

Getting them to buy into the ideas of combating climate change requires one to appreciate this and any approach used should consider their livelihoods and fears.

Dialogue is always better than a lecture or argument. This facilitates an open honest discussion among the parties. Solutions that come out of it are practical with a high likelihood of being implemented by all parties.

To communicate climate change risks, it helps to limit the use of scientific jargon to the barest minimum. The use of simple language means everyone will understand what you are saying and they will be able to follow your logic.

Images and videos are better at making your point across than scientific graphs and reports.

Storytelling is a powerful tool that can be used effectively to communicate the risks.