Talking about your passion for protecting the planet with friends and family can be challenging, especially when it's such a personal topic for you. It can be difficult to
discuss how we all contribute to climate change in a constructive and helpful way, without offending friends and family members. Especially if they are not already aware of some of these issues or are misinformed.
However, it's so important to have conversations with your friends and family to raise awareness and encourage positive action for the environment! Studies have repeatedly found that people trust their peers (family and friends) above any other sources. So with climate change such a pressing issue, helping spread the word can have a huge impact. When you get people talking about the impacts of climate change, they can get involved with the solutions!
Here are six tips for talking to your friends and family about the environment:
1) Pick your moment
This one is important! Conversations like these need to be had in a relaxed, quiet environment. Don't try and have it at the dinner table with all your family there, or when you're watching a film with your friend. Also, ensure that you're both in an open-minded, calm mood so that you can be receptive to each other's positions.
2) Make it personal
People connect with people. To truly convey the importance of climate change, use personal examples. Rather than overwhelming your friends and family with facts and figures, share with them how it will impact you directly and why it's so important to you. The key is to be vulnerable so you can truly convey how it makes you feel. Share what makes you feel hopeful and what makes you feel scared so they can connect with why you're so passionate about the environment.
3) Avoid placing blame
Try to avoid placing blame by focusing on your friend or family members' individual impact. That's not how you're going to help persuade them. If you place blame they're more likely to switch off from the conversation or get defensive. Instead, make them understand how they're part of a wider system that contributes to climate change and how they can work to help the environment as an individual.
4) Focus on the positives too
This relates to how focusing on the positives can be more impactful. Instead of listing all the ways things are going wrong, re-frame the conversation to how we can have a positive impact on the planet. Nobody wants to sit through a doom-filled conversation about how everything is terrible! To get people involved in climate action, there needs to be hope that things can be changed. Give them that hope!
5) Listen and ask questions
You need to strike a balance between listening and asking questions. Let them share their perceptions of climate change and don't try and argue with them just yet. This is where asking questions can be helpful. Rather than just disagreeing, ask why they believe a certain thing. Take the time to fully absorb their point of view so you can respond with a constructive argument.
6) Provide resources
Make sure to provide resources for your friends and family to follow up with if they have any questions or want to find out more about a certain topic. Overwhelming them with facts and figures during a conversation isn't constructive, but you can signpost them to trustworthy resources to follow up with. This can help prompt further conversations about climate issues!
And finally, remember that one conversation won't always be enough to change someone's mind about climate change. Don't get disheartened if you still don't agree on issues or if they don't fully appreciate your passion for the environment. All you can do is lead by example and continue to have positive conversations that encourage rather than blame. You can be inspiring your friends and family without even knowing it 💚✨
I hope this post helps make it less daunting to have these hard, but necessary, conversations about the environment with your loved ones!
If you're looking for more advice, have any questions, or want to share your experience drop me a DM on Instagram - I'd love to hear from you!
At All Things Green, we share simple, eco-friendly tips to help you lead an imperfect sustainable lifestyle. We believe that ‘small steps are still steps’, and that we can all have a positive impact on the planet - no matter how small. Join the ATG community today and take that first step towards an imperfect sustainable future by following us on Instagram!
Want to read more? Check out our previous blog posts, bag some fantastic discounts on eco-friendly products, and find out more about our story here on the All Things Green website. Thanks for reading, Naomi x